Lighting opinions ASAP Thanks

[delira5cal]

Hello. I am looking to get better lighting for reef, 55 gallons. I was looking at a CORALIFE compact fluorescent 48", 130watts, 21" 50/50 bulbs with adjustable mounting legs. What do you all think of this or what brands are good?

 

[benter]

that would be good for fish only, but I don't think it's gonna work for many corals you may want! Mushrooms would be fine maybe..general rule of thumb for lps corals are at least 4 watts per gallon if I am not mistaken..I ran 520 watts of p.c. on my 55 and still couldn't keep any sps or clams. So it just depends what you want to keep!

 

[db]

I agree with the post above. You are going to be limited to low light soft corals. If you were to go with 4x65w PC's you would have the ability to keep some lps corals as well. Make sure to go with 2x65w 10K and 2x65w Actinics. You will get more intensity than you would with 4x50/50 bulbs.

 

[razoreqx]

Originally Posted by delira5cal
Hello. I am looking to get better lighting for reef, 55 gallons. I was looking at a CORALIFE compact fluorescent 48", 130watts, 21" 50/50 bulbs with adjustable mounting legs. What do you all think of this or what brands are good?
Those lights are going to be fine for most LSP... leathers.. hammer, mushrooms, etc..

 

[dapperdan]

Coralife products are pretty much the low end of lighting for reef tanks.
DD

 

[littlebuck]

the the plunge and get MH. its better for corals and you will be very happy with the outcome of the corals under MH

 

[delira5cal]

I was now looking at a current ORBIT COMPACT FLUORESCENT LUNER LIGHT its a 24 hour has SunPaq Dual Daylight and Dual actinic bulbs. 48 inch 260 watts 4 lunar lights 4 by 65 watts. What do you think about this one????

 

[teresaq]

I have a 48 inch sattelite pc fixture 4x65, and its does a good job. I have had it for a yr, now i want to upgrade to mh.

 

[lubeck]

I bought a 260 watt pc unit for my 110 gall about 2 months after I filled it with water; I did'nt last I just got 650w of Mh in December. I did'nt even last 4months before the upgrade.

 

[rick2203]

i have a question my pc lights come with a plexi glass , covering the lights, can i mount the lights right onto of the aquarium instead of using the legs? will this concentrate the light more into the fishtank rather than using the legs, because my living room is so damn bright because the light is mounted on the legs, i hate it.

 

[lubeck]

rick2203, Yes you can put the lights right on the tank, thats what i did with my pc fixture or if you want to get a canopy and leave the legs on. Which ever will be fine, You will however need to clean the plexi glass frequently from water splashing and will dim the lighing ALOT if not kept up.