lighting question

[min12512]

i have a 90 gallon saltwater tank fish only right now. im looking to start corals, live rock etc and need to know how much lighting is necessary. on ---- i saw hombby metal halides 500w is this enough? what is the minimum and max i should have? i heard 3-5 per gall so that should be 270-450w, right?

 

[xdfireguy]

Cna you tell us what kinds of corals you are looking to keep? A FOWLR tank really needs minimal lighting and (2) 250w MH would be overkill. However, an all SPS tank would do well with that much light. Give us a rundown on your fish/coral list, and I'm sure you will get better answers.

 

[min12512]

im not sure what kind of corals but anenomies for sure other than that i have to look around...im still planning but i will have more than fowlr

 

[namas05]

Well, if you plan on keeping corals, IMO study what you plan to keep before you buy it. Know what is required beofre you buy the piece to keep it healthy and happy. Secondly IMO i would not buy any light off of an

[hr]
site. Don't buy low quality and expect good results from your corals. The keeping of corals is not for those wanting to be cheap, as trust me it is not a cheap hobby. You will end up spending money twice if you try to cheap out.
Now on to the question. How much light you need will depend on what you want to keep. You mention a nem, which means you will want good quality liking and even better water quality. In a 90 gallon tank I will recommend MH as it is a deep tank. Don't guage everything on watts per gallon as that can be miss leading. Also your tank is 4 foot long so you will want to spread the light over the tank. I would recommend at least two bulbs and maybe 3.
You will also more than likely want to add something for actinic suppliment.
Possibly a couple T-5 bulbs.
Do some research as there is plenty of info out there, on this site and many others. Becuase it all comes down to what you wnat to keep.

 

[mr_x]

don't buy the hombby fixture. the ballasts and bulbs are crap.

 

[markeo99]

be nice mr x I have one and I replaced bulbs with phoenix and icecap ballasts for a fraction of coralife fixture I have the 2x 250 on my 55 depends on what you can afford I could only afford a little at a time ps I had it for 2 years and switched ballasts with all the old ones still working just cause someone told me they were junk the bulbs are junk thoughfire but run yellow for 15k

 

[mr_x]

be nice? how was i anything less than nice? i have experience with these fixtures, and i'll agree with the someone who told you that the ballasts and bulbs are junk. i think my advice is in the best interest of the thread starter.

 

[grue]

If you have to buy anything, Make it MH 250X2. With these lights you will be able to keep anything you want. A bit overkill? Perhaps, but how many times you want to pay for a light ficture? When I was new I got me a outer orbit 2x 150mh with 2x96w atinics. After looking at the coral breeders I see they use MH grow lights to grow them out and 20k to color them up (At least 250k most 400k) So again I say if you need to buy any light (or retor kit) get at least 250k mh (Covers 2x2 area) Your anomies and corals will thank you. And you will thank yourself for not having to rebuy. Even if you buy low end MH the retofit to higher is expensive (New ballasts 80-100 New bulbs 55-70)
My 2 cents
Grue

 

[urbanhellfire]

Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2677633
be nice? how was i anything less than nice? i have experience with these fixtures, and i'll agree with the someone who told you that the ballasts and bulbs are junk. i think my advice is in the best interest of the thread starter.
If you can not buy " Top of the line" lights dont worry about it you dont have to right away just take you time with the selection of corals when you start out.
You can always sell the less expensive lights and up grade down the road.
This hobby is filled with people who say you have to have the most expensive of everything ( kinda like a few LFS I know)

Take you time and try and find some used lights to start off with that will cover what you are tring to keep or if you do have the money to spend on the high end lights then do that

Its all about what you want not someone else telling you what you want

.
Just my cent and a half.

 

[ynotme4886]

Mr X is right though....I bought my fixture from Hombby less than 6 months ago. I have a 30" 380w fixture with the 250w halide. After about 4 months one of my actinics started acting up....some days it comes on...some days it doesn't. I've cleaned it thoroughly and checked all my connections and it still acts up.
Sometimes if you tap it it comes on...most times not. Its out now as we speak.
They are poorly built and not worth the headaches. I would buy a used anything else before I bought another new one of those.
In fact I am currently looking for a new fixture....am tired of the headaches with this one
My 2cents

 

[namas05]

No, you don't have to buy top of the line lights, but better to buy a good quality light that will last, and give you good results, than one that is junk and you will have to start buying parts for a few months after you get it.
It is not always about buying the best on the market, but about buying the best you can afford, and buying from a reputable seller not some no contact

[hr]
sight that once you make payment you will never have any contact with again.
Better to buy used good quality than it is to buy new poor quality. Just trying to save the buyer money time and headaches, I don't really care what he buys or how much he spends. But doesn't make sense to spend $200 on a light now, and then in a year spend another $200 buying part for it, then in another year buy a high quality light for $500. Start with the high quality light for $500 and it will last you many years to come. If you can not afoord a good quality light now better to wait til you can before you start buying corals. why should the coral have to suffer?
Kind of funny how someone will give advice, that states don't take the advice of people on here, when that is what he is offering. Advice.

 

[mr_x]

i would take the advice of someone who's owned a fixture i was considering, over someone who doesn't have a clue about it.
the hobby is also filled with people who just like to talk, without any experience on a certian matter. it's a shame that they would actually think it's ok to steer someone in the wrong direction for no apparent reason, other than to build up their post count.
just my 2 cents.

 

[markeo99]

I have 2 homby 250 x 2 on my 55 2 years one has icecaps one has never been touched I also have a 72" homby on my 125 for 1 and half years never been touched so what ever you do its up to you

 

[robdog696]

I have been doing a lot of research on lighting lately, and I hope I can give you a little bit of help. First, I want to explain lumens. Lumens are the amount of perceived light. They are the more important factor when compared to watts. However, aquarium lights are not rated by lumens because some bulbs can produce high lumens output without providing the color spectrum needed for photosynthetic coral growth. So, for all intents and purposes, we use watts.
Armed with this knowledge, however, I started looking around for what light produced the highest lumens output. I'm not saying this is best light. But the Sunlight Supply T5 HO Tek light fixtures seem to be the biggest bang for the buck.
Here are some of my reasons. First, I prefer fixtures to retrofit kits. They tend to have better reflectors, which helps with lumens output. Second, they use thinner bulbs. This makes them more efficient. They use less power and the bulbs last longer. Also, they produce less heat. So they can be placed closer to the water, further increasing the depth that the light can reach. Finally, they just plain have the highest lumens per watt output, at about 92 lumens per watt.
I currently have a retrofit with two 250w 15k MH bulbs and two 48w actinic bulbs. It suits my purposes fine, but because it creates so much heat I cannot leave the lights on as long as I'd like. If only they would make a 72" T5 HO Tek fixture I would already have one. I hope you find this post helpful and it doesn't stir up too much controversy!

 

[wangotango]

I know it's been said, but if you're going halides then two 250w would be plenty. Overkill no, but a lot of light. I'm not going to tell you what's crap, but there is a reason the majority of brands are expensive; they're built well.
If you wanted to go T5, then the 7-bulb Aquactinics Constellation, or 8-bulb TEK fixtures would be enough to allow you to keep whatever you wanted as well.
A lot of online vendors (not the bay of e) carry both halide and T5 retrofits which might be a good idea if you have a canopy.
-Justin

 

[urbanhellfire]

Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2677997
i would take the advice of someone who's owned a fixture i was considering, over someone who doesn't have a clue about it.
the hobby is also filled with people who just like to talk, without any experience on a certian matter. it's a shame that they would actually think it's ok to steer someone in the wrong direction for no apparent reason, other than to build up their post count.
just my 2 cents.
Who might you be talking about Mr x?
I was not aware not just anyone can have a opinion with out looking at there post count first.
Like I posted in my last post If you have the money for
the high end lights

if you dont have the money just buy enough lighting to cover what you would like keep for now.

 

[mr_x]

i owned one of these lights as stated earlier. it was a 250 watt hqi with actinic supplement. it didn't push the cheap chinese bulb at all, so i changed it out for an XM 10k, which most of you know as a high PAR lamp. the tank was yellow, the sps was brown, and even the zoos grew an inch tall trying to get light.
again, from experience, the ballasts and bulbs are JUNK. purchasing this fixture is throwing good money away, that you could put towards a better fixture.

 

[sharkbait9]

humm, I bought two of the hommby fixture my self. Switched out the 250watt ballast with ice cap and replaced the actinic ballast with sunpacs(did a mod thread a while back) I still have no problems with the fixture its self. Even after buying the hommby set up and ice cap 250 ballast i made out saved a lot of money.
The fixture itself, yes is a Chinese knock off, but after the simple mods I made it into a coralife pro fixture that is super bright and better IMO.
Its up the person but IMO if i can buy and mod a fixture to be better then name brand units and save some coin too, hell I’m all about that.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/315814/odyssea-light-mod-project-real-easy-n-cheaper