lighting question

chris0799

chris0799

Member
hi im planning on starting up a 55g reef tank in the near future and i have some concerns about the lights. i understand that the metal halide lights are suppose to be the best but i just cant afford those bc im only 15 and dont have alot of money for that. so what would be a type of light thats not all that expensive that can support sps and lps corals. and mabey an anemone. i have a couple sets of polyps and mushrooms right now and a xinea. can someone help me?
 
cedarreef

cedarreef

Member
t-5s are really good. they can support sps as well as anemones. the nova extreme pro is a great fixture. and i totally understand your problem. im 14 and had to save up for a while to afford my mh fixture. hope this helps!
 
cedarreef

cedarreef

Member
watts per gallon isn't really a good way to measure it... it all depends on the type of light. 150 watts of pc light isn't going to be the same as 150 watts of mh light. the nova extreme pro by current for a 55 would be giving out 324 watts which is a good amount. if you want, you could always retrofit some mh lights for a lot cheaper than a fixture would be.
 
cedarreef

cedarreef

Member
if you have a canopy, you can retrofit some MHs which would just be hooking up some mh bulbs with individual reflectors to the top of the canopy. if you don't have a canopy then you could probably get some pendants, bulbs, and ballasts to hang above the tank from the ceiling. check out some diy lighting threads on this site. i know there are a lot of them. will try to find some to post the link for you.
 
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