lighting questions- totally confused!

[leenie]

:notsure: My head is spinning from everything there is to know about setting up my aquarium! I am just starting out so I don't have any fish. I have a 50 gal Seaclear System II aquarium, with flourescent lights (a white and an actinic), 50 lbs of LR, 20 lbs of LS on top of 20 lbs of aragonite, a cleanup crew and 2 shrimp. My QT has not finished cycling so I don't have any fish yet.
This is what I want to do, I eventually want to have some Maiden Hair algae in there, and then some BTA's and some clams. Maybe some time in the future a coral or two, but right now I am too intimidated to try that! Okay to my question:
What kind of lighting do I need? Do I need Metal Hallide? And if so, what wattage? And do I need two different kinds to get the blue and white color? Can I buy a retrofit system so I won't need a new light hood? I've been looking at hellolights.com and they sell those there...
I'm looking for the best way, and the most economical way to do this since I'm going broke with just what I have already! Any advice would be really appreciated, since I am totally confused!!!

 

[jc74]

If you're looking for an economical lighting system, I wouldn't go with MH. For one, they can be pretty expensive initially, and they also take a lot of electricity to run. A four-lamp power compact flourescent may be enough for your tank. I just got one for my 75 gallon and green algae is growing like wild fire! I've never had green algae before, and wish I could get rid of it. I'm still looking for tips.

 

[jedininja]

But if you want clams, then you pretty much NEED metal halide.

 

[saltcreep]

If you are looking at clams and corals, MH are the way to go. I started my 55 with fish only and normal output lights for over two years to make sure I was able to maintain it. If you can not keep fish alive you can forget about corals. So i would personally leave it for now, start with a few fish and let things settle in. Give you a chance to get used to monitoring parameters and doing water changes. Save some money, a little here and there and then look into getting a retro fit from hellolights. Build a canopy to house the lights in, I did this and I have no woodworking exp at all and did it for 40 dollars and it looks great. I went with the 2 175w 10k bulbs and 2 110 vho setup.
I would hate to see you spend all this money upfront on lights and corals and then get frustrated because you do not have the expertise to keep them. Slow is best with this hobby!

 

[reefnut]

BTA's and some clams
With that being said I third the MH's. A watt is a watt no matter what type of bulb your running so the electricity cost isn't any more with MH than with PC depending on the overall wattage.
The extra usable light and penetration that MH's provide over PC, VHOs, etc is however worth the additional setup cost IMO... and with your critter selection I think it's the better choice.
Keep in mind lighting is only one of the requirements, water quality, feeding, water movement, etc are also equally important.

 

[rangermonroe]

I also would recommend the MH from the get go. By the way, why are you waiting for your QT to cycle before you get any fish? The Idea of a QT is to keep the fish you have from catching something from a new one. But if I had no fish would bypass the QT for the first batch.

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by jc74
If you're looking for an economical lighting system, I wouldn't go with MH. For one, they can be pretty expensive initially, and they also take a lot of electricity to run. A four-lamp power compact flourescent may be enough for your tank. I just got one for my 75 gallon and green algae is growing like wild fire! I've never had green algae before, and wish I could get rid of it. I'm still looking for tips.
get some plant life you like to look at. The green algae is extremely beneficial to your system. replaceing it with better plant life is the very best thing.

 

[reefnut]

I think it's a good idea to QT all the fish... even the first one.

 

[beaslbob]

If you are strapped try using the sun. Got a south facing window available?

 

[jc74]

Originally posted by ReefNut
BTA's and some clams
With that being said I third the MH's. A watt is a watt no matter what type of bulb your running so the electricity cost isn't any more with MH than with PC depending on the overall wattage.
My point is that if he's looking for economical lighting, then maybe he should look into corals/animals that don't require quite as much light. A friend of mine has a 500+ watt MH setup and his electric bill went up considerably, not to mention the fixtures themselves cost much more than a good power compact fixture (unless you go homemade). I also heard that PC lamps last much longer. Hey, if he has the money I'd say go with MH too, but I know how it can be when you're strapped for cash. After I finish school I'll probably go that route myself.

 

[reefnut]

My point is that if he's looking for economical lighting, then maybe he should look into corals/animals that don't require quite as much light.
I didn't read that into your first post. I would agree with that statement.
I have 800w of MH and 220w of VHO's on the 110g and didn't see that much of an increase on the electric bill. Along with 260w of PC on the 55g and 32w of PC on the 6g, along with the pumps, power heads, etc I'm sure there was an increase.