Lighting sufficient to sustain corals?

[kilofey]

Currently, I have 108 watts of t5 lights, I believe its 1-10000 and 1-actanic and I am picking up a 175 watt metal haliade today.
Is it sufficient for most soft corals and some hard corals? (not that im ready for hard corals yet, but eventually I will be)
If need be, I will eventually add more light, but it seems brightly lit with just my t5 bulbs lol

 

[kilofey]

*bump*

 

[1guydude]

well...wat is ur tank dimensions or gal size?
Wat size fixture? How many watts per bulb? Wat kind of reflector?
The better reflector is the individual bulb style VVVVVV <---- kinda like that

 

[kilofey]

Oh wow, sorry I forgot alot of info lol...
the tank is 75gal, 4ft x 18" x 2ft
There is no reflector at the moment for the halide, I will have to get one. I believe the guy said the halide is 175watt. For the t5s there is one 54watt actanic and one 54watt 10000k. they are 48".
I dont really know much about lighting... Im sorry :sad: still have lots to learn

 

[1guydude]

well imo if u get a reflector for ur Mh and place that above ur tank....u could use ur t5s for just actintics! People with Mhs i believe only run their Mh for like 4-6hrs and use the actintics for dusk/dawn effect and just viewing!
Dont forget the moonlight man! You will want one! I recommend the R2 solutions LED moonlight!
Its kool man were all n00bs sometime and i still consider myself n00bish.....LOTS to learn man!

 

[acrylic51]

1 MH isn't going to give you complete tank coverage, but depending on the setup of your tank you don't theoretically have to light the entire tank. As stated you can use the T5's for actinic or supplemental lighting......Moonlights aren't a requirement and are more for our enjoyment.