Lighting

[72gallon]

Can anybody point me in the right direction for proper lighting for a 72 gallon tank? I currently have Coralife Aqualight Power Compact 130 watt. I am not sure if this is enough wattage for Anemones. How many watts do I need? How is the IceCap Ballast sold on this web site? Do I need extra equipment? $179 seems a bit cheap.

 

[rayraypico]

I am not sure about an anemone but I do know if its $179 for a ballast then you are just getting a ballast. Look up retro-fit kits they are usually the whole kit you need which includes bulb, ballast, wiring, and reflector plate. I would recomend metal halide lighting you will never need to upgrade you can keep anything you want in your tank and it is absolutly the best lighting.

 

[robchuck]

130W of PC is definately not enough for anemones. You might be able to keep a Bubble Tip Anemone under 300+ watts of PC, but the general consensus among hobbiests is that anemones require metal halide lighting to survive.
$179 is an alright price for the ballast mentioned in your first post, as some LFSes I've encountered have tried selling them for well north of $200. RAYRAYPICO mentioned that you would only be getting a ballast for that price. You would still need to purchase wiring, endcaps, and most importantly, bulbs. To put that all over your 72g, you would easily need to spend $300 or more. With that kind of money, you might as well take a look at MH, as you could find dual 175W or even dual 250W retrofit kits near the $300 mark.