lights for a 90g

[scottbert]

Hey Folks,

well, I got a 90g tank today, but I am stuck on what to do for lighting. My plan for the tank is to have some corals, and some fish. On the coral side im thinking anemone's , bubble coral, colt coral, polyps, and then fish. Ive heard lots now about LED lights, just wondering what I can get away with. Im not interested in spending loads of $...so Im sure you see my dilemma. Any suggestions would be great. Is 1w LED's enough??

 

[clownsrcoo]

I'd say if you aren't ready to spend $500+ on lights right now then LEDs aren't the way for you to go right now. Go for T5's for now and look at adding LEDs later and possibly use the T5s in addition or sell them for LED upgrade money down the line.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I would use the stock lights for a few months while you save up for leds. it will take at least three months for your tank to stabilize and for you to quit adding as many fish. once your tank has stabilized, and you manage to keep the green algae away and any diatoms, and you get in a good feeding routine with your fish, and learn how to do proper water changes and tank maintenance, then it is time to upgrade the lighting system before introducing anemones and corals. If you save a hundred a month for lights, you can easily buy the perfect lighting system for your tank by the time you are ready for corals. I highly recommend purchasing a photon 48 by reefbreeders. I had one of these lights before I took my system offline, but I could tell that my sps corals loved them.

Again, I strongly recommend that you wait and research a bit more and learn more about your tank and let it all stabilize after you have added your fish and clean up crew to your tank. a simple shop light will work fine for the time being to light your tank while you are saving up for a decent lighting system. Why would you buy something cheap now, when you don't need it, only to buy something more expensive later and junk the other?

LEDs are nice. they will save you plenty of electricity cost and bulb changes. LEDs get hot, but not as hot as metal halides or T5HO lighting systems... so you would end up having more stable temperatures. Ultimately, the decision is up to you.