Quote:
Originally Posted by
islandborn83 http:///t/389856/nedd-your-extertise-asap-t5ho-on-my-30-tall-tank#post_3448386
I am in the process of buying an Aquaticlife 36" 4x39w fixture tomorrow and I hope to get your opinion/suggestion before i make the purchase. Well, I am currently setting up a 70 gallon tall reef tank 36x15x30 with a canopy (the wife's idea, only so i don't have here her complain about me spending the money to fix it up lol) but I have been lost/confused/stressed you name it about the lighting I should go with. The 15x30 is killing me! I plan to have SPS on the top tier, LPS middle, and zoas/mushrooms on bottom. I am very concerned for my high end zoas colonies on the bottom (utter chaos, CARs, etc....) Can I get away using a 4 bulb fixture? will the Aquaticlife 36" T5HO 4X39w fixture work? I plan to saw open the top of the canopy since its so high you can really see the top. Please help thank you very much, Joe
Welcome to the site,
I plan to attach a 6 bulb T5HO unit over my 90g. I purchased three linkable units. I also removed the hinged top off of my canopy...don't saw anything you will allow the canopy to warp. A tall tank is a bit tricky to get enough light to the bottom.
Zoa needs better lights than mushrooms. If it were me, zoa whould also be placed in the middle. T5s run pretty cool so putting the unit in the canopy should not be a problem. I hung my lights, or if you are handy you could make a little shelf in the canopy for the lights to rest on.
If you were to go with the linkable T5s, start with two units (4 bulbs) and if it isn't powerful enough get the third unit. That will be cheaper in the long run than purchasing a 4 bulb unit and decide to upgrade later and have to buy a whole new light..
An Aquaticlife 30 inch linkable unit costs $110.00 each, a 4 bulb unit (2 linkables) will run you $220.00....if you upgrade from that you only spend another $110.00 instead of buying another entire light system.
