need help with lighting system

C

cardstars

Guest
i need to get a new lighting system for my 75 gal aqarium and i was wondering if i could get some help on which kind to buy. it sounds like vho is the way to go because i am going to have live sand and rock, maybe a couple anenomes, shrimp and crabs and a couple fish but i am confused on how many watts i should look for it to have. and does anybody know where i can find a good vho lighting system for a decent price cause all of the ones I have seen were $400+ an i dont have that much $$$. Or can i get a different lighting system that would cost less and work just fine? ive been told that my lighting system wont quite work. i have a single 48'' right now, and i think i am going to need more light. Any ideas would be great
 

melbournefl

Member
General rule of thumb is 4-7 watts per gallon so your tank would be 300 to 525 watts. You have about 40 watts over it now. Just to add insult to injury, anenomes require the high end of that lighting range. Unfortunately there is no "cheap" way to get there but I'd suggest you looking at a DIY hood with compact florescent fixtures, they run *about* $120 for a dual 95 watt fixture with reflector and *about* $40 for each bulb. The fish, inverts and rock don't require any more light than needed to view them, the corals and anenomes are where you'd run into costly lighting.
Just my .02 of course,
Paul
 
Top