Need Lighting HELP!!!

[lilzeus99]

I am in the process of priming and painting my tank stand and canopy that I have built. I have some lighting question though.
I'm looking at the retrofit fixtures with reflectors for my canopy.
I was originally wanting to do a small reef style tank, but think that I will start out with a FOWLR set up and get fish that are reef safe and maybe upgrade later.
For a fish only set up, Would this set up be okay for fish only? Later doubling this fixture and going with 2 10 bulbs?
"Two 39 Watt HO 460nm Actinic T5 fluorescent lamps"
Is there anything I need different, or will this light up the tank well and make the fish look good?
Thanks for you help in advance.
BTW....tank is 45Gallon 36x12x24
shane

 

[saltn00b]

since you are building it now, why dont you finish the build and add all of the T5s now?
if not, yes you could run FOWLR tank just on actinics if you wanted to, but i would get one actinic and one 12k for a nice crisp blue white.
even better if you can turn them on seperately on timers so you have sunrise / sunset effect.

 

[lilzeus99]

I am building it now, and am planning on installing the lights in the canopy before water ever even hits the tank. If I buy this pair of lights, I can swap one of the builbs out, that would be no problem. Would you suggest the 12k over the 10k? And why, which is better..I know they make 14k and 20k also.
But would this wattage and two lamps be enough for a FOWLR?
Thanks for the response and suggestions.
shane

 

[saltn00b]

Originally Posted by lilzeus99
http:///forum/post/2754339
I am building it now, and am planning on installing the lights in the canopy before water ever even hits the tank. If I buy this pair of lights, I can swap one of the builbs out, that would be no problem. Would you suggest the 12k over the 10k? And why, which is better..I know they make 14k and 20k also.
12k with actinics is a nice color, it is really your preference. the lower the K generally the more, faster coral growth, the higher the K, generally the more intense the coloration. the beauty of big T-5 rigs is that you can get the best of both worlds running at the same time. for now , for you, just worry about what color you want your tank to look.
low K's are red, 10k is yellowish
12k is pretty pure white
going up to 20k gets bluer
you dont need 20k if you have actinics IMO. 20k makes sense if you have a MH system for example , without actinic supplementation.
But would this wattage and two lamps be enough for a FOWLR?
you can run a FOWLR without lights. nothing is photo dependent, so it is really up to you. if you plan on upgrading to reef, get the work done now IMO.
Thanks for the response and suggestions.
shane
i answered in red

 

[lilzeus99]

Thanks a bunch for your time and response. I think if I order that current usa fixture that I will order another 12k bulb for it so I can run one of each.
I wish I could do the 4 bulb set up now, but my problem is that I don't have enough room in my canopy to run these lights with the reflectors that come with them, unless I make some sort of reflector home made. I haven't found a fixture that utilizes 4 T5 HO bulbs with the size restrictions I have. All I really have for size is about 35x7

later
Shane

 

[saltn00b]

its a 12" wide tank, why do you only have half of that space?

 

[lilzeus99]

This is my first go around with really building anything like this, and my top opens up on the front side, I still could mount a light on the door and it will just open with the entry point to the top of the tank I guess. I should have the painting done tonight, and I'll try and figure out how to post some pics. I really should have build it a tad different.
My father-n-law helped me with the project, and it has all come out pretty good accept for the canopy, as far as function is concerned. He finished it with out me, and I would have done it different, but I guess you can't complain, I couldn't have done any of it if it wherent for him.