Pick A Light, Any Light.

[mattfrancis]

So I'm setting up a 120 gallon reef tank and I'm completely lost when it comes to lighting (I'm not a total newb, but pretty close). I know that MH are the strongest lighting, followed by T5 HO, then PC. I have PC on my current aqua pod and I hate the color my corals fade to. So I'm thinking about purchasing T5's because MH is more money than I really want to spend, and T5's are more energy efficient (Right?), and they create less heat. So I'm sold on T5HO lighting, I'm just clueless to what fixture I want. I'm been browsing around for a while on these forms and on an online store and I just want to ask if you guys and gals could pick a T5 fixture that sits on top of the tank which one would it be? The tank I'm getting is 48"x24"x24". And btw - I'd like to keep all types of corals, I've heard some people say you can keep SPS and Clams with T5's if they're near the top of the tank, is this true? Thanks in advance just for reading this. Help is much appreciated.

-Matt

 

[wangotango]

If you have a canopy, then a retrofit would probably be the cheapest and easiest way to go. The 8-bulb Icecap would be a good choice for that.
If you want to go with a fully-assembled fixture then look into the 7-bulb Aquactinics Constallation or 6-bulb Solarflare, or the 8-bulb ATI Powermodule.
Any of those would let you keep whatever you wanted wherever you wanted. You might want to be careful putting softies too close to the top though.
-Justin

 

[jstdv8]

I was reccomended the nova extreme pro for my 90 gallon, you must have a 110 so pretty similar. minimal heat, fans come on when lights come on, 6 bulbs at 54w a piece. The bulbs that come with it are not very good.
fixture cost me 349.00 new and 25 bucks for shipping to AK
overall pretty nice light for the money

 

[mattfrancis]

Thanks guys,
I'm gonna go with the 7-bulb Aquactinics Constellation since it looks promising and is a pretty good price. Thanks guys for everything, I'll post my tank up after christmas!
-Matt