T12 Lighting?

saltymarine

saltymarine

Member
Anyone heard of it and is it any good? I could buy a 29 Gallon Tank with
3, 20" T12 VHO lights. Is this decent enough lights for soft corals? How easy would it be to upgrade. I have photos posted in the Nano section under is it worth it? Any input would be helpful.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
I'm not familiar with 20" VHO lamps - which tends to suggest there is no such thing. The shortest VHO lamps I'm aware of are 24". I could be dead wrong, and if I am, I know someone here will correct me.
You may want to get the seller to tell you the wattages of the lamps. 24" lamps are 75w, so I'd expect 20", if they exist, to be not much less than that.
NORMAL T12 fluorescent lamps come in 18 and 24 (among other) lengths. The 18" would be closest to 20", they are 15w.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
my first reef tank configuration was 2 110w T-12 VHO's over my 150. it was weak and i saw almost no growth. some LPS withered and died. perhaps if i had double those bulbs it would have made a difference. also, the bulbs will be hard to find, hard to replace, and only come in a few choices.i dont recommend it.
 
saltymarine

saltymarine

Member
Maybe they are 24" I am not sure. I asked the people to give me the wattage and he didn't know I will have to call them this evening.
 
saltymarine

saltymarine

Member
Update: The lights are actually VHO 24" 75 watt and there are 3 of them in a 29G tank. What corals will this support?
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Pretty much anything you want. I'd skip clams, anemones, or SPS though. The lighting would probably squeak by with them, but there are other reasons not to. Clams and anemones get too big, and a 29g is going to be difficult to keep stable (especially for a beginner) enough for SPS to thrive.
 
saltymarine

saltymarine

Member
I was thinking the same thing I am actually not a beginner I had a 55G reef in California and I used to frequent this site under a different name (that I forgot of course) and now I am just looking for opinions because I know everything changes over time. I would never own a clam or anemone unless I had Metal Halides and a larger tank with pristine water conditions. Thanks for the help!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top