what kind of light system should i get?

[philgmiami]

i have a 55g --- :notsure: im going next friday to buy some lighting.. i just have the florecent bulb that came with the tank..then ill buy some live rock.. the light im getn has one 4ft blue and 1 4ft white.. im paying around $200 for light .. im not sure of the watts.in the future i want to make it a reef tank.some animones and live coral.. whats a good light system with a resnable price?

 

[bigarn]

The minimum you'd want is power compact .... If you want to keep anemones and clams down the road, go with metal halide lights.

 

[airforceb2]

$200 isn't going to cut it for anemones or corals. You will shell out at least $500 for PCs and MHs. Sounds like you are getting T5s if there is only 2 long lights in the hood and that is nowhere near what you would need for a nice reef tank.

 

[kaotik]

i'd do some more research on exactly what you want to get and what those animals need to survive. Anemone and most coral need strong lighting which almost always means Metal Halide. These are also more $$$!! Decide whether you want to spend the money or not as well.
What kind of lights are those that you are talking about?
Regular flourescent: Sounds kinda $$$ (fish only with live rock)
VHO flourescent: About right price (fish and a select few coral)
Power Compact: Good deal (fish, some more types of coral)
this also all depends on the wattage of the light!!!
(Actually depends on more than wattage, but thats just a start)
either way, they are not Metal Halides, so its not going to be enough later on when you want to try corals/anemone/clams.

 

[jlem]

Originally Posted by airforceb2
$200 isn't going to cut it for anemones or corals. You will shell out at least $500 for PCs and MHs. Sounds like you are getting T5s if there is only 2 long lights in the hood and that is nowhere near what you would need for a nice reef tank.
I have a VHO 2 bulb retrofit kit on my 55 gallon frag tank and I keep RBT anenames. the 55 gallons are not that deep so You don't need MH to keep most things, plus you will have to shell out twice as much for a chiller as you will spend on your lights if you go with MH's. Look into a VHO retrofit kit and start with a 2 bulb kit and then if you choose more light you can just buy a 4 bulb harness and run up to 440 watts of light. With 2-110 watt VHO bulbs you can keep everything but stoneys and probably some of them if they are placed high enough.

 

[murph145]

i picked up a 4x65W dual actinic and dayligth current PC system for my canopy for around $220 that would give u enough ligh to keep some of the easier corals and anemoneas...
i have a total of 470W over my 100 g and i have various corals and anemoneas.... nothing too light demanding but a couple LPS/polyps/shrooms/RBTA's and LTA's all doing good