what kind of lighting should I get?

kimgpk

Member
I am still a newbie tank had been set up since early January. Right now I just have a 46 Gal bow front ( 37"wide 21" height 12 1/2" deep) FOWLR tank and I was wanting to add some zoos in the near future and maybe some other polyps and do not want to change light fixtures everytime I decided to add something new. I heard good things about MH lighting what does everyone think? :notsure:
 

pfitz44

Active Member
If you do MH, you will never need to upgrade.
All softies can be kept under PC lighting, no problem
Anenomies. Clams, and Stonies need the MH
 

adamc1303

Active Member
For a 46 gallon and for the zoos you don't need MH they will heat up your tank quickly unles you will be running a chiller. Go with Power compacts, they are cheaper, cooler and won't run you huge electric bills.
 

wrigley11

Member
MH would be overkill for what you are planning on adding. MH also generate a lot of heat, so unless you can mount the light a good distance from tank, you will have temperature problems.
If I were you, I would look into VHO's or PC lighting... If you are a little handy you can pick up the need pieces and save yourself a little money.
If you are looking for used lighting... I actually have some 6 month old PC lighting ballasted that were used over an aggressive tank. Let me know if you are interested and we could figure out a price. I have 55W and 96W options...
Hope that helps....
 

kimgpk

Member
what is the difference between all my lighting choices right now all I have are standard light that came with my tank from coralife. What kind of wattage do think then. I really didn't want to hang anything from my ceiling though I have my tank in my living room (it's semi formal).
(do you think anyone could be this clueless)
 

wrigley11

Member
Hear are the basic options if are looking to have corals...
Metal Halid, Power Compact, or VHO
I believe you stated that you had a bowfront 46 gallon tank.
If you have a canopy on the tank... you could mount bulbs inside the canopy. If you don't have a canopy, you will have to purchase a lighting unit.
Since you are working with a bowfront tank and don't want to mount anything, I completely understand having a wife myself - she would kill me if I mounted a Metal Halide in the formal room. I would do with PC or VHO.
As for the two PC will be great until the ballast gets about 3-4 years old. Then you will have problems. The bulbs also only last for about 9 months before the wavelength shifts and algea will become a problem.
VHOs are my personal favorite for a tank that is not going to have highlight corals. You can do some SPS with VHOs, just stay away from anything with bright corals and no stagehorn corals or small clams.
If you get close to 5w/gallon or higher, your lighting should be fine for 80% of the stuff out there. I have a 125 right now running 6 - 140 VHO bulbs and I can keep almost anything. Everything in the tank has been a live for around 5 years also... so I don't want to hear about wasting. Everything is actually growing/dividing at this time.
 

kimgpk

Member
Hey I am the wife
my husband bought me the tank for x-mas. So you think I should go with VHO and 5watts per gallon should be enough. I do have a so called canopy it's a plastic peice of s!&% fi you know what I mean. So hard to get in and out of it considering I am only 5' tall and it stands with canopy just under that.
 

kimgpk

Member
Originally Posted by WRIGLEY11
I completely understand having a wife myself - she would kill me if I mounted a Metal Halide in the formal room.
Hey I am the wife
my husband bought me the tank for x-mas. So you think I should go with VHO and 5watts or more per gallon should be enough. I do have a so called canopy it's a plastic peice of s!&% if you know what I mean. So hard to get in and out of it considering I am only 5' tall and it stands with canopy just under that.
 

wrigley11

Member
See then you completely understand why my wife would kill me if I mounted a ceiling hanging metal halide in one of the formal rooms... If you have a canopy... make sure the lights will fit and you can still get into the tank for maintenance, feeding, etc... If the canopy doesn't work, this could be the reason to upgrade or remove it all together.
As for VHOs... they produce the least amount of heat between the three... so this alone will be worth it weight in gold.
Rememeber that the bulbs will have to be changed about every 6 months. Yes the bulb will still firer, but the wavelength with only be good for growing algea and stunning the growth/slowly killing your corals. Unless you like algea, if that is the case run the lights 24 hours a day and never change them.
Since the tank is only 37" wide you probably will not be able to fit the 36" bulb with the end connectors... But three 24" bulbs will still give you 225w (75w each). That should more then enough lighting for soft corals, polps, mushrooms, etc.
As for the ballast... try to go with iceCap - I have never heard anything bad about the company and they are working great for me.
I you have any question... you can always email me directly...
 

wrigley11

Member
See then you completely understand why my wife would kill me if I mounted a ceiling hanging metal halide in one of the formal rooms... If you have a canopy... make sure the lights will fit and you can still get into the tank for maintenance, feeding, etc... If the canopy doesn't work, this could be the reason to upgrade or remove it all together.
As for VHOs... they produce the least amount of heat between the three... so this alone will be worth it weight in gold.
Rememeber that the bulbs will have to be changed about every 6 months. Yes the bulb will still firer, but the wavelength with only be good for growing algea and stunning the growth/slowly killing your corals. Unless you like algea, if that is the case run the lights 24 hours a day and never change them.
Since the tank is only 37" wide you probably will not be able to fit the 36" bulb with the end connectors... But three 24" bulbs will still give you 225w (75w each). That should more then enough lighting for soft corals, polps, mushrooms, etc.
As for the ballast... try to go with iceCap - I have never heard anything bad about the company and they are working great for me.
If you have any question... you can always email me directly...
 

dapperdan

Member
I agree with Wrigley, which ever type of lighting you end up going with use a IceCap ballast to light the bulbs.
DD
 
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