What lighting for a reef is best?

[supersaltwater]

I am very interested in buying a variety of corals. The problem is I'm not sure what type of lighting is the best for them. Any recommendations on the lights wattage and color would help. Im about to buy my lights and after that I plan on buying some coral.
some stats:
60 gal 16 inch height 48 inch long 15 inch back, tons of live rock and live sand. Its not to tall so I don't need to much power right? I prefer to save $$$ on the lights so I have more to buy on corals. Currently I have 1 40 watt t-8 actinic and 1 40 watt t-12 6500 k both 48 inch long and Tube fluorescents. They are as long as the tank. I've had the tank for 50 days and I have a lot of Coraline Algae growing, I assume thats a good sign. Let me know what you think if possible.
i have 10 fish in there should i remove some?

 

[fraggle rock]

well for me I would lean toward T5HO, the NOva extreme Pro 6 lamp 48" youll be able to keep anything, no moon light but lots of PAR and great lumrns per watt, pluss less heat then MH. Any of the T5 would work well, you lose the point source of a MH, (the shimmer) but with your current T8/T12 you dont have that anyway. Look on the auction and classified sites for deals on used 9 you will want to buy new lamps then, and buy good ones, UVI, Giessman, to name a few) New you could live with the factory lamps with succsess for some time, they just are not the same as the above mentioned ones.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Nova extremes (T5HO) are great lights for the money. I agree with FR on that one. You can find some cheap used systems out there online if you look hard enough. Or, you could go with 4x96 watt power compact retrofit systems and build your own canopy. I've had much success with that sort of system. Even a 4x65 watt Power Compact retrofit system would do well for that short of a tank. Only thing about retrofit kits is that you have to electrical tape the ballast and the socket lines together, you know... red with red, black with black, green with green wires... not that difficult. They give you the clips and everything so that you can easily install it into a canopy. Check it out - you can save some money and have some neat corals.
You might not be able to keep some of the higher-end hard to keep Small Polyp Stony (sps) corals under that lighting, but pretty much anything else for the time being will definately work.

 

[jesse!]

Get the 48" tek 4x54w T5HO it has individual reflectors. I just ordered mine.

 

[lietz06]

+ 1 on the t-5's. I have the 72" nova extreme pro and i really like it. Like they said before, you don't get the shimmer effect you do with MH lighting but that's alright. I've read where ppl are adding some led lighting to get that shimmer effect if it's something thats important to you.

 

[snakeblitz33]

VHO retrofit kits are also cheap and well-worth the money, I believe. Retrofit kits in general can save you money if you are willing to spend the little extra needed.

 

[spanko]

buy the best lights and spend the money up front. Your coral you get later will thank you for it by staying alive, colored up, and growing. Don't skimp on lighting to buy coral, your coral you get will suffer from insufficient lighting. To me lighting is one of the most important factors in a reef tank!!!!

 

[mr.clownfish]

about your fish... 10 is ok to have but no tangs especially in that small tank. so i would get rid of the blue hippo tang and any other tang. the only tang i recommend is the kole tang but u need to reduce your fish by half in order to have one.

 

[sminker]

avoid VHO and Power Compacts.
VHO has limited bulb selections and have lower PAR than T5HO. Power Compacts lose PAR incredibly fast and you HAVE to replace bulbs every six months or you will start having algae and stunted coral growth.
T5HO or Halide.
I prefer T5 for the bulb configurations and less heat. Halides have the shimmer.
which ever you prefer or how much money you have.
retro kits will give you more bang for the buck, not to mention you can get way more PAR with the right reflectors.

 

[sminker]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3149267
buy the best lights and spend the money up front. Your coral you get later will thank you for it by staying alive, colored up, and growing. Don't skimp on lighting to buy coral, your coral you get will suffer from insufficient lighting. To me lighting is one of the most important factors in a reef tank!!!!
dont forget the skimmer and RO/DI water

 

[s0s0sleepy]

I have the same tank you have and i started just at about the same way you are starting. The first pic is what it look liked with the lights that it came with, and the rest are with Metal Halides. I highly recommend going with MH. They are really great and the corals show it. But you will have to buy a chiller.

 

[supersaltwatr]

Originally Posted by Mr.clownfish
http:///forum/post/3149377
about your fish... 10 is ok to have but no tangs especially in that small tank. so i would get rid of the blue hippo tang and any other tang. the only tang i recommend is the kole tang but u need to reduce your fish by half in order to have one.
I'm 10 gallons off the minimum on the blue tang. For now it'll stay. I plan on upgrading.

 

[supersaltwatr]

Originally Posted by s0s0sleepy
http:///forum/post/3149472
I have the same tank you have and i started just at about the same way you are starting. The first pic is what it look liked with the lights that it came with, and the rest are with Metal Halides. I highly recommend going with MH. They are really great and the corals show it. But you will have to buy a chiller.

Nice yeah they got some cool MH on Aquatraders.com
what you think of Odyssea 48" 500W Metal Halide System Basic
Online Price $199.00
Fixture Size: 47.25 x 8.20 x 2.50
With Mounting Legs Installed: 48 x 8.20x 6
Support:
2x 250W Double Ended HQI
12x Dual Bluemoon LED

 

[supersaltwatr]

I'm guessing Aquatraders is crap, I think I want t5.
how about these?
18 inch wide, 4 x 54W T5HO Linear Fluorescent, Lamps and Cord Kits sold separately.48 long
$74.50 for the 4X54watt t5HO without the lamps and cords, good deal?

 

[supersaltwatr]

This is what I currently have:
Tank is only 16inch tall, so that lowers my requirements.
I have
3 X 40 watt 6500K t12 bulbs 4 feet long as tank.
1 X 40 watt Actinic bulb also as long as tank.
Is this ok for a reef tank only 16 inch tall?
Do I really need to upgrade? I do not plan on SPS coral with these anyways. I want Ricordeas, Mushroom, Zoanthids, Palythoas, lps and Xenias
70-100 lbs of live rock (never weighed got it free)
50 lbs of live sand (hasn't arrived from Dr foster Smith yet)
6 lbs of Garf Grunge. (not yet arrived)
I prefer not to upgrade if i dont need too.

%%
Here is a photo.
Here is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxzO-kiO_M0

 

[jpgnmt]

I started with PC compacts and had trouble even with LPS so I switched to T5's and did better but while corals stayed alive it didn't seem like anything was growing. I just added a MH to the T5's and the difference is obvious and immediate. I could have saved money by getting the correct lights first so I second the opinions expressed here that money spent on lights now will yield big rewards later.

 

[supersaltwater]

Metal Halides it is. I will order ASAP!!!