What's your opinion ?

emilaya101

emilaya101

Member
Alright, so I think I found the light for me. I have a 55 gallon tank, almost throught with it's cycle, and I really want to go reef. bad.
anyways, I was wondering if this is sufficient lighting for my tank. Someone on this sit told me at least 300 watts for an anemone, and this is 400, so I figure It would work
BUT, I am the newb here, so tell me waht you know, and feel free to make suggestions
Thanks so much !!
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by Emilaya101
http:///forum/post/2588803
Alright, so I think I found the light for me. I have a 55 gallon tank, almost throught with it's cycle, and I really want to go reef. bad.
anyways, I was wondering if this is sufficient lighting for my tank. Someone on this sit told me at least 300 watts for an anemone, and this is 400, so I figure It would work
BUT, I am the newb here, so tell me waht you know, and feel free to make suggestions
Thanks so much !!
Ummmm... what lighting? I see nothing but wattage posted. What type? T5, MH, PC?
 
namas05

namas05

Member
I think a 400 watt MH over a 55 is way over kill. Not to mention that you will probably end up frying half your corals, when you get them.
Besides the fact that you will probably want something with some actinic suppliment.
Try something with say 2- 150 HQI MH and maybe a couple 54 watt T-5 actinic suppliments. You will be able to keep anything you would like under that and not end up frying it all. IMO
Just a Note watts are not the end all of light measurements. All lighting puts out different PAR. MH watts does not equal T-5 watts doesn't equal PC watts.
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
IMO 400 watts in one bulb over your tank yes too much. But a fixture with 2 150's in it so the light is dispursed throught your whole tank would be much better and not over kill at all. Where the issue lies is putting the entire light source in one bulb over the center of your tank. The left and right sides of the tank would be dark.
 
emilaya101

emilaya101

Member
Is there an alternative to buying two 150 watts, is there a way to buy just one light for my tank, or is two my only option
Thanks !!
 
rdm

rdm

Member
Originally Posted by Emilaya101
http:///forum/post/2589395
Is there an alternative to buying two 150 watts, is there a way to buy just one light for my tank, or is two my only option
Thanks !!
Are you concerned about multiple lights, or multiple fixtures? Most MH combos have 2 or 3 MH's in one fixture.
My Outer Orbit fixture is a 2x150 plus 4x39 T5HO. This is all in one fixture
 
slpcamaro

slpcamaro

Member
Originally Posted by rdm
http:///forum/post/2589487
Are you concerned about multiple lights, or multiple fixtures? Most MH combos have 2 or 3 MH's in one fixture.
My Outer Orbit fixture is a 2x150 plus 4x39 T5HO. This is all in one fixture
if you have enough t-5 would you still need mg for coral?
 
rdm

rdm

Member
Originally Posted by slpcamaro
http:///forum/post/2589499
if you have enough t-5 would you still need mg for coral?
From the research I have done, if *enough* T5 lighting is used, you don't "need" MH lighting. This is just my novice opinion based on my forum research.
I choose the MH T5 combo because of the ability to keep any type of coral I wish as well as the aesthetics that the MH lighting offers (often called the shimmer, or frankly just a better replication of the sun.)
Do some searching, there is a ton of info on both types of lighting.
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by slpcamaro
http:///forum/post/2589499
if you have enough t-5 would you still need mg for coral?
No because your tank is not that deep. If it were 24' or deeper I would say that to reach the bottom MH's are necessary. But if you dont plan on keeping corals that require that intense lighting on the bottom of your tank then 24" still would be ok for T5's just make sure they are HO and individually reflected. There are many sps tanks running with T5 fixtures, and thrive with them.
 
emilaya101

emilaya101

Member
Awseome ! that is wonderful to hear. I am going to look into t5s then, thanks so much for all the help, I'll probably have more question by the end of the day, so I'll talk to you guys later, Thanks
 
namas05

namas05

Member
If you are using T-5 only you will want at least a 4 bulb unit. I would shoot for a 5 - 6 bulb unit personally.
I run T-5 only on my 45, I have 6 - 39 watt bulbs and I can keep sps, lps and softies with out any issues.
If you have T-5 you will need more than 2 -bulbs to keep your corals happy.
And if you want an anemone I would shoot for 6 bulbs. It would probably be better to lean towards the MH for anenome, but T-5 will give it enough light to live, but I do not recommend keeping one in a brand new tank.
Let your tank mature for 6 months to a year before adding. You will have better success that way.
 
emilaya101

emilaya101

Member
I definitely plan on waiting before I add an anemone, much less, any corals at all, this is my first tank after all, so I'm gonna keep only the cuc and a pair of clowns for at leat 6 months before I add anything else, no need to rush any thing. I also found a HO 4 bulb fixtore for $300, and I think it's the one for me, what do ya'll think ? It's the USA sundial 4x54 watt fixture, Will this be good for now? And I'll just be sure to but one more two light fixture before I get an anemone, Does that sound good ?
 
keri

keri

Active Member
...as a side note: You could probably grow some really wicked pot with that MH light (which I'm sure the original owner did - "indoor gardening" Ha!)
 
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