Where are the lighting professionals? Need to choose a set.

jintz

jintz

New Member
Trying to find the appropriate lighting for my 125 gallon tank (dimensions are 60 x 18 x 24). I plan to have LR, LS, inverts, fish and a single Bubble coral. The only reason I want a bubble coral is because I like the way it looks and have read up on it. I will not be getting any other coral in the foreseeable future as I know they can be difficult to care for. I asked the LFS I would like to go with power compacts and this is what he said I would need :
Power compacts retrofit 2-65 watt Actinic and 2-65 watt 10,000K which equals to 265 watts. some have told me thats not enough. Alright here's some more confusion for me...
In doing some research I came upon a website that says something different. Ill just post the chart for my size tank :
60" x 18" x 24" 125 gallons :
60" VHO 4x140W (560W total)
60" Metal Halide 2X175WMH, 2X96W PC (542W Total)
SIX 20" Aqualight PC 1x96 QUAD (576W total)
SIX 20" SunPaq PC 1x96 QUAD (576W total)
I dont want to get the wrong lighting the might not be enough light. I dont want something too strong that might hurt the coral (Im not sure if thats possible BTW).
If there is anybody that knows thier stuff and can gimme some real specs on what I need and I mean word for word not just "hey go with a t-5 set" I would be greatful.
My tank is on order and Im trying to get my lights taken care of. Thanks
 
rbaldino

rbaldino

Active Member
From everything I've read, bubble coral requires moderate light, so anything short of metal halide will probably work. The thing is, if you just want the one coral, why spend a lot on lighting the entire tank? Getting a MH pendant or clamp-on fixture just for a small area where you'd keep the bubble and going with standard flourescent for the rest of the tank should work just fine, though it might look a little weird. If you decide to go with a lot of light for the whole tank, I'd go with the second setup you listed (60" Metal Halide 2X175WMH, 2X96W PC - 542W Total). That won't be cheap, though, and if you're going to spend that kind of money you might as well try and keep more than just the bubble coral.
 
jintz

jintz

New Member
What kind of lighting would you suggest since you mentioned anything short of MH would work. I have no idea on which one to get...there are so many out there.
 
jintz

jintz

New Member
Originally Posted by hot883
This needs to be moved as suggested above to get the real professionals opinions. Barry
Thanks hot...Seems Im having trouble getting some help on this subject. This is about the third thread in 3 days Ive made in trying to get some lighting help. I just wanna do it right.
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
Jintz, I can tell you this. I have 520w of PC's on my 125 now. I am able to keep only soft corals such as:
mushrooms
ricordea mushrooms
zoanthids
button polyps
green star polyps
xenia's
gorgonians
large feathrdusters (what my clowns host in)
frog spawn
I have ordered 2 -36" t-5 fixtures that have 8- 39w bulbs each. Each bulb with it's own reflector causing the light to shine 300% brighter. I am told that the PAR is more important than the watts and that the PAR's from these lights are really good and should be able to house most anything. HTH, Barry
 
jintz

jintz

New Member
Hmm... well in the future I want some polyps and mushrooms but that is as far as I will go with softies. So you are telling me that isnt too bright and it wont cause harm to any fish? I heard you can bleach corals and I dont want too much light for the bubble coral (I read it doesnt need much light). BTW as I stated before the bubble will be the only one I get as far as corals go.
Are your t-5 fixtures on your tank an addition to your PC lighting?
Also what size of PC did you get? Any Actintic bulbs with that?
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jintz
Hmm... well in the future I want some polyps and mushrooms but that is as far as I will go with softies. So you are telling me that isnt too bright and it wont cause harm to any fish? I heard you can bleach corals and I dont want too much light for the bubble coral (I read it doesnt need much light). BTW as I stated before the bubble will be the only one I get as far as corals go.
Are your t-5 fixtures on your tank an addition to your PC lighting?
Also what size of PC did you get? Any Actintic bulbs with that?
No, my PC's are still on there and they are 65w each light, 1/2 of them are actinic. My T5's have not arrived yet. When they do, I will make the switch and then slowly acclimate my corals to the new lights.
 
jintz

jintz

New Member
Originally Posted by hot883
No, my PC's are still on there and they are 65w each light, 1/2 of them are actinic. My T5's have not arrived yet. When they do, I will make the switch and then slowly acclimate my corals to the new lights.
I found a set of the t-5 you are talking about...well maybe. Tell me if this is right :
36" 2 x 39w T5 HO Retrofit Kit.
If you said you bought 4 sets which gave you the 8 then you will have 312w but since they have thier own individual reflector they shine 300% brighter? Or did you buy 8 sets? Or is thier another t-5 set that houses its own bulb and has its own reflector in which you had to buy 8? If I'm getting ahead of myself and confusing myself further then maybe if you have messenger and some time you could give me a hand and maybe I can get this right. Let me know and thanks for your help thus far.
My Msn messenger is th3third@hotmail.com
 
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