Which light to buy?

[fishrfriends]

I would appreciate any suggestions on which light to buy - I definately have to upgrade my lights for the corals I would like to keep.
Right now, I only have a 32W white and 32W actinic power compact fixture over a 40 gallon tank. Mushrooms are doing great, a frogspawn is hanging in nicely, but I'd like to try some other corals too.
My options I've investigated include a 24" Aqualight by Coralife, which has a 1X150 HQI, 2 65W actinics, and 2 blue moonlights. About $365 plus bulbs = $465.
Or, a Hamilton 175W metal halide hood with 2 32W actinics, about $450.
My tank is 5 sided, and about 24# deep.
Any opinions on which light would work better? Or should i be looking at something different?
I'm not trying for clams or stonies (?), just something more than mushrooms and rics.
Thanks for the input!

 

[ericholcek]

the corallife will allow you to keep more corals, like many polyps and some softies. The halides are defenitly better and you will prob be able to keep just about everything. i would go with the halides considering the price difference between the two.

 

[fishrfriends]

Thank you! Where abouts in NJ are you? I grew up in Saddle Brook (north) and still have family in the South (Middlesex).

 

[magnus042]

i would stay away from coralife. i have the 48 inch lunar light and have had nothing but problems, one ballast works when it wants to, one moonlight is shot. a really poor product IMO, im gonna get something better. BTW im in jersey too, bergen county.

 

[dusty]

Look on ----, you will find a lot of options and save you some money

 

[nemo74]

dont mean to get in the conversation but i was just about to purchase the 48 inch coralife also it has 2 x65 actinic and 2x 65 white (sorry new to this and dont know the exact names)also it says it has 4 moonlights and two fans. i thought it was a great deal on ---- for 220 plus shipping but now i read this and am skeptical. why is coralife recommended and is there anything else i can get at a similar price . im on A MAJOR BUDGET.THANKS

 

[ty_05_f]

If you have a hood I would retrofit it by putting a mh in it and keep the lights you have as supplements. I hear great things from the 250 watt hqi mh.

 

[scott420]

Same here bought a coralife and have had nothing but problems
lights burned out in the first two months, a ballast only works part of the time and it is only 6 months old.

 

[fishman830]

Originally posted by magnus042
i would stay away from coralife. i have the 48 inch lunar light and have had nothing but problems, one ballast works when it wants to, one moonlight is shot. a really poor product IMO, im gonna get something better. BTW im in jersey too, bergen county.
really i'm in bergen too,!!

 

[dacia]

If you are looking at Coralife, then I would also direct your attention to comparable fixtures by Custom USA. They are better quality for approximately the same price. I am very pleased with mine!

 

[gun freak]

Originally posted by Dacia
If you are looking at Coralife, then I would also direct your attention to comparable fixtures by Custom USA. They are better quality for approximately the same price. I am very pleased with mine!
:yes:

 

[flatzboy]

I would go with a 250 watt hqi pfo pendant with a pfo single hqi ballast and a xm 20k bulb so you won't need supplement lighting and still have a nice blueish look and the 250 watt hqio will penetrate into your 24" tank better and will be cheaper then the other fixtures, will also alow you to keep lps on the bottom.

 

[cindyemtp]

We are very new to saltwater aquariums. Have kept fresh water aquariums for the past two years and enjoyed it very much. There seems to be so many choices in lighting etc. with the saltwater tanks. The needs of various species etc. is much more complex than freshwater, however, we understood this when we started this project. Right now we have a hood that we purchased at local home improvement store. (Much cheaper than buying an entire light set from fish store) It fits two long bulbs the length of our 40 gal aquarium. One is white and one is the blue Antic. By what I am reading here, this is not sufficient for the anemones etc. that we would like to purchase in the near future. We have room to add one more hood holding two more bulbs the length of the aquarium. Sounds like we should be looking into purchasing a MH bulb as one of them? Also, should the combinations be changed... white and blue in one, MH and blue or white in the other? I am reading here about timers and one type of light less hrs per day than other light. Please advise me. We are going to focus mainly on invertebrates in this tank. We have a few damsels and one percula clownfish. Also, I am new to this message board and having trouble deciphering some of the abbreviations you guys use. Is there a list of regularly accepted abbreviations and their meaning that I could look at? Thanks. CindyEMTP