which lighting to get?

pnkflydlvr

pnkflydlvr

Member
i'm setting up a 45 gallon reef tank and want to know which of the following lighting systems i should get. i've narrowed it down to 2 fixtures--one is the nova extreme t5 fixture (156 watts). The other is the corallife compact fluorescent strip light (192 watts). i've heard the theory that you need 4-8 watts per gallon for a reef tank, but i'm more worried how many watts i need for the depth of my tank (24"). i'll be keeping mostly mushrooms, soft corals, and zoos. the corallife fixture is more expensive, and i'm not sure if the extra wattage is completely necessary. what do you guys think?
 
C

cmaxwell39

Guest
+1 on the T5s. You will end up with more light coming out of the T5s then you would out of the power compacts even though there is less wattage. For that depth of tank though, you might really want to consider going halides or a better T5 fixture (one that has individual reflectors).
 
metweezer

metweezer

Active Member
+3
Also you're only talking soft corals. They don't require nearly as much light as SPS corals. Get the cheaper fixture. Most people prefer T5's over PC anyway.
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
i'd go with t-5's too. i'd also consider a nova extreme pro, incase your taste in corals changes down the road(it almost always does).
 
pnkflydlvr

pnkflydlvr

Member
i've actually thought about that and might consider it. so basically what everyone's saying is that even though the t5's are less wattage they give off more light?
 
pettyhoe

pettyhoe

Member
although less wattage, they produce more lumens, which is really the only thing that counts. These are a flourescent light though, which means they will not have an extreme penetration in the water. But with the type of corals you are wanted to grow, it doesn't really matter, they do not require much lighting. You could grow mushrooms and zoos with a small PC fixture. T5's are just prettier and have much much more variability with color spectrum.
 
pnkflydlvr

pnkflydlvr

Member
ok so i know it will be fine for soft corals. thanks
. hypothetically, if i were to eventually want others, would it be suitable for...
1. lps corals
2. sps corals
3. anemones
i doubt i'll venture into sps corals but maybe lps corals and an anemone at some point
 
pettyhoe

pettyhoe

Member
sps, no.
lps, some.
anemones, some.
I house a beautiful frogspawn (lps) coral in my 29 biocube, and those are only PC's. The T5's, if there are a lot of them, you could house all of them, but you'll want an INTENSE light to house sps and have them thrive. I've had no problems with a lot of the others, and I clean about 200 tanks. Of course you will have some corals that will no thrive due to there specific needs, so research what you have and what kind of coral suits it. If you want to branch off into other types of corals (if you have the bug, you will) then I would definately go with T5's or VHO. MH are expensive and (i think) require a chiller.
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
metal halides do not "require" a chiller. it all depends on where you live, how cool you keep your house, where in your house sits your tank....
i know many people who keep sps sucessfully under t-5's, just not the fixture you are considering. sunlight supply "tek" fixtures, or current nova extreme pro, or even aquactinics fixtures come to mind. a 6 lamp or better yet 8 lamp fixture with individual reflectors will allow you to keep whatever you want.
 
privatejoker

privatejoker

Member
Originally Posted by PettyHoe http:///forum/post/2688870
sps, no.
lps, some.
anemones, some.
I house a beautiful frogspawn (lps) coral in my 29 biocube, and those are only PC's. The T5's, if there are a lot of them, you could house all of them, but you'll want an INTENSE light to house sps and have them thrive. I've had no problems with a lot of the others, and I clean about 200 tanks. Of course you will have some corals that will no thrive due to there specific needs, so research what you have and what kind of coral suits it. If you want to branch off into other types of corals (if you have the bug, you will) then I would definately go with T5's or VHO. MH are expensive and (i think) require a chiller.
Here is my tank with T5's. I don't know who's tanks you clean but stick to that and not telling people what equipment to buy. I have a clam on the sand bed, SPS from top to bottom, LPS on the bottom because the fry up high, and my mushrooms all have to stay on the bottom or they die as well.
pnkflydlvr if you get a T5 fixture you can keep everything in the ocean.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/326658/75-gallon-reef-ready
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
I would definately step up to the extreme pro or a 4 bulb tek fixture so you wont have to buy lights again when you decide to keep higher light demanding stuff.
And halides definately do not automatically require a chiller. I have 2 150w bulbs over just 30g and dont require a chiller (not the mention the top most part of my fixture only sits 7.5" above the waterline much less the bulbs). I had two 175 bulbs over a 100g with no fans for the longest and still no chiller.
 
pettyhoe

pettyhoe

Member
I didn't say T5's wouldn't do the trick, just that only a few of them wouldn't do the trick. And regardless of what you say, MH bulbs add considerable heat to a tank, which other lights do not, which has to be considered. And MH also have considerable more water penetration than any other lighting system excluding LED lighting, which IMO is too costly. I'm an avid fan of T5 bulbs and particularly think they are to the most suitable for a reef, so chill out before you start criticizing.
BTW, privatejoker, beautiful tank.
Stanlalee, what kind of temp swings do you get, and honestly?
 
privatejoker

privatejoker

Member
Misunderstood, I just see to many people on this site and others ripping t5's even though they don't have them.
PettyHoe thanks for the comment on the tank. I've got to leave it alone for a while and let some thing grow out.
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by PettyHoe
http:///forum/post/2689639
Stanlalee, what kind of temp swings do you get, and honestly?
with the sunpod fixture (2x150w) over an open tank it swings between 80-82deg. I could easily set my heater to maintain 82deg all the time or reduce the MH light cycle down from 7hrs to maintain 80deg but nothing is bothered by it. with open top, ac and ceiling fan I just dont have heat issues. went up 3deg from 196w pc fixture. I'm sure somebody using a sunpod (same 2x150) over a 55 or 75 would have even less heat swing.
 
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