Reef Lighting

[guitareefs]

I just sold my big aquarium and the Solaris. Now I'm just gonna take a break for a short while and start up again with reef keeping. I have a 55 gallon aquarium that I had up as a reef then transfered that to the bigger tank. So now, since I'm going back to the 55, I need to get info on lighting. I'm wanting no restrictions on what I can keep. I want a mixed reef and I want to know what route to go...PCs, T5s, VHOs, MHs? Thanks

 

[psteeleb]

I'd look for one or two 250 mh's
or two 175w mh’s and maybe add a set of VHO actinic

you probably want at least 5-7w per gal of Mh's if you want to go with some of the more light demanding sps. So, a single 250 would probably be okay but to get more spread over the tank consider two 175's

As long as your starting a new system I recomend the MH's although you would probably be good with the T5 HO's and I'm sure you will get several people swear that PC's will work. I just like the look of MH's and have had good growth results using them.

 

[sublime-1]

if it's a 55, you won't be able to fit more than 2 or 3 VHOs under there, and you'd be hard pressed to fit VHOs + MH's.

I would go with one of the HQI + PC hoods.


But for the money, and your demands, T5 are compact, and put out the similar spectrum but with less heat and space.

Over a 55, you could easily get 5 x T5's

 

[NathanSE]

@psteeleb wrote:

WPG is a terrible, terrible way to evaluate reef lighting. Lighting needs should be determined based on animals kept and, IMO, the shape of the aquarium. The slim profile of a 55 makes MH a very inefficient system for lighting a 55 - you will throw light everywhere but the tank. PCs are outdated technology and a waste of money; VHO are very inefficient and becoming quite dated although many folks still prefer the VHO actinic.

For the best investment go with T5s. Two lamps should cover you if you want to keep sofites/LPS and you can always go for 4 or 5 if you want to keep high-light corals or inverts. Sunlight Supply makes some horticultural grade fixtures that are a little ugly (canopy! ) but VERY affordable - check out www.specialty-lights.com - look at the New Wave 4' fixtures. Don't go with their bulbs, though, they're overpriced and have a poor selection.

 

[Guest]

ditto on t5's that is the way to go on a tank like yours

 

[psteeleb]

I don't know if I got slamed or not on the watts per gallon issue , but I did clariify it was for sps and using MH's was my opinion. I like the shimmer that MH's put out and have had very good results with them. That said, I am also a big proponent of T5's, and they would work just fine for your 55g set up. The T5s also use less electricity and put out alot less heat over the MH's

as for WPG, it's good enough as a reefcentral "go by" and I'll continue to use it as a starting point when asked my opinion. But as indicated, it's only a "go by" and will vary depending on what you are keeping, size and depth of tank and lighting types.

Good luck, keep the questions coming and start a log of your progress

here is a Reefcentral link on starting a marine tank (lighiting section) and a quote from the link:
http://www.reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=f1a4e34770b47e14c0f4d68f8b318a81&name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1&page=4


Lighting

This will depend on the type of set-up:

"Fish Only" (FO) tank only needs enough light to view the fish comfortably.
If you use "Live Rock" (FOWLR) in your tank, then you should not have less than 2.5-3.0 W/gal (more is better).
"Soft" corals such as star polyps and mushrooms require about 3-4 W/gal (again, more would be better).
Hard corals, clams and anemones need a minimum of 6-8 W/gal, depending on the water depth.

 

[KJJordan]

Nathan, what bulb combo would you recommend for the t-5 fixture. I've been talking to you about my current setup from time to time and have been trying to decide on halides or t-5s or both. I think that i'm just going to go with 4 t-5s on my 55.
I dont mean to takeover your thread with questions randyeric, just wanted to ask Nathan.
After our discusion at the frag swap, i've been really doing my homework on t-5s and seem to find that most people that use them or are considering using them seem to have nothing but good things to say about them. I just hate that they dont have the shimmer like halides though.

Kenyon