lighting question

[bronco862]

hey guys.


which of our sponsors should i go to...to look for a new light???

 

[lilrobb]

All of them,
Then chose the one w the best price/service ratio...

 

[kayakatl]

Do you know what kind of light you are looking for? T5, Halides? If you post some kind of parameters some of them might chime in with what they do and don't have. Members might even know where they got similar setups.

 

[bronco862]

t5 OR halides. doesn't matter to me. i'd love a set of clip on mh's....but they're so expensive if you buy new.

 

[jennm]

Let me know what size tank, and what types of creatures you wish to keep and I'll give you some recommendations/prices.

Cheers,
Jenn

 

[tony_caliente]

I found Imagine Ocean's prices to be very fair on lighting. That's where I bought my T5 fixture. IO is a sponsor.

 

[bronco862]

i'd like various corals. only a few fish. i'm still reading up, but xenias, polyps, acro's, frog spawn, tree coral are likely going to be some of my choices.

 

[weaglereefer]

How wide is the tank? For acros, you will probably need the MH if you want them anywhere but the very top of the tank.

If it's a 36" wide tank, a 2x150w MH setup with some Phoenix 14k bulbs would work great!

 

[bronco862]

it is....12" wide. i can never decide. some people say mh's are overkill and burn corals, and some say they are required. i probably would put a toadstool and the acro up top anyways, if that matters

 

[weaglereefer]

A toadstool is a soft leather coral, an acro is a light loving Small Polyped Stony coral. They probably would not do well in the same lighting conditions.

What are the dimensions of your tank? I'm assuming 12" is the depth front to back.

MH can kill corals if not properly acclimated, but there are people here with stuff growing right under 400w bulb setups, so I doubt some 150s will kill anything from too much light if the proper steps are taken.

 

[jennm]

Some folks have trouble keeping leathers and SPS (specifically Acros) together (chemical warfare?) IME, it can be done.

Leathers can tolerate lots of different conditions, SPS have higher light requirements. MH may not be your only option... and most fixtures may be too wide for the tank. I know Outer Orbits (now discontinued but there are some floating around) are 15" wide - too wide for your tank.

4-lamp T5HO might be a decent choice, and probably a good fit. 6 Lamp might be better but might also be too wide.

Jenn

 

[dakota9]

In my last set up, which was 36"x18", all I needed was 1 250watt MH fixture. It had VHO actinic supplementation.


You'd need two clamp-on lights for that size tank, as the spread isn't great, just incase you were thinking about that route. I have a Coralife 150w Clamp-On which is ok for my 30 cube, but would really push it for any larger tank.

 

[bronco862]

yeah i REALLY wanted to do the supergeek approach and retro two 70w mh's with two actinics, because i didnt want overkill with mh's. but i was slapped in the face by the god of construction at a young age. therefore i DIY electrical projects.

i'm going to TRY and go with the 4 light setup. pray to god this works!!!!

if not...i'm thinking two 150 viper's might be in order. how's that sound???