lighting questions

[ronnieblaze]

I have a 55g long tank currently with T5 HO only 2 bulbs right now a 18k and a 460 (i think)..

i have been wanting to add more light to my tank and i would like to go with MH but im not sure what wattage i should go with..

or if i should just add more T5HO's to my hood.. the fixture i have takes up a good bit of room in my hood already not much room to add more bulbs.

 

[james s_]

Ditch the fixture and use a T5 retrofit. Or you could retrofit some MH bulbs with T5 Actinics. Wattage depends on several factors. What do you plan on keeping in the tank? How much you looking to spend?

 

[chull13]

Is your tank 48" long? You will need to go with 2 MH if it is. Maybe 2 150 watt or for tons of light go with 2 250 watt. Only problem with MH is you will probably end up having to buy a chiller. Since you already have T5s I would just add more.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Well to give you a bit of input from my 55 gal:

I have 2 T-5s (one Actinic+ and one true Actinic) and 2 175W retro fit Halides. For cooling the hood is about 6" above the water and vented with two small fans and I have an 8" fan over my sump. I do not need a chiller at all. My temp (controlled via my RKII) turns the fan on at 81 and off at 80 and turns the heater on at 78.5 and off at 79.9. In the summer the fan is on about 7 hour a day at most and so far this winter (knock on wood) I do not think the heater has turned on once in my tank. My tank stays at about 80 almost all day right now.

The color I get might be a little white due to the washin out of my 10K halids vs the T5's and in the future I might go with a 15K bulb or a 14K bulb. But for now it works great.

 

[cameron]

I am a big fan of T5s and would suggest packing your hood full of them in a retrofit. If you would rather go MH, two 175w running Iwasaki bulbs is my next pick.

 

[mufret]

You really can't go wrong with either on that tank (T5 and/or MH). The upfront cost might be a little more for the T5's but like Cameron, that would be my first choice. T5 would also give you the flexibility of doing it in stages. If you go MH, 175w Iwasaki 15ks are the way to go. Nice spectrum and very good PAR.

If you do a search in the Photography forum, you'll see pics of my old 55g that was lit by only T5s.

 

[glxtrix]

I ran 175W Iwasaki's on my 55 and I loved it! I'ld suggest the ARo ballast from hellolights.com Together they are a great combination! T-5 are also nice, guess it all depends on what you'd like to spend.

 

[ronnieblaze]

ya i like the T5s.. and i was thinking of taking apart my fixture and filling my hood with bulbs...

 

[mufret]

^tyrant^;117304 wrote: ya i like the T5s.. and i was thinking of taking apart my fixture and filling my hood with bulbs...

Depending on the fixture, it will probably work out better to purchase the retro kit and sell you fixture. Does your fixture have the individual reflectors for each bulb?

 

[ronnieblaze]

mufret;117308 wrote: Depending on the fixture, it will probably work out better to purchase the retro kit and sell you fixture. Does your fixture have the individual reflectors for each bulb?

no it dont i has one reflector thats about 5in wide and both bulbs are in the middle of it.

 

[cameron]

It is the individual reflectors that make T5s work the way they do. I am with mike on this... get some retros and sell the fixture.

 

[ronnieblaze]

ya thats probably the best thing.. ill take some pictures of it and post it up and see if anyone is interested