im looking for a 3' long affordable lighting fixture for my 65 gallon, the corals I want to grow include;
Assorted zoos and mushrooms, brains, chalices other softies.. and a monti cap (cap is optional)
Do you guys have anything in mind?
thanks.

yep...go to aquatraders.com and look at their Mh fixtures. The price is insanely low.
I didn't trust the electronic ballast, so I replaced that one with an icecap. I didn't like the color of the bulb that came with it so i ordered a 14k phoenix and put that one instead. Have been using the fixture for a year and a half and haven't had any problems...

also that gives you enough light to even grow the most light hungry sps..
what price range are you looking for?

was kind of looking for 100-350


I like this fixture, is it a good choice? http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-36in-4...nce-p/52202.htm

350 ? Affordable! Psh... I wish I had that type o' money!

don't really know their t5 fixtures. Are you sure you don't want to go for MH? You can grow much more demanding stuff with it

http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-36in-M...act-p/54203.htm
I think i'm in love

65s are deep, which is not good with T5s that don't have individual parabolic reflectors (like the first odyssea fixture you listed). However, a T5 retrofit kit (like those from reefgeek.com) would be okay for the corals you listed.

MH is another good choice, but your odyssea fixture appears to only have one 250W bulb, and I'm not sure it would adequately cover the length of the tank.

+1, and the heat might be hard on the center brace, if that tank is anything like my 65g.

http://www.fishneedit.com/2-x-150w-mhl-wit...ft-2150223.html

Why not?

2 150 MHs
4 tubes.
3 feet.
$370.

Nanocustoms has a sale on their 36w pc's for $10
you could get two 4 bulb workhorses and 8 bulbs for within your budget.

65 gallon tanks are usually deep. I dunno what this guys tank depth is.

You really think that power compact lighting can fill a 65 gallon?
I wouldn't think of doing that.

i had a PC retro over my 75 and it was not enough for most corals
if you dont have a centre brace go for the fixture but search on the boards here and look for a thread about getting 250 w out of an oddysea ballast, they measured it to lik 178 or something but with some simple modding you can get similar light to an icecap ballast for like 15$ or something stupid like that
if the centre brace isnt a problem the 250 should be fine for 3' i have a 150 over my 3.5' and its perfect for sps and the like.

+1, the reefgeek retrofits will cover your tank and then some. Much better than halides for a prop system or even some displays, and stronger than halides with regards to light coverage in depth. Any t5's with individual reflectors will do fine though.

What kind of 65 gal. is it? I have a 65 gal. glasscages tank and it's not deep. The measurement is 48x18x17.

Steve

this




this too

forget that for an extra $70 id go with the 2x250w MH light from them
http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-36in-M...-V2-p/54204.htm

lovely. i would get that.

For a prop system I would take t5's over halides any day of the week. Halides don't even compare to the uniform water coverage and penetration of t5's, and that's without taking into account the huge variety of color combinations that t5 bulbs can provide...

Check out the T5 thread to see what organism is talking about. I just have a simple 2x24" FNI T5 to supplement my PCs. It is definitely 'cheap' but it has contoured reflectors, and even a two-year-old jumping off the bed in an accidental fasion and landing on the thing (!) duing feeding time presented no damage to the two-year-old and only broke the thumbscrews (I wasn't using them anyway) on the fixture. Meaning, it's all plastic, but a pretty crazy accident didn't really screw it up.

http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=50074

If only this came in different sizes than 2ft and 4ft. It even has slrs