ReefNewbie Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 I'm planning on starting up a 20gallon and will be placing various type of coral in it (lps,sps,softies,etc). Any ideas of what lighting I should use for the tank? Also, would a moon light be good or is it optional. Many people are telling me it's optional, but I wanna imitate the ocean as much as possible for these guys. Thanks for any help!! Link to comment
Jahkaya Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 How much Money were you looking on spending? In general, the Corals will not care about moon lights, they are more for you. Link to comment
ReefNewbie Posted September 24, 2003 Author Share Posted September 24, 2003 Oh if the corals won't care and what not, I may not get the moon light. As for money spent, I do understand that lighting is very important for the boys in the tank. I don't wanna go cheap on them so I am willing to put down a decent but not obsurd amount of $$. Link to comment
Jahkaya Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 If you like SPS and Clams MH is best. A 175 MH with a 55/65 watt PC Actinic should be more than enough. You should be able to get that for about 200-250. You definitely want an electronic Ballast for the MH as well. Will you be building a canopy, needing a premade hood, or hanging a pendant? Link to comment
ReefNewbie Posted September 24, 2003 Author Share Posted September 24, 2003 I'll probably need a premade hood, and hopefully the lfs will have something of the sort to hold the lights. I was also looking at something hanging, but I have 3 cats at home that are VERY cursious at times, so that has swayed me from that idea. Link to comment
Jahkaya Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 Though they are a bit more costly you might want to just go with a 150 DE 20000k bulb. No actinic needed and can be easily purchased in a premade hood with legs. If you are looking for a premade hood why would you need to go to the LFS to have something to hold the lights? Link to comment
mikefishguy Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 I also have a 20 (high) and am looking at future lighting... What about T5? Even though MH's are cheap to start off, the annual cost seems very high. With t-5's, the raplacement rate can vary from $25-40 a year, while MH with PC can be $80-100 a year. What are everyones thoughts? Link to comment
Jahkaya Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 Mike: If you put 6 or even 8 t-5's the total wattage only be 144 or 192 if you put 8. Even at only 10 bucks a bulb that is still 60-80 bucks a year. An XM 20k 175 M bulb is only 60-70 bucks. I have heard that though the T-5's are bright (they look great in person, nice tank coloration as well) their acros don't keep their color well under T-5's. The Acros grew well, but they turned brown. If you are looking for cheap I have heard that URI VHO's using an IceCap ballast keep their color rendition and have very little spectral shift after two years. I have 4x75w VHO's over my 20 and all my stonies have kept their color well so far. Link to comment
mikefishguy Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 I plan on using 4 t-5's for a total of 100 watts.. this shouldnt be a problem, as the LPW rating of T-5 is very high. Actually, t5's are $20 apeice, it is just that you only have to replace them every 2-4 years. VHO sounds nice, but 4x20 every year is a little expensive. Another idea I had is to run 4 NO bulbs on an Icecap, apparently they will be drven at near-VHO levels. This sounds good, but howdo I get a good Spectrum? Link to comment
Jahkaya Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 URI makes NO bulbs, but if you have a VHO ballast you may as well use VHO bulbs. I believe on Championlighting's site they that using an Icecap ballast and URI bulbs the Spectral shift and color rendition changed only slightly after two years. You can still get a 175 MH bulb on Ebay for 40 bucks. Either way in this hobby I wouldn't worry about an extra 40-50 bucks a year to have great looking corals! Link to comment
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