pc's on a 55gal tank

[dwolls]

well I can't seem to get alot of help deciding on MH lighting. Would 2x96w PC's be enough on a 55gal? I'm not looking to keep a lot of SPS or clams right now, I'm thinking if I want to later I'll just add MH lighting. I really just want to get this tank up off the ground for now.

[mattie]

2 96w pc would be okay for softies but you would not get alot of growth. . you should check reef-central about others who have the same setup

[toefu]

honestly, at a tank that size, I would get a workhorse 7 Ballast ~$40 and 2 110watt VHO's at $20 a bulb and 10 for each endcap and have a quick and pretty setup. Fits perfectly on the 55 gallon, and then when you decide on halides later, you just have to buy 2 VHO super actinics and you'll have the perfect setup down the line too.

[dwolls]

thanks for the info Toefu, that sounds pretty reasonable. Where could I find all this stuff???

[toefu]

the workhorse 7 is readily available on ebay for buy it now at $35+9 for shipping.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=46314

 

and the end caps for VHO can be purchased for 9.75 per pair + ship. at hellolights.

 

http://www.hellolights.com/noname1.html

 

and you might as well buy the bulbs at hellolights too, save on shipping. Your choice of bulbs here, VHO 50/50? whatever you want. I personally purchased the 46.5 inch bulbs, they are also 110watts just like the 48" bulbs, but they fit my canopy better.

 

bulbs are ~$24 + shipping by the way. over all it's a decent route and you probably won't throw anything away when you upgrade to 10k halides.

[saltyFISHscales]

hey, toefu would it be possible if i did 2bulbs @110watts vho and another same ballast and two additional bulb to make a total of 44o watts with these ballasts, will it work. i have a 80gallon tank. also is it hard to wire or set this up.

[toefu]

there are huge threads about this on reefcentral and such , but here's a quick diagram for wiring it, it's really not that hard at all. A few people do run 2 ballasts for 440 watts of VHO. I personally only runn 220 watts of VHO and 500 watts of halide.

 

http://www.fulham.com/wh7dia11.html

[saltyFISHscales]

thanks toefu, ohh and these ballasts do they only work for vho's are can you work em with pc's

[toefu]

they are actually designed to work for PC's. They actually work best with the 2x96watt PC's. But most like the colors of VHO much better.

[dwolls]

that is some seriously helpful info! Thanks Toefu

[SeaSide]

2 x 96w PC over 55G will keep soft coral alive but not enough for descent growth. You may need 2 more 96w or MH pretty soon in near future. So why not invest little more and buy MH from the beginning?

Sorry if I made things more complicated for you.

All I'm saying here is do not skimp on lighting, go for the best light you can afford... compare longterm running cost & etc... in that way you will not regret.

[toefu]

I believe everyone goes through this phase one time or another... They don't wanna spend $300 for a pair of 250watters. It's hard to convince people to burn that much money when they are just getting into the hobby.

 

Atleast this route, they won't be wasting anything and eventually if they get the clam/sps strong lighting bug, nothing will be wasted and they would get the 10k halide w/ VHO supplement combo. Which in my opinion is the best overall look/growth. I've seen what my tank looks like with just 2 20k halides in them, and I must admit that I like the VHO with halide look much better.

 

I find it to be most wasteful buying 55 watt PC's for a 55 gallon tank, which eventually become useless.

[SeaSide]

Buy PC setup, and put a MH or two later is not a bad idea when they can use both of old and new light at the same time.

 

BTW, $300 for a pair of 250watters? If its all new MH setup w/ elec-ballast I'd like to buy right now. Gosh... I spent about $300 for 150w DE setup. X)