lighting

[mollusk3D]

i have a 20 gal. currently cycling and want to go ahead and upgrade my lighting so when im over budget on corals i wont have to wait forever. i want to get a bunch of zoos, shrooms, and softies and was wondering if anyone knows about how much wattage ill need and if there is an existing set up for sale online for a decent price.

thanx

[Cesar]

Well here you will get a bunch of different answers. Some people will say that MH is the best and some people will say that you should be fine with a PC fixture. That all depends on you. If the money is no issue then I say go with MH. Perhaps anywhere from 70W to 150W. I think that also depends on the depth of your tank, but then again MH will penetrate it pretty good. I personally have PC's and have the corals that you want and they look great. IMO.

[xcajx]

That's as best an answer as you can expect. The easiest to find would probably be a 96watt powerquad pc set up. Cheapest too, and is certainly enough for what you list.

 

In a perfect situation, you would get a 150 MH so you could keep anything you want, but if you stay with what you listed the powerquad is perfect.

 

here is an example:

 

 

http://www.hellolights.com/201xcoaqpcho.html

[gcrowptc]

I don't understand why everyone excludes vho on tanks 20g and above, pc bulbs are only good for about 6 months then you will start to notice the lighting getting more yellow and the powerquad is a single bulb so replacing it causes a major lighting shift in lines of spectrum at 1 time and may cause algae blooms or coral bleaching, did the pc thing not for me any more, mh hmm on a Nano if not keeping sps or clams would still be great but the heat issue has to be dealt with and depending on the bulb may still require actinic supplementation, as for vho it will cost you about the same as mh but you can build it into a canopy (20g and above) and on a 20 can have multiple tubes and 300 watts of light and have the ability to change tubes 1 at a time without major spectrum shifts and algae out breaks just my 2 cents worth

[emokid]

VHO = 56 lumen/watt

CFL = 85 lumen/watt

 

http://lvmas.org/lvaquariasociety/file_sto...um_Lighting.PDF

[Tempest]

For zoos, "softies" and mushrooms compact fluorescent lighting will be fine. The orbitz fixtures are nice, but you can get cheaper lights.

[darthteddy]

In Drs Foster and smith the have a cool VHO retrofit kit for like 170. Is that a good thing for a 20. Also what are CFL lights?

 

VHO retrofit at this site

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...6&N=2004+113174

[Bikelock]

I am upgrading to T5. More lumens than VHO or PC's and less power, less heat, last longer. And the results of these lights are proven. You can keep sps, lps, softies, anything in a tank that shallow. Just be sure to get the ones with the TEK reflectors from sunlight supply. The upfront cost is more, but no need for a chiller, less electrical cost, last up to 1.5 to 2 years, and a slim profile make these lights quite attractive. You could stick 4 24" bukbs with the reflectors over your tank. Check them out at www.reefgeek.com best prices I have found next to some EBAY auctions.

[darthteddy]

T5 lights are mostly good for longer tanks i have heard. They dont penetrate vary well.