another lighting question

[egon]

it is time for me to replace the bulbs in my 48" csl power compacts with moonlights fixture and i have a few questions. first, how hard would it be to upgrade it to the 96 watt bulbs that are now available, as when i bought it they only made the 65 watt bulbs? second, my tank is a 90 gallon with 180 pounds of live rock, with just 1 lion fish and no corals. which bulbs would you recomend as replacements. my only intent is to continue to give my rock the correct light for coraline algae growth. here is what i have found is available:

sunpaq dual actinics sunpaq dual daylights
65 watt
420/460 nm 65 watt 6700ºK/10,000ºK
96 watt
420/460 nm 96 watt 6700ºK/10,000ºK

and
SunPaq Actinic SunPaq Daylight
65 watt 460 nm 65 watt 10,000ºK
65 watt420 nm 65 watt 6700ºK
96 watt460 nm 96 watt 10,000ºK
96 watt420 nm 96 watt 6700ºK

as always, thanks in advance for any and all help

 

[XxTitleisTxX]

the 96w bulbs would be better for coraline growth, but you should make sure the bulbs are compatable with the fixture or wait for someone else to reply that is a bit more knowledgeble on the subject :?

 

[jackdp]

You would need a ballast/s that can drive the 96 watt bulbs. Your current ballast should have a wattage rating on it somewhere. The increase in wattage would change the coralline growth. I've noticed in my tank that most of the deeply colored pink coralline grows on the uderside of rocks out of the MH light....more light doesn't always equal more coralline.

 

[fishfreek]

How old is this fixture? You mention the 96W bulbs are new yet the fixture you have has moonlights. The 96W bulbs have been out for at least 5 years now and as others have said the ballast would need to be able to drive the higher wattage bulbs. Its very likly that the current ballast is only large enough to drive the 65W bulbs that came with the fixture. In addition the 96W bulbs are aprox 33" in lenght where as the 65W bulbs are approx 22.5" in lenght so unless the endcaps are moveable on the fixture you would run into space limits aswell.

 

[captivereefs]

You have to replace the bulbs with 65 watt. The Current USA bulbs will work in the fixture with no problems. Just keep in mind if you buy the dual daylight or dual actinic bulbs each tube has a slightly different appearance than the other, especially the actinic.