Any experience with a 58 gallon oceanic?

[ilostnemo]

yeah id sell it. its a corallife ill get the model number later. only bad thing is bulb was blown so youll have to get a new one. and i was looking at the 4 bulb fixture from fishneedit.com anyone bought from there?

 

[Zer0]

I bought a 150w MH Pendant from them. They're great pendants, and i've heard only good things about their T5 fixtures. They used to have older models of the T5 fixtures that weren't as good, but recently, May 18th, they released their new MH pendants and T5 fixtures that were greatly improved. If you were going to buy from them, now would be the time to do it. They run out of products fairly quickly, and when they do run out, they usually don't have more in stock until they improve/upgrade the fixtures, which is what happened to me. I had to wait 3 months before they were back in stock with the 150w MH pendants.

 

[ilostnemo]

wow. thats actually smart practice in my opinion. they also have a sell hmmm. lol.. pm me a offer for the light

 

[ilostnemo]

why are pc bulbs so flipping expensive lol

 

[Zer0]

Don't know, but why do you want to go with PC? T5's are much better, and their bulbs are way cheaper than any other bulb out there. Except for the cheap metal halide DE bulbs you could get on ebay for like 15 bucks.. I still don't understand why you're so against MH's. I love my MH and the shimmer effect is amazing. I even have a coral skeleton on the sandbed of my tank and it looks like what was completely dead and bleached is now making a recovery.

 

[ilostnemo]

well i dont want pc thats just the fixture that came with it so i was gonna use it til i bought a better one. ill be getting prob. a 4 or 6 bulb t5 ho. and im against MH because bulbs more expensive, they run hotter, they cost about 3x as much to run..

 

[ilostnemo]

what would a 4x36 t5ho support?

 

[Zer0]

True true.. i get what your saying. It's really not that expensive in my case then since it's just one light running and all i've got to replace is one bulb and i can get the cheap 15$ ones through ebay and still have great PAR.

Anyways.. i've seen 4x36 T5HO fixtures on 40G breeder tanks and most of the people running the fixtures had any types of softies, zoas, rics, shrooms, and most LPS. Not sure if it would be strong enough for all types of SPS.. but definitely some of the less light demanding ones. If you're not big on SPS then a 4x36 T5HO fixture would be fine... but then again, your tank is bigger than a 40G breeder.

What are the dimensions exactly? Maybe it's up here already.. but i don't feel like looking lol.

 

[ilostnemo]

im not really big on sps, and lol its 36.5 long, 18 deep 21.5 tall

 

[Zer0]

Hmm... idk.. 21" is pretty tall.. I think if you would be able to get your hands on a nice 6x36 T5HO fixture you would be totally set.. but then again, like i said, 21" is pretty deep. However, i've read and heard that the cutoff for T5's is 24" so you may still be ok with the T5's. I know you don't like MH's, but with 2x150w lights you would be fine to keep tons of coral, and with the 250w you would be able to keep anything you wanted.

I guess.. the only other solution if you didn't want to go MH, and T5's just weren't cutting it for your tank and you didn't like your coral selection, would be LED's. But those are generally more expensive then MH's.. BUT they run very cool, and have a ton less power consumption than MH's.

Anyways... i still think you should do MH's lol, but i think with a 6x36 T5HO fixture you would be ok.

Sorry.. but anywhere i said 6x36.. i meant 6x39. I think a fixture like this would be excellent if you wanted to keep softies, zoas, and some LPS.
TEK LIGHT T-5, 36" Light Fixture 6 x 39W lamps by Sunlight Supply* - AquaCave

Just a little dreaming right here.. but if i had your tank.. i would buy this fixture.. assuming i had the money. God only knows what i could do with this lol

BELIZE SUN 36" HQI +T5 + LED Lighting System by Hamilton Technology* - AquaCave

Also.. this may not be the same for you, but i'm just saying... I also was not big on SPS.. and didn't plan to have any.. but for some reason.. i feel myself wanting some of the REALLY nice Acroporas and the Montiporas.. and especially some of the Pocilloporidae. Green Birdsnest if my FAV.

 

[Jimbo7]

Lights are really hard to buy, purely on the fact that your interest in the hobby will change. My advice has always been save your pennies, and buy the biggest baddest fixture ever. Because one day you will conquer zoas, LPS and the likes and you'll want more, but then you end up having to spend another giant wad of cash, when you could have just paid like 100 bucks extra the first time. Patience is the hardest thing in this hobby.
Also, how can you not love SPS?

They are just so...amazing..
It's a whole different ball game with completely new and different challenges.

 

[ilostnemo]

well i mean i like sps but i dont think i have any intrest in growing them.. i need opinions between these 2x96 pc/ 4x39 t5/ 6x39 t5/ or if i can find it again the 6x96 pc? im leaning towards maybe the 6x39. do they make any higher watts in t5 bulbs in 36 inch?

 

[Jimbo7]

Just scrap the PC, you will end up paying more in bulbs in a couple years then its worth. T5 has a longer bulb life, cheaper bulbs, and better light output. If you got the means, go for the 6x39 T5. I would advice you to stay away from the general brands like Coralife and Current USA. If you can pop for it, Tek, Giesemann, and ATI all make a quality fixture.
In order of least to most expensive :
TEK LIGHT T-5, 36" Light Fixture 6 x 39W lamps by Sunlight Supply* - AquaCave
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/ATI/Powermodule_Fixtures/36_inch__6x39W_Powermodule_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_by_ATI
36" Giesemann Matrix T5 8 x 39w Silver

My Personal Favorite:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/ATI/Powermodule_Fixtures/36_inch__10x39W_Powermodule_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_by_ATI

 

[ilostnemo]

well im gettin rid of the pc i have now. only reason i asked about them since they make them in 96w lol and hmmm. i like the first. and 8 bulbs does sound good though lol. only thing is i can get 2 4x39s for less than 250$

 

[Zer0]

Current USA makes great T5 light fixtures... There's no way you can compare Coralife and Current USA. The two brands you want to stay away from are Coralife and Odyssey.

Still, ATI, TEK, and Giesemann are GREAT light fixtures.. but the Giesemann's are expensive as heck. Wavepoint's are pretty good lights too.

 

[severum mama]

I haven't had any problems with Coralife fixtures, personally. I've used many of their PC fixtures, but never their T5 fixtures. Current's fixtures are nice for the money (there are much better out there but they have the price tag to match).

HN1 and I have a 50 gallon (same footprint as the 58, just shorter) and we use a Current Nova Extreme Pro 6x 39W T5. It's a great light for the money and we are even keeping some sps with it. We have a psammocora and a millipora that are doing great under T5.

 

[ilostnemo]

how much shorter is it severum?

 

[ilostnemo]

if i did any sps itd be at the top of the tank.

 

[severum mama]

It's not much shorter, our tank is 36x18x18. Our sps are kept at the top of the tank as well.

 

[ilostnemo]

so just 3 inches thats not that bad.. i was looking at maybe getting two 4x39 fixtures.. so i can have 8 bulbs for less than 250 lol. its from fishneedit and people have said they are good.