Replacement Lighting

[jhmuse]

It is time to replace the florescent light (36 in. I believe) that came standard with my 46 gal. bowfront. I only want to replace the bulb and not the entire fixture. What I want it to do is show off the color of the fish (this is a fish only tank) and eventually be able to support live rock. I'm not necessarily looking for coralline algae growth, but I do want enough light to keep/grow macro algae for my Potter's Angel to graze on.

Thanks for the advice....Jake

 

[mrrrkva]

You really cant do all of that with one bulb. IF you want to show of the color, go with a HIGHER spectrum light. Like 12k. 6500 is very yellow 20k is very blue. I would stick in the middle. Most people on a budget go with PC lighting, or VHO. I would go with an ICECAP ballast (440 should be good for your tank, but if you ever upgrade the 660 is probably worth the $$$) and throw some VHO's(one white, and one actinic) in there. I personally like MH's with Actinic VHO's though