whats the better choice????

[bigford84]

im looking for a light for my 50 gallon sw tank for around $200.00
here is what iv found, what is the best choice for nems???

4 bulb power compact
2x 10,000k day bulbs
2x actinic bulbs

t5 high output
2x 6700k day bulbs
2x 03 true actinic bulbs
4 dual blue led moons

power compact with metal halides
2x 175w halides
2x 96w power compacts
6 blue led moons

t5 with metal halides
1x 250w metal halide
4x 24w t5 actinic
4 dual blue led moons

thats all the info i could find about these lights i found on ebay they are all about $250.00 or cheaper,and new.. guy at my lfs has a 4 bulb t5 with 8 blue leds used he will sell me for $249.00
but whats the best deal for the better light??? thanks for the help

 

[neilanh]

Reef, FO, or FOWLR?

 

[pokmijn]

since your tank is 50 gallon i think your best to go with the pc w/halides you will be able to have whatever you want in there.

 

[bigford84]

fowlr... but i will have nems in it, will all these lights work for nems? and i just found out the light a my lfs is a new not used..

 

[pokmijn]

you can go with the t5 or the halides but if you get the t5 switch the bulbs to 10k as it would be better(i think).

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

IMO halides are going to be out of the picture as soon as LEDs really hit strong, which they are starting to, and I have confidence they will prove themselves to be the lighting of choice over time. For now I would think T5HO - less heat. But I've never used halides. So much mixing up you can do with 4 T5s. I would shy away from PCs myself, T5HO is better (IMO)

 

[bigford84]

here are my choises..
first=#4
second=#1
third=#2
forth=#3
on a scale of 1-4

$189.00 sound good for number 2???
****,now that im thinking about it,,, my tank has one of those @$#%ing crosmembers rite in the middle!!!!! ????can i cut it out??? or is it holding the tank together???

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

It is holding the front and back glass from bowing and stressing the seals. You can cut it out, if you like water on your floor.

The other option is to silicone a sheet of glass in the same location bonded to the front and back of the tank, but I doubt that is the end result you wanted (no obstruction)

 

[cmor1701d]

Forget the anemone and light your tank for corals. Anemones live so long in the wild that we don't know their lifespan. In a home aquarium most die within the first year.

Clown fish do NOT need an anemone to host. My wild caught true percula are now hosting a frogspawn. Clown fish will host almost anything given time.

Given the above, I would go with the 4 bulb T5 light setup for now. Make sure the fixture has individual, highly polished, parabolic reflectors for each bulb. If it doesn't, save your money for a better fixture. I also agree on using 10k bulbs in combination with others. There's a whole series of new blue bulbs out for T5. A 10k/ 03 Actinic is a classic combination. 6700k is on the yellow side.

 

[mr_X]

what are the dimensions of this tank? 36x 20 x 20? it's important to know how deep the tank is top to bottom, and how long it is. most halide fixtures that come in 36" have only 1 halide lamp. i would not suggest this for your tank. the outer edges will be barely lit.
i probably wouldn't go with 4 x 39 watt t-5 ho either. i would want 6 lamps. look for a 6 x 39 watt t-5 HO, that is individually reflected. you don't want a single piece of flat aluminum behind all the bulbs...you definitely want it to contour around each individual lamp. this is very important. it increases the potency of the lamps tremendously.

also, watch out for those ebay no-name fixtures. many of them are not UL listed and have poor construction. in all cases you'll need to put better bulbs in them and in many cases, you'll need to change the ballasts. they can and have started house fires as well.


yeah, that plastic in the center is structural. i wouldn't remove it.

if you are price shopping, you are better served looking for a used quality fixture on the forums, and craigslist...and don't even think about LEDs! they are still, quite expensive.

 

[bigford84]

ok the tank is 48 in long,,12 1/2 front to back,, 19 deep.top to bottom,

so if i wanted to light it for corals what light is the best for the money, the t5s? i really like the t5 4 bulb with led moonlighting,but was told it was less light then i needed

 

[mr_X]

that's called a 45 long actually.
it depends also what you want to keep in this tank. if i was buying lighting for that tank, i'd probably go with the fixture that will allow me to keep whatever i wanted, just in case.
btw, "moonlighting" is over rated. it has never been proven to promote spawning, and the moonlights in these fixtures are either too bright to be called moonlights, or too dim to see anything with the lights off.

will you have a sand bed in this tank? if so, how deep will it be? you see, the less distance from the lamps to the sand bed, the less light you will need to reach it. you could get away with an individually reflected 4 lamp fixture for a while, but i assure you, this won't be the last fixture you buy. my suggestion would be to buy the right fixture now.

sometimes you can find refurbished "nova extreme pro" fixtures for pennies on the dollar. i would look for a 6 lamp nova pro or perhaps a 6 lamp "tek" fixture from sunlight supply. these are the cheapest fixtures i would go with.

a 48" metal halide fixture would work too.

stick with name brands- current, coralife, and sunlight supply are about the cheapest.

 

[cmor1701d]

Good advice above. On a 48" tank I also think a 6 bulb T5 should be what you end up with.