help with aquarium lights

[ylaw]

I currently have a freshwater tank and planning on switching it to saltwater. I have a 48" Coralife PC light with 2x65watt 6700K.

option one: add a T5 light
I saw a T5 light 2x28Watt 10000K and Actinic from coralife for a half decent price. Do I need to replace the PC bulbs if I just add the T5 light?

option two: replace the existing one and purchase a new one with 2x10000K and 2xActinic (much more expensive)

option three: ?????

I am looking to see what is the most cost effective way of upgrading the lights.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Marc118]

What size tank and what you want to do with the tank would be helpful.

Most cost effective lights are retrofit kits.

 

[ylaw]

Hi,
I have a 75g tank. I want to setup a fish and reef tank with it.

Thanks

 

[Marc118]

If you want reef, your going to spend money on lights. There is no way around it.

2x175w MH and 2x110w VHO actinics would work great.

 

[tecwzrd]

Have you ever used copper medication in your FW tank?

As for lights it mostly depends on the kind of corals you want i.e. medium light or high light corals.

Once you tell us what you are interested in keeping we will be able to recommend the types of lights you need. Also due to the width of your tank more then likely you can use your current lights as well.

 

[ylaw]

I am not sure, but I will probably aim at corals that require medium light. I do hope to keep my origin lights, I can replace the current bulbs to 10000K. My current tank is only 18" high, so it is not very deep.

thanks

 

[Marc118]

You can keep your originals for supplemental light, but just them alone is not nearly enough for coral.

 

[tecwzrd]

If only interest in medium light corals then you could just buy a 48" 2X110W retrofit kit and use in conjunction with your current light for a total of 350W. (kit is about 8" wide)

 

[ylaw]

Thanks Mar118,
I can upgrade both bulbs to 10000K on my current light. I am looking at purchasing a T5 light fixture with 1x10000K and 1xActinic. Do you think this is sufficient enough for both fish and corals?

 

[Marc118]

Unfortunately another 60w of light isnt going to make much of a difference. Check out the VHO's tec has linked.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

For my 75G planted tank, I have 2 260W fixtures over the tank. Could do something like that, for a total of 520W. Even though my fixtures are a bit noisy, they were under $100.00 each. But now I see they are about $110.00 or so on Ebay. Odyssea's. If noise isn't a problem, then it's a cheap alternative. Or if you want a more quiet fixture, the Coralife fixtures, which are a bit spendy.

 

[tecwzrd]

Just so we are clear the kelvin rating has to do with visible spectrum and has nothing to do with the wattage (which is the energy most corals feed off of)

 

[ylaw]

Thank you for all the input.

I think I have 2 solutions, let me know which ones you guys think is better.

Option 1.
Replace my current light with Coralife 48" Lunar AquaLight Fixture - 4 x 65W

Two built in 3/4W LED Lunar Lights
- Built in Electronic Ballast
- Built in Cooling Fans
- Separate on/off controls for dawn/dusk effect
- Acrylic Lens Cover
- 2-Coralife SP 65W 10000K Bulbs
- 2-Coralife SP 65W Actinic Bulbs

Option 2.
Change my current bulbs(2x6700K) to 2 Actinic and use this for the blue light and purchase a Coralife AquaLight Pro Metal Halide HQI Clamp-On Pendant - 1 x 150W

Hang-on tank HQI metal halide fixture
- 150 watt 14,000K double-ended HQI metal halide lamp
- External HQI metal halide ballast with on/off switch, 12-foot lamp cord and 6-foot power cord
- Three points of articulation for multiple lighting positions
- Sleek, anodized black-aluminum housing with ventilation grill
- Highly-polished reflector
- Built-in cooling fan
- Glass HQI lens cover
- Heavy-duty mounting bracket


Cost is about the same for both with the exception the HQI does not have the lunar light.

Thanks again for everyone's input.

 

[tecwzrd]

That pendent only covers about 2 feet so you will need two of them if you go that route.

 

[Marc118]

That 1 pendant will not be enough...generally 1 MH per 2ft of tank. And 4x65 is still IMO not enough lighting for corals.

Like I said, you will end up spending more money in the long run if you go cheapy in the beginning. You still have the option to retrofit which will be very very cheap.

You could do my original suggestion of 2xMH and 2xVHO for less than $500.

 

[ylaw]

Thanks Marc, any recommendation as to which brand , model I should look at?

 

[Marc118]

Well first, do you have a hood? Otherwise you will need to buy a fixture...

What I have had good luck with is a company called catfish lighting, they do HQI/PC fixtures for relatively cheap. And are decent quality.

 

[ylaw]

Thanks for the info. No, I don't have a hood. So, I will be looking for the whole setup.

 

[Marc118]

Ahh ok.

It would be a little more work to retrofit with no hood.

http://catfishlighting.com/body_metalhalides.html

You can also check out those odyssea lights LoneWolf was talking about.

I always say you get what ya pay for though. Thats generally how it is with metal halide hardware.

A PC fixture, or two like Lonewolf may be what you are looking for, if you want medium light corals.

 

[Ziggy953]

If you don't have a hood and aren't going to build one to house a DIY lighting system then a complete fixture is your best bet. With a 4' tank you will need 2 MH bulbs to cover the tank. I kept corals (low light corals) with a 260w PC fixture, that only gives you 3.4wpg. If you are looking for only low light corals that unit will work. If you want a full blown mixed reef with SPS and some LPS coral along with a clam then you will need MH lighting.

Like I said if you aren't handy and can't build a hood to house your lights then get a complete fixture and as has been stated you do get what you pay for. Lighting and skimmers are 2 things not to skimp on! JMO!

If you are handy and can build a hood let me know and I will show you pics of my design maybe that will give you some ideas or direction.