Lighting Advice

[KLehman72]

My 55 gallon reef is up and running....waiting a couple months to add the corals. I need a new light....I'm looking at T5's but need advice. There are literally hundreds of options out there....I am planning on hard and soft corals etc. Question is....what's a good light option that is reasonably priced. I see a fixture on EBay that has 4 bulbs and also 4 LED clusters for night lighting for $130 which sounds like a great deal but.....we all know that's not always the case.

HELP?


Kevin

 

[mr_X]

if you want to keep sps/clams/anemones, i would suggest a 6 lamp fixture that has individual reflectors per bulb. whatever fixture you choose, make sure it is UL listed. you are also going to want to change out the lamps for high end bulbs like giesemann or ATI. these lamps have the highest PAR and best color available.

 

[bsdryder7]

if you want to keep sps/clams/anemones, i would suggest a 6 lamp fixture that has individual reflectors per bulb. whatever fixture you choose, make sure it is UL listed. you are also going to want to change out the lamps for high end bulbs like giesemann or ATI. these lamps have the highest PAR and best color available.

can you get those type of bulbs in cf ??

 

[mr_X]

no. and i would not keep sps under power compacts anyway. they do not penetrate the water like individually reflected, high output, T5s do.
if you wanted sps, you don't want power compact lighting. you'll end up with a bunch of brown sticks at best.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

no. and i would not keep sps under power compacts anyway. they do not penetrate the water like individually reflected, high output, T5s do.
if you wanted sps, you don't want power compact lighting. you'll end up with a bunch of brown sticks at best.

Does that include the CPF 55w kits from www.ahsupply.com?

 

[mr_X]

most likely. there is no mention of PAR on that website, and you need to have an apparatus over your tank that's 4" wide to house just one 55 watt lamp. if you were using T5 lamps, you could get 36 watts in approximately 4" and much better color than cf. also, the replacement cost with cf v.s. T5 is another reason not to use them.
i haven't tried one of their reflectors over a cf bulb, but if i recall correctly, before high output T5s there was only metal halide and T12 VHO lighting when a successful sps tank was the goal. i don't think i've ever met/read of anyone who used power compacts and had beautifully colored sps.