lighting and fixtures

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want2findnemo

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
May 11, 2008
Messages
205
Ok Im reading on lighting and so far I read that corals need higher Kelvin output then say FO.

I went to a few LFS and like looked at their light bulbs, most of them have the Blue and White light bulbs and then the ones with hard corals have the shorter really high intensity bulbs (MH?)

So if Im planning to have a FOWRL (but way later on perhaps add softcorals)

What type of lighting should I invest in from the start? Can I mix?

Does anyone know any sites that teach you how to calculate the Watts I need for my tank? (75g) 40x20x18 = LxWxH


Thanks in advanced! :)
 
The watts per gallon rule is dated and doesn't hold up too well with modern lighting (T5, LED). Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is a more useful parameter. Par designates the spectral range of solar light from 400 to 700 nanometers that is useful in the process of photosynthesis. It is also harder to measure and compare the PAR available between 2 different fixtures.

Everyone has their favorite light fixture (usually the one they own). Tell us what you might want to keep and we can try to narrow the range. A 4 tube T5 fixture (parabolic reflectors) would allow you keep all but the most light demanding creatures.
 
The Nova Extreme that fijiwiji linked would be a good choice. It has parabolic reflectors andn 8 bulbs. It comes with: Bulbs: 4x54W-10,000K Daylight / 4x54W-460nm Actinic, which is a good combination.
 
Are you in Canada?

Take a look at this Sunlight Supply unit or ask if they have the unit that Fiji linked to (not the Pro). I don't what the reflector on the Pro model looks like but the description is "contoured" not parabolic. That wouldn't be bad if the refelctor resembles a W over each bulb ,but if it look like /-\ with a flat back then you are not getting the full benefit of the light output.
 
Ya im in Toronto,

Thats why the one from the link that fiji posted would cost me 130 just for shipping alone... :-?
 
The Sunlight Supply one you linked doesnt say HO after T5,

Is there a difference between T5HO and T5?


Cuz the one you linked doesnt come with bulbs and I need to know what kind of bulbs to get with it.

I will do more reading on this as well.


Thanks
 
This is what i found on another forum

To make it a bit easier I'll break it down a bit. T is the style of tube, 5 is the diameter, HO stands for high output. The ballast needs to be matched not only to the output of lamp (NO - normal output, HO - high output, or VHO - very high output) but also to wattage.

You see it common on normal output ballasts that they list T8 or T12 but only 40W. These are both NO (normal output) lamps and both will have 40W @ 48" so the ballast is common to both.

T5's are 28W @ 48" and T5HO's are 54W @ 48". If you were to place the T5HO lamp into the T5 ballast the lamp may not fire. If you were to place a T5 lamp into a T5HO ballast you may be in for a very nasty surprise.


So what I got from that is that if its 54W @ 48" its T5HO


Sunlight Supply 48" Tek Light T5 Fixture - 6-Bulb, 6 x 54W =

T5HO even though it doesnt say..

I hope im right...
 
That is correct. The 54w is HO. The T number is the diameter in eighths of an inch. A T5 is 5/8" in diameter, a T8 is 1", and a T12 is 1½" in diameter.
Also from another post I found that the Nova Extreme Pro has individual rounded refelctors. They should be close to the efficiency of a parabolic reflector,, but I don't have any data to support that conclusion.
 
Not sure if you're aware, but the new Nova Extreme Pro has individual reflectors for each bulb. I have the 36" model and love it! The individual reflectors really seem to make a difference. I'm only running 4 out of 6 bulbs on my 45 gallon!

So i guess its ok?
 
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