Best Lighting for clams & corals

[amosora]

I'm back my gurus, how much light do i need for my future clams & coral. I want to have the best so i won't be upgrading soon. Sz 65 gal (i thought it was just 50) & height 1ft and 20 inches. thanks in advance.

 

[Gti_Leo]

LEDs?

 

[amosora]

Is LED better? Im clueless on this matter as in zero knowhow

 

[Gti_Leo]

well LEDs are the "top of the line" i would still recommend T5HOs though LEDs are still really expensive

 

[melosu58]

It all depends on what type corals and clams you are talking about. I have VHO`s and have had two different type clams and have many corals that are over ten yrs old. As far as the clams the squamosa and derasa need medium lighting like my VHO`s. The higher light clams need T5HO or Metal Hallides. My lighting is in the moderate range and you can view my tank and see what type corals do good with my lighting. If you want to make sure you can have any coral then get the T5HO or MH`s.

 

[amosora]

How much wattage should i get or how many pcs of light should i buy? What is VHO? Thanks

 

[melosu58]

VHO = Very High output. T-12`s. I have 4 160 watt bulbs on top of the tank.

 

[Gti_Leo]

well with T5HOs you want one lamp per 3-5" of front to back surface area, with the tube goign the length of the aquarium. for example for a 75g that is 48x18x20 tall you should look for a 6 lamp 54watt T5HO

if you go the MH route then one MH is used to light a 24x24" area so o nthat same tank you's want 2x 250watts, and may need actinic supplementation depending on lamp choice

 

[amosora]

Thanks a lot to everyone

 

[Fishguy2727]

Are you buying a new fixture? I would go with a high quality HOT5 fixture with individual curved reflectors, as many bulbs as you can fit on the tank.

What are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[Sarcothelia]

T5s and T12s are both good options. LEDs are certainly good and if you have bottomless pockets are the way to go. Extremely bright, produce little heat and produce beautiful shimmers.

You could keep just about any light lover under VHOs though.

 

[Dinodu]

Well i do a combinations, i add to my 175mh some MH in different colors that gift me ghe colir that i want, ( j wang my fish and my corals look different )

But my advice is see what u want and that is way different

 

[Fishguy2727]

Please proofread before posting.

 

[Dinodu]

Sorry some LED sorry i add blue, red and white and in combination that will give sobe colors

 

[amosora]

Sorry some LED sorry i add blue, red and white and in combination that will give sobe colors

Are the led you're talking about is the strips or the flourescent tube

 

[slitherbomb]

Wait, what is better: VHO or T5HO?

 

[Sarcothelia]

VHO (T12s) are brighter.

 

[Dinodu]

LEDs stripes as you can see

 

[Gti_Leo]

no they aren't T12 were outdated years ago, they just put out a higher wattage. T8s took the place of T12 years ago

T5s are brighter, and they can be individually reflected where as T12s can't be.

 

[amosora]

LEDs stripes as you can see

So excited thanks a lot. I'll be bugging you again