lighting

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armenkk1

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Dec 31, 2011
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229
Location
Montana
I have a 150 gallon that I want to turn to a reef tank. it is 60"x24"x24". what type of lighting do I need to keep almost any coral found at the LFS?
 
I would go with something like mh or led if you want shimmer if heat is going to be an issue think about led or t5's. You could go with a combination of 3 mh and a couple t5 lights or get leds on a dimmer.

I am staying away from leds right now because they haven't been on the market long enough for all the research to come in and also the cost. I am thinking in 5 years there should be enough information out there to decide if I want it or not and the cost will come down.

Some people have great luck right from the start with leds. My luck probably won't be that good when starting with them.
 
I'd probably be looking at metal halides (3 or 4 bulbs) with T5 HO supplementation. I think the 250 watt one would be okay. Metal halides by themselves are often too white and need a little blue to tone them down.

Another alternative I would consider are LEDs. They are very pricey but offer energy efficiency, long life, and the good ones you can customize the spectrum on. Here's a link to a review and experiment with one of the good ones: Mr. Saltwater Tank’s Radion LED Experiment

Mark Callahan actually has a series of videos documenting his trial of the unit.

If you are willing to lower your expecations a little, an 8 bulb T5HO set up isn't unreasonable either, and is the cheapest alternative in the short term as well as being a little cheaper to run than the halides.
 

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