Minimun light for reef ?

[taosku]

Hello all im new in this forum first post

currently i own a 80 gal Fo tank since i have this setup for 10 years now wanted to upgrade to a reef tank .
so i was wondering about lighting systems . does CF work for this ?

i was looking into this one http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod...itemKey=209299

thanks

Martin

[cplawrence]

Compact fluorescents will work, but you would be limited to lower light corals. The fixture you are talking about is 192W over 80 gallons, so about 2.5 watts per gallon. What are the dimensions on the tank? Being only 3 feet long, I would be concerned about it being particularly deep, which would make it more difficult for light to penetrate lower in the tank.
Chris

[austinsdad]

What kinda reef/coral did you have in mind? Start with a book I like to recommend, Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman. You may be happy with a variety of low light corals and save money on lighting. Conversely, higher light corals (and as mentioned deep tanks) require more costly lighting. I suggest you mapp out whjat you like first and determine lighting purchases from there. If lower light is OK, consider 4x65w PCs. Lot's of folks swear by T5s too.

[lando]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!!
reef lighting is a very wide topic. You need to considered the dimensions of the tank you are lighting as well as the animals you intend to keep. Corals and inverts vary greatly in lighting requirements. IN GENERAL...most mushrooms, zoanthids, leathers, polyps and LPS corals can be kept under the right amount of CF, T5 or VHO lighting. If, down the road, you wish to keep most anemones, clams or SPS corals, MH will be the best option. Lighting can easily be the most expensive part of any reef setup, making the right decision in the beginning will save you down the road.

[taosku]

well thanks for the input

the tank is 47*15.7*25- L*W*H

about what corals do i want mmm i dont know ,need to learn more about them . but if that lunar coralife fixture does it im happy for now.

[cplawrence]

Originally Posted by taosku

the tank is 47*15.7*25- L*W*H

Since the tank is four feet long (or just shy of it), I would suggest the four foot aqualight. It is a bit more, but it would provide 260W of light and hopefully would be doable without breaking the bank. It should work nicely for lower light animals. If you are more interested in higher light, the jump in price to a T5 or metal halide fixture would be quite high.
Chris

[melosu58]

I agree. get a light that covers your whole tank. Then you`ll be able to do medium light corals. My tank is a medium light tank so check out my gallery to see what type corals you could have. It will be Poylps, mushrooms, soft corals and LPS corals.

[taosku]

yep the thing is that the 4 ft fixture does not fit in my wooden top i have on my aquarium. and i dont want to get rid, this fixture is going inside it. thats why i choose the 3ft one .

do you think the 3 ft one would be good enough ?

martin

[melosu58]

How about VHO`s. Just do the retro fit kit and place them inside your canopy. Nothing but bulbs and endcaps. I`m going to move this to the hardware and equipment forum.

[taosku]

Originally Posted by melosu58

How about VHO`s. Just do the retro fit kit and place them inside your canopy. Nothing but bulbs and endcaps. I`m going to move this to the hardware and equipment forum.

do you have a link for that ?

[melosu58]

Here is just one I found. My LFS made mine 9 yrs ago. This is the exact same thing. I`m getting ready to add another set to it.

[Lonewolfblue]

Another option, if you are wanting higher lighting, is to do like what I did with my planted tank. I have 2 48" fixtures, 2x260W, for a total of 520W lighting. And if you find the right fixtures, it will cost less than a lot of the other higher light setups. I think mine were $92.00 each when I got them, on Ebay.

[taosku]

Originally Posted by melosu58

Here is just one I found. My LFS made mine 9 yrs ago. This is the exact same thing. I`m getting ready to add another set to it.

were is the link ?



something like this
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod...itemKey=204841