Question about lights

[Kelso]

I'm getting new lights for my 46 gal tank. Not sure what I should get. Debating between halide and compact florecent. I don't know much about medal halides. Are they dangerous? That is the main thing that worries me about halides, general saftey. Compacts I'm worried don't have high enough light, but I like that they are safe, low heat, and energy effecent. Any thoughts on what I should choose? Any tips with medal halides? Also I've been looking at an inexpensive 150 w clamp on halide fixture. My tank is 38" wide, is this a good choice for my tank? I think the clamp would be perfect for space reasons, but I'm worried the light won't spread around my tank. Any advice would help!

 

[melosu58]

Moved to the General hardware and equipment discussion forum.

I know several folks with halides. They just offer more intensity. If I was you I would check out the T5HO system. More intensity than PC`s. You`d be able to have almost anything in your tank with those.

 

[Kelso]

T5HO, I have a regular T5, but it's only 24". I will definatly look into it, thanks. So are you saying I shouldent deal with medal halides?

 

[cmor1701d]

T5 with highly polished parabolic reflectors produce enough light to grow just about anything. My understanding is that you don;t get the shimmer effect in the water that you do with MH (pleasing look kto many), but this can be accomplished by adding a LED strip.

MH create more heat in the water than T5s but penetrate deeper from what I understand. A 6 or 8 bulb T5 should allow you to add anything you want to the tank though, so it's your decision.
Find a fixture you like and ask for comments about it.
Lighting is not an area you want to get no-name cheap fixtures. Quality pay in this area.