55G lighting change (1 Viewer)

[PoissonRouge]

Hi All,

Here is what I have a 55G FOWLR (48x13x21) with original fluorescent lighting; 2 power-goo 18” 15W T8 bulbs
I am not planning at having any corals anytime soon, as I have the current fish: Bicolor and coral beauty angels, striped damsel and 2 ocellaris clowns; also planning on more inverts and anemones (bubble tip)

Looking at getting LED and reading a lot about this. How much would I need? Would it be better to mix this with MH? Distribution of the light would be important to be homogeneous. Any setup that you can share? Can this be done by DYI easily (I mean with the help of my husband )?

Thanks!

 

[jhill9]

I think you will see a lot of different answers. Corals do grow under LEDs but a lot of people are switching back to T5 or T5/MH mix. I have been generally happy with my maxspect LED but this is my first tank so I don't have anything to compare it to. If you don't mind changing bulbs every year then do T5. If you don't care about the heat from MH then do those. If you haven't noticed there isn't 1 correct way to do a tank. As long as you are happy with it that is all that matters.

 

[bpb]

If you don't have corals or even plan to, there is no reason to use metal halide lighting. You're serious just paying a lot of money for bulbs, using a ton of electricity, and generating a lot of heat, and not even taking advantage of the one undeniable benefit to metal halide = better coral growth and color. If you're content to stay with the fish only theme, why not buy a cheap current orbit marine led unit and call it a day. It won't support coral growth, but will use next to no electricity (0.1 watt LEDs on that unit), generate zero heat, and a 48" unit would cover you end to end. I'd never recommend that unit for a reef tank, but if I had a fish only/angelfish/predator tank, that would be my go-to light choice