lighting ques. for 75gal (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

looking to up grade lighting on a 75gal. not sure how much watts to go would 220pc and a actinic (prob 48" maybe 2 24") be enough.
not sure what corals are going in, if some could give me a little low down on what needs what. like softies you could go as low as ----
and sps you need a min of -----
this kinda stuff.

thanks

 

[Brad]

rsflores,

I wish it was that easy to give you a "softies you could go as low as ----
and sps you need a min of -----". I have 4x110 VHO over a 55 and a 75 is really basicly the same size. One factor is depth. Another is what you plan on keeping. Another is how you want the tank to look, and lots more.

With 220 PC you can keep a lot of corals. Mushrooms, leathers, zoas, and more. Probably even some LPS and some of the easier LPS like Montipora.

A lot of people like the look of VHO better. I've never been able to see the same tank with each kind of lighting one after the other. However, I do like my VHO.

Its a big decision. I fretted over my lighting decision for several months, read everything I could at Reefcentral and Reefland. Then made a decision.

 

[Guest]

lighting is a big deal. IMO 220w PC on a 75 is OK, alittle on the weak side. You will be more satisfied with 440w VHO, or dual 175w Metal Halides. Lighting is expensive. Save up now and buy the lighting you think will satisfy your future needs. I personally am putting dual 175w 10k MH and 220 VHO Actinics on my 75.

 

[Guest]

I used to run 220w PC on my old 72g bowfront. I was able to keep a few softies and LPS corals under that lighting, but they never really thrived or grew. IMO you would be seriously limiting yourself with that lighting.

For not much more money, you can get a 440w VHO setup that will allow you to keep about 90% of the corals you would ever want to. That's what I would do, then if you get the SPS bug later, all you have to do is add some metal halides, i.e. you don't have to ditch your whole setup.

 

[waterboy]

lites

you could get 175MH w/electronic ballast and 10K or 20K bulb included for the same price as you would for 440 VHO. Check out diyreef.com or inreef.com.