lights for the fishtank? (1 Viewer)

[xskyzx]

Hi, I have a 72bowfront oceanic, which come with
((48" fluirescent twin-tube 120colt 67 watts 60hz) fixture)
Light in it:
40w marine glow (t10) or (t 8) I think , and
32w aquarium lamp,
I want to have some easy to keep corals in the tank but don't know which kind of light bulbs I need to put in the fixture( I don't want to get a new fixtures).

I read about lighs but still don't know nothing ( I'm slow) lol

Went to aquarium world and the lady told me to get
((1 48" Coralife 10k 40watts 1 1/2",
And 1 48" Coralife actinic 40watts 100% true actinic 03 blue=about 80bucks total))which is only 80watts total, is it good enough?, I read n see ppl said atleast 3 watts per gal.

I trust you guys more that's why I come here to ask b4 buying anything lol

Thanks in advance. Sorry for the long post.

 

[The_Dude]

That would need to be tripled(2 more sets of the ones you describe) at the least for coral, and even then you might need additional lighting.

I'm still learning myself so hopefully if I'm off someone will correct me

Maybe you could live with four bulbs if you could get fixtures that handle more wattage.

 

[xskyzx]

Thanks dude gl on ur drill tank...
Some1 selling the coralife 48" 4x65 watts , is that good enough?

 

[Tempset]

Thanks dude gl on ur drill tank...
Some1 selling the coralife 48" 4x65 watts , is that good enough?

Aim higher and only spend the $ once. You buy those power compacts and you'll experience the feeling we all get when we find we need to upgrade and wish we had aimed a little higher in the past.

Go for a T-5 fixture with 4-8 bulbs in it. I've seen a fixture with 8 bulbs sell for $210 brand new. Bulbs not included.

IMO purchasing power compacts only makes you hit your forehead in the long run because you'll had wished you spent that money towards a T5 or metal halide fixture.

Now if you've found an offer on those power compacts that's just too hard to pass up - 1 of two things have happened.

1. You've caught someone on a whim who just needs to get out of the hobby and the bulbs are still really good.

2. someone (like yourself in the future) has figured out that they need more kick and are dumping their mistake.

Hope this hasn't come across as to biased.

Just a reminder: this IS only my opinion (which holds no weight in every country I know of)

 

[Scott]

Agreed, it is technically possible that you keep/grow corals under pc's. IMO that's like putting 20w bulbs in every room in your house, you could live with it but you just wouldn't be happy with it. If you think this hobby is for you, go ahead and spend the money on a good T5 fixture instead of experiencing the buyers remorse of the PC fixture then spending the money again later on the lights you want. It's going to cost you a good bit but you won't regret it.

 

[xskyzx]

Thanks scott n tempset...reason that I don't want to get a stronger light is bc the tank is at the shop not at home. Thatsy I don't want to keep all those sps or lps corals n stuff.
So the
(Coralife 10k 40watts 1 1/2" and
Coralife actinic 40watts 100% true actinic 03 blue) is not nearly enough? the lady at the aquarium world said: "it should be ok"...

And the coralife 48" 4x65watts enough?

The type of my fixture n bulbs is power compact?

And again Thanks guys.

 

[decimal]

i agree with tempset. just fyi, your corals wont benefit from the actinic bulbs. they just make them look nicer. so actual light output should be measured by the 10k bulbs you are using. your best bet is t5 or mh. be forwarned that mh in a canopy will generate alot of heat and you may need to look at some fans or a chiller to keep the temp down. T5 will not give you the "sparkle" that you get with MH but will run cooler. some of the higher end fixtures will combine the efficient T5 (usually actinics) with Metal Halide bulbs. welcome to the wonderful world of reefkeeping.

 

[Andy]

Aquarium world, I'd stay away from that place IMHO. The people on this board will direct you better.

I have a 90 gal at my office with 4 only VHOs & you can grow this with it.

 

[haze_9]

I have the same tank you are describing (See pic below) I have 2 x 175W MH's suspended over mine. Everything is happy and doing well but due to the depth I plan on either upgrading to the 250W or going T5. As for the heat, I have a clip on fan blowing over my sump and my tank seems to stay about 79. if you wanna see it let me know. I can send you pics.

 

[xskyzx]

Thanks decimal, andy and haze,
Decimal, t5 n mh( is for you guys (experts) lol for me I just need some thing good enough for a couple of corals or so.
Andy, what's VHO? ( I know its very high output) but would I need to buy new fixture? Or it could fit in my fixture that I mentioned above.
Haze, I would love to see it if you can send me some at skyz@tmail.com

Mh and t5 I might wanna get it for the tank later at home, but this one is at the shop and don't wanna go all out for lights and corals.

Thanks a lot guys for the input....

 

[Andy]

Thanks decimal, andy and haze,
Decimal, t5 n mh( is for you guys (experts) lol for me I just need some thing good enough for a couple of corals or so.
Andy, what's VHO? ( I know its very high output) but would I need to buy new fixture? Or it could fit in my fixture that I mentioned above.
Haze, I would love to see it if you can send me some at skyz@tmail.com

Mh and t5 I might wanna get it for the tank later at home, but this one is at the shop and don't wanna go all out for lights and corals.

Thanks a lot guys for the input....

Mine is in my office also. 4 bulbs, yes they are VHO bulbs. 1 Icecap ballast runs all 4. bulbs are less than 30.00 each & last 1 yr.
You can get a used icacap ballast in buying/selling part of this site.
I am not familar with your fixture, do you have a picture?

Icecap is pretty simple, 8 endcaps (2 per bulb) & your in bussiness.

 

[xskyzx]

Thanks decimal, andy and haze,
Decimal, t5 n mh( is for you guys (experts) lol for me I just need some thing good enough for a couple of corals or so.
Andy, what's VHO? ( I know its very high output) but would I need to buy new fixture? Or it could fit in my fixture that I mentioned above.
Haze, I would love to see it if you can send me some at skyz@tmail.com

Mh and t5 I might wanna get it for the tank later at home, but this one is at the shop and don't wanna go all out for lights and corals.

Thanks a lot guys for the input....

Mine is in my office also. 4 bulbs, yes they are VHO bulbs. 1 Icecap ballast runs all 4. bulbs are less than 30.00 each & last 1 yr.
You can get a used icacap ballast in buying/selling part of this site.
I am not familar with your fixture, do you have a picture?

Icecap is pretty simple, 8 endcaps (2 per bulb) & your in bussiness.

Its one of them that kinda like "tip light" that we use for our house, longwhite tube.

I only can send pic through email bc Im using my phone lol
Thanks andy (sorry I'm don't know nothing about lights) lol

 

[Rick]

Wow Andy... I've seen your Home tank, your office tank is awesome too!!!...

I like going over to Andy's house and watching those Huge Blue Tangs swim around in all that coral.

Rick

 

[Andy]

Is there a canapy on the top?

Hey Rick, hows the tank doing?

 

[mpwolken]

I have the same exact tank and keep SPS coral with a 48" Aquactinics TX5. It fits perfectly on the tank and the coral has decent color. It was expensive, but there are not a whole lot of fixtures that fit so nicely on top of the 72 Bowfront.

I used to have the 4x65w coralife lunar aqualight (still do in my garage) and it was not great for coral. It was alright for mushrooms, but then again so is the inside of a lead box. Mushrooms just don't need much light.

I am thinking a combination of T5s and Metal Halide will be my next move when I set up my 180G (which is also sitting in the garage) If I was going to do MH on the 72G, the Current USA 48" 2x250W SunPod would be my first choice for ease of installation/price/performance.

I took some before and after pics with the same camera, same ISO, same white balance, same shutter speed and same aperture to do a comparison when I installed the TX5.

By the way, there are no SPS in the pictures below; I've got about 8 pieces now.

Coralife 4x65w lunar aqualight (2 month old bulbs)

Aquactinics TX5 (5x48" t5h0)

 

[The_Dude]

that is a huge difference.

the first pic is PC lighting and the second t5?

Pardon my ignorance, lighting is an area I havent done real in depth research on other than minimum wattage requirements.

 

[AquaNerd]

don't focus on wattage...they don't measure anything important. focus on the brightness of the lights (par, lumens, etc). metal halides are the brightest, followed by t5ho and vho. compact fluorescents aren't that bright, but are pretty high in wattage.

 

[The_Dude]

thx brandon

Thats why IM taking this slowly, to ensure I find out all the details before I leap.

kinda OT

When is the best time to catch you guys in-store?

Ive been down from Baytown twice now in two weeks and havent been able to catch yall for some face to face advice.

 

[mpwolken]

that is a huge difference.

the first pic is PC lighting and the second t5?

Pardon my ignorance, lighting is an area I havent done real in depth research on other than minimum wattage requirements.

Yes, the first is PC, second T5

 

[mpwolken]

Now, as a sidenote - My T5 fixture with shipping, lights and the riser brackets was about $650, roughly twice the cost of the lunar aqualight. I'd say it was well worth it. The key is the individual polished aluminum parabolic reflectors. They literally triple the output of a single T5 bulb. If you don't have them in your T5 fixture, you're missing quite a bit.