Help with lighting please = need advice fast

[prostock442]

Need help fast as I've had my tank set up for over a week & it still only has water in it. No LR or Fish due to my procrastination about lighting. I want to make the right choice, the first time.

I just setup my first Marine Tank. A 75 Gallon, nothing fancy, intended to be FOWLR but I want to buy a light that will support Soft Corals & Inverts when I graduate to that point. I also need lighting that will keep the Coralline Algae's colors vibrant & keep all the critters alive that need that sort of lighting. So, I'm leaning towards the one linked below. Take a look & let me know if this is a good choice & of course, provide links to your choices. I am on a tight budget so I can't go spending crazy. The light I've shown is only $100 with free shipping so I'd like to stay in that range. I know, you get what you pay for but I'm sure there's a happy medium there somewhere. The light I've picked is just that. Thanks

Aquarium Light 48" 216 Watt T5 Aqua Lighting Fixture Reef Fish Tank Salt Water

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...oogleMKP&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA

 

[Flame Angel]

link does not work

 

[HuuTa]

works for me.that light will work if u only plan on keeping softies

 

[Owen386]

Light is the last thing to worry about.

Is your tank cycling?

Speaking from personal experience that light sucks and is a waste of money. Though will grow softies barely. Wait for someone on here to be selling one.

What's your equipment like?



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[P-Nut]

T5 WILL do the job.
I keep clams in a 40breeder with a cheap 4 bulb T5 that has no reflectors. I do use ATI bulbs.

 

[MrX]

Need help fast as I've had my tank set up for over a week & it still only has water in it. No LR or Fish due to my procrastination about lighting. I want to make the right choice, the first time.

I just setup my first Marine Tank.

To further the point I think Owen was trying to make, why are you rushing? This is not the hobby to try and rush things... leads to nothing but mistakes, pain, and lost $$$.

When you say you just setup, and your tank has been setup for over a week, do you mean it's really been a week, or that you've gone through the cycle already and it ended a week ago?

 

[Skeeter7424]

I was going to say, I am going to have to disagree with the previous two posters and say that light should work just fine with just softies. I would also upgrade the bulbs, but 4 - T5 bulbs over that tank will def light it sufficiently to grow softies.

 

[prostock442]

Okay - To answer your questions: The tank has only been filled & up & running for one week. I can't cycle the tank until I get my Live Rock & Live Sand in the tank. I don't have anything in the tank but water right now. Salinity is 1.022, temperature is 78.5.

The RUSH is I want to buy some nice Live Rock which is covered with nice purple Coralline Algae from a local seller (Before someone else buys it all) and I need to get the light to keep it alive. I don't want to kill it by not having the correct lighting. I'm using a Brand New over the back Aqua Clear Power Filter 110. My Main Concern right now is having proper lighting for the Live Rock Coralline Algae.

I want to make sure that light will support the Live Rock as well as some softies later on down the road. I've been speaking with a LFS that has over 40 years experience & he tells me that this light will be great for what I will have in my tank. I'm just asking here for more input & opinions & hoping your opinions are based on your experience's.

Hope this makes things clearer. Thanks for your input on this subject.

If I'm missing something or not understanding, please clarify for me. I am as new as they come to Marine, I have FW Tropical tanks so I'm not totally new to the hobby. Just Marine.


P.S. The LINK Works Fine For Me. Try to Copy & Paste it.

 

[newenglandreef]

I remember some years back when I first started, I went to Tropic Isle in Framingham. I saw a used PC unit priced for $60. I thought that was pretty expensive for just a light. How things have changed.

I've learned the hard way: that it's best to plan your system and buy the equipment that will meet your goals. I also remember wondering why reefers liked SPS so much. Now it's just about all I want, because it's challenging and rewarding. So my comment would be that, if you ever plan to grow more light-intensive coral--like sps, look into a unit with more T5's, because the way LED's are breaking into the lighting market, you'll be lucky to get 1/3 of your money back should you plan to upgrade. I think you could find a 6-8 bulb unit, used, up here for around the same money. That would be my advice.

 

[dz6t]

To the original poster, this light works for soft coral as it is.
If you spend some more money (another $100) to get a set of ATI bulbs, you can grow some serious coral under it.

 

[Flame Angel]

link does not work

Link works. I had to reset my router.

 

[prostock442]

Okay - I found a New 6 Light Unit that looks pretty good. This one seems allot better than my first choice. Let me know what you think on this one. Thanks


http://www.buy.com/prod/aquarium-li...-reef-6x54/231234497.html?listingId=217885097

 

[beckbrass]

if your going to get something like that I would get it from a aquarium supply company and get a brand that has existed for a while and you know will work like a TEK light. Here is one from reefgeeks.com

http://www.reefgeek.com/48-6x54w-tek-light-t5-high-output-fixture-black-sls4015.html

aquacave also sells them as does bulkreef supply.

As others have said you can spend a little now and upgrade in less then a year or get a real light now and be happy for much longer. Or you can buy someones used one off the boards.

Bulbs and reflectors make a huge difference. TEK has nice reflectors I don't know about the one you picked. Individual reflectors are the way to go. If all you will ever have is softies it will not matter much but guessing by what 90% on this board do you will end up with more then just softies in less then a year.

 

[prostock442]

So many lights, too many choices.......... Extremely Overwhelming........... The light you linked at Reefgeek.com is pretty much the same as the one I linked above so I don't see a difference. The one I'm looking at has a 5 year warranty on the ballast also. This is going to take me another week to decide. LOL, pulling my hair out, what little I have left.

 

[prostock442]

I am getting SOOOOOOO Confused. I just spoke with another LFS & tha guy said that I don't need any kind of special light for just LR with Coralline Algae. He said that everything is going towards LED now & the prices in 6 months or so when I'm ready to do Soft Corals will be much less. He told me to not waste my money now, wait & buy LED's when the prices drop............ What's your thoughts on that everyone???????

 

[mchartier]

So many lights, too many choices.......... Extremely Overwhelming........... The light you linked at Reefgeek.com is pretty much the same as the one I linked above so I don't see a difference. The one I'm looking at has a 5 year warranty on the ballast also. This is going to take me another week to decide. LOL, pulling my hair out, what little I have left.

The one you posted does not have individual reflectors on the bulbs where the Tek light that was posted does. This directs a lot more light into the tank and is one of the main items you should be looking for in a T5 fixture, along with vent/cooling. A fixture with fans will help extend bulb life a little more than one that has only vents such as the light you linked and that Tek light does (the Tek Elite along with ATI have cooling fans). As for the bulbs being extra, that fixture you posted does not say the make of the bulbs only the K rating, I would probably be swapping them out anyway for either ATI or Giesemann bulbs.

 

[prostock442]

Are cooling fans noisy? Also, my main question has not been answered by anyone. QUESTION: Does the Coralline Algae (purple growth) Need special lighting to stay alive & vibrant? I'm afraid if I don't have proper lighting, it will die & turn ugly gray & white. I've been told by a LFS that I can get by with the plastic hood fluorescents that came with the tank. I believe they are T8's and about 40w each. Thanks

 

[ava420]

haha man there is so many threads on LEDs vs T5 vs MH its way worse then "will this light work for me?"... LEDs need time to be perfected at a price people will buy. i would go with the reefgeek one from beckbrass or the the second one you picked with upgraded bulbs... most of what you want is coming from the bulb quality you use. without individual reflectors you are going to want good bulbs. the TEK light will be better out of the box with stock bulbs. the one you picked will be fine with stock bulbs for just coraline/zoas/mushrooms/and the like for a while too but past that i wouldn't run them long. most likely everything will be "reaching" for the light and it doesn't look good imo...

 

[Owen386]

You will be fine growing Coraline on rocks glass everywhere with stock lights long as your water is straight

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[prostock442]

Thank You Owen386 for answering my initial question. I was advised by another LFS I called today to hold off on buying any lights for six months to a year because everything is swinging towards LED's right now. So by the time I'm ready to try my hand at Corals, prices will have come way down & quality will have improved. I think I'll take that advice. Thanks to all who voiced their opinion, it was helpful.