Lighting Help Needed!

[Kman2010]

New to the hobby....

My question is what am i looking for to replace my 48" Coralife HPC
so i can have clams, and all types of corals and stuff. Ive been told i need
a MH, but i have no clue what i need. I guesstimate for my tank size is
48"L, 14"W, 20"Deep.... i guess its a standard size tank, regardless any help would be wonderful.

 

[Miller]

To cover the 48" length you will need two MH's, two 250MH would be enough light, though I am unsure if you would be if 150's or 175's would cut it.

My tank is 16 inches tall and I have no problems with using a 175MH.

Somebody else will chime in soon with a 150/175/250 recommendation.

 

[stingythingy45]

I have a 55 gallon and if I went to halides it would be 2-150 watters with 2-54 watt T5 actinic support.
But as my tank is 90% softies I would probably opt for 6 T5s.
Shimmer really doesn't excite me too much.But I am very impressed with the colors T5s bring out.
Just beware that extreme lighting will have negative effects on the center brace of a 55 gallon.Especially if the lighting is low to the water surface.

 

[JohnK]

It largely depends on what specific corals you want to keep.

Most clams will need "very strong" light so 250's would probably be ideal for them, (but that's not to say you can't keep clams under lower light)

SPS corals will generally also need very strong light (250's might be best). For just about anything else though, I'd say you could do just fine with 150 or 175w MH.

In the end lighting options are pretty endless. There are people that keep SPS corals and high light clams under florescent only (though I wouldn't suggest it).

 

[Kman2010]

thanks for the help everyone, ill probably end up getting 250's

 

[JayM]

It gives you way more options, and prevents you from need to buy lights twice.

you can also go to a 14k bulb, less PAR, but more color

 

[Richard]

Make sur you have enough cooling power to cool off your tank with
2x250W MH. They will give off tons of heat, couple of fans blowing across the top of the tank should do the trick. Don't forget about the evaporation.

 

[Kman2010]

Definatley, thats the one thing i do know, haha. another question, is it needed to have a 48inch T-5 setup along with the 2 - MH? I only wonder because i notice a lot of people have both, lighting is too confusing. i wish i could just find a 48 incher that does everything, lol.

 

[Richard]

You can build a canopy and house all the lighting inside. I run 2x250 SE MH with 2x110 VHO attinics. I use the VHO to wake the tank up before the MH come on.

 

[Kman2010]

I have a Coralife 48 HPC, could i just keep that, and then made a MH canopy? would that do about the same?

 

[Richard]

I don't know if the ABS will melt or not.

 

[alpha0r]

Definatley, thats the one thing i do know, haha. another question, is it needed to have a 48inch T-5 setup along with the 2 - MH? I only wonder because i notice a lot of people have both, lighting is too confusing. i wish i could just find a 48 incher that does everything, lol.

I run a 250W XM 20k MH only and have no problems. I believe actinic lighting is mostly for looks. Your corals don't really need it to live. There are many 48' fixtures that "have it all" including the price tag to match! Go to some online retailers like marine depot and hellolights and browse around.

 

[Kman2010]

is this decent?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=220228756376&Category=46314&_trksid=p3907.m29


Im looking into all the pieces for building my own double 175 setup, then keepin the coralife too.

Another question is what coral can i safely keep in my tank with my current lighting situation, because i have been adding boosters for 4 months in the water getting ready for the coral and other things. Zoas?

 

[JayM]

keep in mind that price does not include bulbs, which will set you back another pretty penny.

other than that, tagging along

 

[Kman2010]

Kelvin

Damn another lighting question.

I'm lookin for a certain lighting in my tank, i dont like the overly blue tint, i want it almost clear but healthy, would i want a 20,000Kelvin for the spectrum im lookin for?

 

[SteveDola]

a 55g would be perfect for T5s. I think its only 16" deep so light penetration isnt an issue. I light my 75 sps reef with T5s and love the color and growth. Id suggest atleast 5 bulbs but 6 would be better for coloration.

Id have reservations putting 2x250s over a 55g. Heat will be an issue and i think its over kill. 500w is alot to put over a 55g. its ultimately your decision but I think you could be more cost effective if you went T5s over MH especially on a tank that size.

 

[SteveDola]

i think 13/14k would be better

 

[Kman2010]

Thanks!

Thanks for the insight! I wanted to go with T-5 but i had no clue what effect it would have on the tank, or if it was what i needed for a Reef.