A question about lighting

[simple_found]

Hi at the moment i am in the planning stages of building a reef tank but the last thing left to decide and probably the hardest is what light MH, VHO, PC or T5s the tank i am using is 48"x16"x22" holds about 52 gallons not 100percent sure what corals i am having but thought if i set it up for sps i cant go wrong any help or opinions would be appreciated

Many Thanks

 

[griss]

If you think you want to keep SPS, then I recommend that you use metal halide lighting.

Over a 4' long tank, you will want to have have 2 metal halide lamps.

As for the type of MH lamp, that really depends on personal opinion. Many people (myself included) prefer either 14K or 15K MH bulbs or 10K MH bulbs supplemented with some type of actinics (VHO, T5, PC, etc).

HTH

 

[griss]

Oops, I forgot to address wattage. With a tank as shallow as you have, you could use 175 watt bulbs, but I would personally use 250 watt.

 

[MightyMike3434]

You should really decide what you'd like to keep before you light the tank. While many (most?) folks will recc. using Metal Halide lighting to keep SPS, you will incur many other costs as a result of the MH lighting. I'm not trying to dissuade you from using a MH fixture, just encourage you to be certain this is what you want. You'll be happier with the MH when you know it's just right for your corals. The animals will thank you. BTW it is possible to provide too much light for many types of corals.

 

[MightyMike3434]

I thought this was relatively complex but worth reading.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/sbj4/aquarium/articles/Photosynthesis.htm