decent lighting for a 29 gallon at a reasonable price

[LionfishFinatic]

Ok guys i have posted this before but i have not really gotten the answer i have wanted so please bear with me.

I have a 29 gallon FOWLR i want to make into a reef and i am having the most trouble on lighting the tank. i am only 13 years old so i don't earn that much money so i can't really go MH and the fixture i have been looking at is the current usa orbit model 24" with 130watts. people have been saying to go T-5 on other threads and i am not so convinced with them. the 24" T-5 is only 96 watts and the 6-24watt retrofit i have seen is about 400 bucks $$$$. so any advice for me would be great!!!

Thanks in advance you guys are great!!,
Lionfishfinatic :smokin:

 

[alien9168]

I'm in a similar situation with respect to money...I work, but am saving most of it for college next year... hears my advice...i curently have the current orbit model 24" ok...its a great light...but definatly go the t5 route...it will save you money in the long run...

if you cant stand spending the money for a new fixture...why not look at one that is used?

Also...what lighting do you have now?

 

[alien9168]

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...&Product_Code=PFO-VHOR2&Category_Code=PFOvhor

i was looking around and found this...i dont know if its out of your price range or not...but it would provide enough light imo...to keep some corals----depending on what you want to keep...

what do you want to keep exactly...that will determine what lighting your gunna want and how much you should...or have to spend...?

 

[GSMguy]

t5 has a better par than pc so a lil goes longer
plus you can get them in lots of colors to fine tune the color you want

 

[LionfishFinatic]

thanks you guys this answers a lot of my questions. currently my lighting in really not that great. the 29 came in a kit so it's one of those cheapy lights for FW. I am probably gonna keep LPS corals and some Softies so nothing big....yet . thanks again for all your help!!
Lionfishfinatic

 

[LionfishFinatic]

would this work for most LPS??T-5 Nova Extreme

 

[gregbot9000]

i was told the nova extreme wasnt good because it didnt have single lamp reflectors(slr)
it only has one reflector for all 4 lamps. =(

 

[edwing206]

that's the same light i am getting soon and i have a 110 watt pc fixture if you want it for 50 plus shipping.

 

[gfk]

hellolights.com is giving out free T5 bulbs with their retro's right now

 

[LionfishFinatic]

edwing, where are you getting your fixture from?

 

[edwing206]

the nova extreme?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...a_Gen_Page-_-Lighting&subref=AA&N=2004+113175
find them cheaper somewhere else?

 

[hahnmeister]

DONT GET THE NOVA. The flat reflector wastes about 60% of the potential output of the T5s. I would get a 4x24wattT5 unit. It will put out more light than 4x55wattPCs... I can tell you that. They easily put out 2-3x what PCs do per watt.

See for yourself...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=972430

It will cost you about $200 for the fixture w/o bulbs from reefgeek (or, you can often find some better deals on ebay), or you can get a retrofit.

If thats too much $$$, get a 2x24wattT5 setup, it will still have more output than the orbit with the extra 2 bulbs. Those things are crap. A good idea would be to get the retrofit from reefgeek.com If you get the tek retrofit for just over $100, you can call and ask them to upgrade you to the Icecap reflectors (about 20% better) for just a little more. This would get you going. Then, save up more, and add another 2x24wattT5 when you can. This would give you the BEST light possible for a 29g with T5s.

 

[Spracklcat]

If you're a bit handy, you can save a bunch by DIY--I jsut recently upgraded my 29g from 4 x 75W VHO T12's to T5, and wow--huge difference. Look on Ebay for Workhorse ballasts: should run you $18 for the smaller one for 2 x 25W T5, and maybe $25 for the larger one that can run 5 or more bulbs (I forget). Then get yourself the Icecap endcaps (the biggest expense), look on the Fulham website for the wiring diagram (Fulham makes the Workhorse ballasts) and have fun

 

[LionfishFinatic]

ok, so if i get the 4-24 watt setup from reefgeek, do you recomend getting the acrylic shield or no? also they mentioned individual reflectors. do you recommend getting those for the retrofit kit? sorry about all the questions i am a noob when it comes to reefs :rollface:

 

[GSMguy]

individual refelectors are the whole point of t-5 get them it makes all the difference what about a 250 watt double ended metal halide pendant the price difference is negligable and damn does it look good

 

[hahnmeister]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8550447#post8550447 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LionfishFinatic
ok, so if i get the 4-24 watt setup from reefgeek, do you recomend getting the acrylic shield or no? also they mentioned individual reflectors. do you recommend getting those for the retrofit kit? sorry about all the questions i am a noob when it comes to reefs :rollface:

Do you mean 4x25watt retrofit or Tek? If you get the retrofit, no need... just get the icecap reflectors... they are easier to clean. The acrylic sheild is a mixed bag... see, T5s need to be kept cool with some sort of circulation... a small fan blowing over them or something... but passive cooling isnt enough. Its not that they run hot... their ideal operating temp is 95degreesC. Its that their output diminishes, as well as their longevity, if you start going much above that 95degree mark. In a recent test Grim did, the output of the Tek light went up a good 33% with the use of a fan blowing over the bulbs. Some imported brands, like the fauna marin, aquaconnect, and ATI use active cooling to get about 2x the output of the Tek.

So I seriously prefer the retrofits at this point. You can run your own fans, and use the icecap SLR reflectors, which are better than the Tek retrofit reflectors because they are easier to clean, and they are better by about 10-20% depending on the depth. For a retrofit, I see no need for the sheild. For the tek, it does cover the reflectors from splashing, but at the cost of some of the output. I run my Tek without the sheild... Im just very careful about splashing.

But Im getting rid of my 6x39watt Tek. Im making my own fixture from all the retrofit pieces I have laying around and some bent up brushed aluminum from a local sheet metal shop.