Floressent light question.

[aprilschutt]

Hi there! Newbie here...I am setting up a 75 gallon tank and have about 100 pounds of live rock. Hoping to add corals in the future but not quite yet and will slowly add fish once the cycle is over.

My question is this. Can I use a fluorescent light fixture like what you would use in a garage? It doesn't matter to me what it looks like since this tank is being build in a wall and the lighting will not be shown. I'm just wondering if a fluorescent fixture would work and if so, can I add the correct lights to it or will just a regular bulb that comes with it work?

Thanks!

 

[mcgyvr]

Fine for fish only.. not enough light to support corals..

 

[billdogg]

^^^What he said^^^

Just starting with fish, it would be ok. Because this is a new setup, and in-wall at that, I would strongly suggest using the proper lights from the beginning. It will be much easier to install them now than it will be in the future. In addition, standard crappy lights are not built or intended to resist the corrosion and will fail quickly.

 

[aprilschutt]

Ok, just wondering you have any suggestions for good lights for what will (hopefully!) be a mixed reef tank.

 

[billdogg]

There are just about as many options for lighting as there are people with tanks! What's your budget? Metal Halide, T5 HO, and LED are the 3 most common choices. I have switched to LED's for my 120g DT and am very happy with them. They offer the ability to adjust the color temperature to your liking, add no heat to the tank (as both MH and T% can), and are economical to run. I also still have T12 VHO's on my 150DT, but it is a softcoral only tank and so is not as demanding. When the 20+ year old ballast dies, I'll replace them with LED's as well. I use both AI and Kessils and am very happy with both,

 

[aprilschutt]

So, any chance you could send me a link to some LED's that would work for a mixed reef tank? If I search for LED's I get tons of options and I have no idea how to tell what I would need.

Thanks for your help and time.

 

[Gashauler]

The search thread link is your friend at this point!! Take it slow and read a lot.