Help me with lighting for my 55

[Tuscaquatics]

OK. I'm ready to throw down and get proper lighting for my 55-gallon reef. I want to have softies, SPS, LPS, anemones, clams, you name it. I'm really thinking about T5s rather than MH because of the heat issue. The last thing I want to do is get a chiller. Also, I don't want to have to cut down my lighting to only 8 hours a day. I want to see my tank!

I don't have a canopy, so a retro is out of the question. I'm gonna have to get an all-in-one fixture. Will 4x54w T5 be enough? My friend seems to think that 6 will be too much and I might end up bleaching stuff. Is there that much of a difference with only 2 extra bulbs? He runs 4 T5s on a 90 gallon that is much deeper than my 55 and he keeps all kinds of stuff successfully.

What do you guys/gals recommend? ATIs are out of the question as I can't spend that much. I'm thinking about a Nova Extreme of something in that range. Give me your advice. Also, what kind of bulb configuration would you run?

 

[dahc1979]

I have a four bulb Tek T-5 on my 55 gallon tank and love it. I dont have any sps, but have a few lps, softies, zoas, and too many mushrooms. The Tek six bulb light is to wide for a standard 55 gallon. I run Geisemann bulbs on it I am at work right now so Im not too sure about the bulb colors. Good luck

 

[Tuscaquatics]

bump

 

[Jesus Freak]

4x54 watt with indivduale reflectors would be plenty to keep just about anything you want.

 

[Tuscaquatics]

Keep 'em coming...

 

[Ralph ATL]

just get a 2 x 150 sunpod with Radiums on it. done. had that for years.

 

[Tuscaquatics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15634697#post15634697 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mysterybox
just get a 2 x 150 sunpod with Radiums on it. done. had that for years.

Probably a little pricey for my budget. I'd like to spend under 500. I'm really leaning towards a 6x54w T5. Maybe a Sundial. I like the built in timers and the lunar lights.

Any thoughts on the Sundial?

 

[Ralph ATL]

no experience with T-5's here.

 

[Tuscaquatics]

What's the current consensus on the Sundial? Individual reflectors, built-in timers, lunar lights. Any thoughts? Anybody running them?

 

[epleeds]

I have a basic current model 8x54 with one large reflector. was fairly cheap, say $400 and its over my 75. everything grows in it. If you go with individual reflectors, you could get away with less bulbs.

 

[jason2459]

Tuscaquatics. I have the Sundial. It's not a true individual reflector as it's more of a one reflector thats been molded around each bulb. I also find I have to keep resetting the time on the timers. The moon light LEDs only come on once the main lights turn off then the moon lights kick on in a few seconds. Which is fine with me. They aren't the most powerful but with all the other lights off in the room and your eyes adjusted for the dark they are good enough and provide some shimmer effect like that. You definitely can't use them to provide any shimmer effect during the day even if you could turn them on with the other lights on.

Other then that it's a nice setup and like it for now. I have to keep it really low about 3" from the water so I like having the acrylic slide cover protecting bulbs and reflector. I clean it off probably once or twice a week to remove salt build up. I have a 48" setup with several fans built into the back of the unit which is almost on the boarder of being to loud being that it's in my living room but still not bad enough to be annoying.

There are three switches on the back to control the moon lights, 1 pair of front/back lights, and the other pair of front back lights. Two timer controllers for the two sets of lights. There is also only one power cord coming from the fixture which could be good for freeing up plug-ins but if the built in timers completely fail then you can not control both sets of light and the moon leds with external timers with out some taking the fixture apart and moding it.

I would probably not buy it again but I am satisfied with it for now. Once it fails I will not worry about trying to fix it. I'll probably not go with the stock bulbs when I replace them.

 

[Tuscaquatics]

Thanks, Jason. That is exactly the type of input I was looking for. The lengthy write-up is most appreciated. I might steer away from the Sundial.

I really like the Nova Extreme Pro, but it's lacking lunar lights. I know this shouldn't be a deal-breaker since I can buy my own supplemental lunars, but I do like the idea of an all-in-one solution.

At this point, I feel like true individual reflectors are my main concern. I don't want to worry about sufficient lighting down the road.

 

[jason2459]

NP. I was looking at the nova extreme pro and seems like a great unit especially for the price. I was going for that one but the dimensions ended up not fiting my space. Which is one of the big reasons I went with the Sundial is that it fit perfectly where I have it. If I were to do it all over again though I'd go with a retro kit. Didn't know enough about that when I first got the lights.