How many watts?

newbreefer12

New member
Hello, I am just starting into the relm of coral keeping, well saltwater acualy. I am eventualy going to have my 55 as a SPS/clam tank, but for now I want to start with softies. I am going to ask for a lighting system for christmas (since i'm 15). The lighting system i'm looking at has 130 watts, w/2x 50/50 21" bulbs. Will this be enough for most if not all softie corals? Any awnsers would be appreciated.

P.S. I would like to incorperate a yellow fiji leather coral into the mix.

Thanks,
Kevin
 
21" bulbs are the 65w bulbs, and only 2 of them over a 55...i'd say you're not gonna get a whole lot of growth. I'd go for at least a 2x96w fixture, but IMO...dont even look at pc's. Go right to t5's. A decent pc fixture is only like 40 or 50 bucks less than a good t5 fixture...so why not get the t5's? Way cheaper longrun, bulbs last double the time, cost less, and use less energy.

I got my t5 HO setup from reefgeek.com for 300, and its plenty enough for my 40 breeder. Before that i had 4x96w PC's and a fixture like that runs just a little under the t5's (if not the same).

You could add 2 54w t5 HO bulbs for now, and then later on get 2-4 more and grow whatever you want (assuming you get a good t5 fixture...i'd only go w/the icecap or the tek lights, none of the coralife crap :) )

Also...fiji yellow leathers are a higher light coral. They do ok under lower light like pc's, but they do much better with brighter light. Just for kicks, here's my fiji yellow that i just sold yesterday..
IMG_5579.jpg


Oh, but with the light you're lookin at now...you might be able to grow a few mushrooms down lower, and maybe some kenya tree up top...but in my opinion thats just a waste of money. That's gonna run you over 100...invest a tad bit more and you could get a couple t5's which could grow pretty much any softy.
 
I have 90g tank with 110W PC (2x55W), corals are not thriving, but surviving, especially at the top of the rock.

Here is the thread about low light tanks, mainly photos.
 
Yeah, avoid the PCs they are one of the least efficient designs out there in terms of tank lighting. The problem is that IMO no cheap T5 fixture is really worth it either. By cheap I mean around the price of a PC fixture. This includes the Marineland and Current USA T5 fixtures. Without the individual reflectors, T5s just don't show anywhere near their full strength. The best solution in terms of great output and buck-saving is a retrofit T5. I've used this one:
http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1369

I'm guessing when you include the bulbs this would be about as expensive as the PC fixture you are talking about. However, this lighting setup will put the PC to shame. The caveats are that you need to be comfortable with wiring it up (no big deal really) and you need to buy or build a canopy for it.
 
For my Tek T5 fixture over my tank, I have the following line-up (6 bulbs):

Front
-UV Super Actinic
-ATI Aquablue
-ATI Pro Color
-UV Aquasun
-ATI Aquable
-ATI Blue Plus
Back

Of the choices at hellolights, I would stick with the ones by UV.
 
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