Is this going to be enoung light?

[spleify]

Hello all
I am in the planning stages of a 24" X 24" X 24" cube build. I was wondering if these 24" coralife T5 fixtures will suffice? I was planning on putting 3 of these in the canopy:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/209528/product.web
and 1 of these:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/203760/product.web
Is this going to be good enough for a mixed reef. Probably not to many SPS, but mostly LPS and Softies, mushrooms and Zoanthids. Any and all comments are appreciated.
Thanks
Spleify

 

[JetCat USA]

the CoraLife fixtures leave allot to be desired for light output, i got one of their 2x54w fixtures when i bought a 90g setup, it puts out less light then a single bulb on a IceCap 430 setup.

I'd recommend an IceCap 660 with a 4 bulb setup using SLRs.

 

[spleify]

Thanks JetCat, do you have any info on where to get those? I have one of the coralife fixtures on my frag tank now, and it seems to do a pretty good job, but it is also pretty small (20 gal). I was concerned if it would reach the bottom of a 24" cube. Iwas only considering them because they looked fairly inexpensive.
Thanks
Spleify

 

[JetCat USA]

they are inexpensive for a reason

you can get the IceCap retro's from Premium Aquatics or Reef Geeks.

 

[spleify]

Is this what you are talking about?
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~ICK244.html
Sorry to sound so ignorant, but what does SLR mean?
Thanks
Spleify

 

[JetCat USA]

SLR is a Single Lamp Reflector.

No those are VHO, i was talking about T5s.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=IcecapT5

 

[spleify]

Sweet tanks JetCat. I will look into those more. I appreciate you're help. Are VHO's no good?
Thanks
Spleify

 

[Subliminal]

Man. 24x24 is a perfect candidate for metal halide, as that's the usual reach for a single bulb...and I've had both PC and T5 in the past and find metal halide to be about the best.

You could probably get a 250w ballast, reflector, socket and bulb for around $250 or so.

But that's just an opinion.

 

[marxxx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11006252#post11006252 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Subliminal
Man. 24x24 is a perfect candidate for metal halide, as that's the usual reach for a single bulb...and I've had both PC and T5 in the past and find metal halide to be about the best.

You could probably get a 250w ballast, reflector, socket and bulb for around $250 or so.

But that's just an opinion.

I just paid $270 to add another 250 watt metal halide setup. Nice, simple, and quite compact if you don't have a full canopy

 

[spleify]

Wow that's not a bad price, I don't know why I have always been scared away from MH. I thought they were way more money than that. Is there anything different or special I need to know about when looking for MH lighting?
Thanks
Spleify

 

[JetCat USA]

I'm on the other end, i recently sold off all my MH after over decade of thinking there was nothing out there better, now all of my systems have IceCap T5 setups with SLRs. i actual get better coloration and growth with the T5s the only thing missing is the shimmer lines and i can compromise on that.

 

[luke33]

Well my thoughts on this is that spleivy would be better off with the 250 mh setup. Reasons being, it will cover a 24x24x24 much better than a 4x24" IC retro. You could go with a 6x24" retro and it would be a much better option. The 4x24" wouldn't cover 24" of space, its only 10" for all of them and 18" tops cover wise. I prefer t5's myself but when it comes down to money, your better off with a mh retro. You can pry get a good used one for under 200 plug and play.

 

[spleify]

Ok I have looked into MH a little today. I found one at a LFS and they are selling this unit for $239.00, is that an ok price? It has everything I need I think. Comes with a 14K bulb.
http://www.jbjlighting.com/sys_k1.html
I realize that it doesn't have a very good reflector, but could I modify that a little?
Thanks for all the help
Spleify