I have a 72g. and i made may way down to the critter and Emerald Bay (1st time by the way...pretty nice place) and was a little confused by the number of apparent options. The plan is for a few fish and SPS....what is the most cost effective lighting option for a setup like this?
Lighting Advice?
- Thread starter stlver1
- Start date
gflat65
New member
Definitely metal halides. I like combining MH and VHO's (actinic), but may be shifting to a higher K value bulb (I'll probably still run VHO's, but only for about an hour a day before and after the MH-I like the look too much). How deep is a 72? Your likely going to want 250W as a minimum. Whether you go single end or double end is the next question. I've had good results from DE's, but many prefer SE's.
Here is what I did on my 120:
A couple of SLS reflectors and a ballast from http://www.premiumaquatics.com
and a VHO 2 bulb retro(I have 3 on the 120) from http://www.hellolights.com
should cost a little more than $400 plus ~ $250 for bulbs. That's about as good as it gets functionally and economically IMO. I would go with 2 250 MH's if you are keeping SPS. I prefer SE's as you can probably tell by the pic.
hth, Chris
A couple of SLS reflectors and a ballast from http://www.premiumaquatics.com
and a VHO 2 bulb retro(I have 3 on the 120) from http://www.hellolights.com
should cost a little more than $400 plus ~ $250 for bulbs. That's about as good as it gets functionally and economically IMO. I would go with 2 250 MH's if you are keeping SPS. I prefer SE's as you can probably tell by the pic.
hth, Chris
DMBillies
Active member
You may want to check out high output T5's with individual reflectors. It will probably cost you close to the same amount to start, but will save you electricity and heat in the long run. They are a little less "proven" and some people just like the look of metal halides, but they still might be worth checking out.
I don't know how new you are (8 posts so I'll assume new), but I think you definitely want to stay away from power compacts if you want to keep SPS. You might be able to keep some SPS alive at the top of the tank, but you probably won't get anything for growth.
I don't know how new you are (8 posts so I'll assume new), but I think you definitely want to stay away from power compacts if you want to keep SPS. You might be able to keep some SPS alive at the top of the tank, but you probably won't get anything for growth.
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