Lighting for 55 gal

[ZOOH]

Hey guys,
I'm new here. I have a 55 gal tank and am looking for lighting to give me nice color. Something that will make the color on my corals and fish really stand out. Right now I'm using lighting from when my tank was freshwater...not sure what kind of lighting, but it has a 55w blue bulb and a 55w white bulb. The corals and fish have been doing ok, but everything in the tank looks bland and yellowish. I'm a rookie with saltwater tanks so I'm not really sure what I need. I'd like to keep the price within $200-$300. I'm guessing T5 is the way to go? Actinic? Pure Actinic? What do I need? I'd appreciate any suggestions you can give me. Pictures of your tank and type of lighting system it has would be even better. Thanks.

 

[GSMguy]

i think for a good 48inch t5 fixture 300 may a lil short
the best you can do is to call reefgeek and get the preorder price n the ATi t5 HO fixture

 

[ZOOH]

What would I need though? How many bulbs do I need? Which color bulbs? How much do good 48 inch t5 fixtures cost? Which fixtures are good?

 

[kodyboy]

get an aquactincs 5 bulb t5 unit, a decent price, great reflectors, active cooling. aquariumspecialty.com

 

[ZOOH]

Anyone else have suggestions? What about the Nova retrofits?

 

[aclos3]

Individual reflectors are pretty key to having good light output from T5 setups. The nova fixtures (unless they have changed) are one reflector units.

 

[kodyboy]

Yep, Nova units do not have individual reflectors. An 8 bulb nova unit does not have as much par as an aquatinic T5 5 bulb unit.

 

[shiftyfatdwarf]

i can help you build your own. that is it you don't mind a canopy on top of your tank. i can get ballast, starter, cap, and socket for really cheap and all you need to do is get the bulbs and reflectors and build a canopy on top of your tank to hold it all

 

[GSMguy]

he asked about nova retro and they do have individual reflectors a bulb nova would be ok
i really reccomend the Aquatinics Tx5 it is great

 

[REMF]

Build your own canopy and use a Sunlight Supply 4 x retro from the geek and upgrade reflectors to IC. Should be just over $300.

 

[HowardW]

You failed to mention what fish and corals you are keeping in this tank. If it is mainly a fish tank with a few soft or LPS corals, then a T5 setup with individual reflectors like a 4-bulb Tek or a 5-bulb Aquactinics fixture would probably be overkill and unnecessary.

 

[SoonerReefer]

Depends upon if your tank is Reef ready or not if it is you can build your own canopy and do a retro,If not you may think about a Tek hood with the leg extentions, that way you can add a hang on skimmer and such,I have my 55 setup with the 4 bulb T-5 Tek light.

 

[ChemE]

This has worked amazing well for me for over a year. I've had success with both softies and SPS under this setup.

 

[ZOOH]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9329159#post9329159 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ChemE
This has worked amazing well for me for over a year. I've had success with both softies and SPS under this setup.

Hey ChemE got any pics of your tank? I'd like to see what kind of color this lighting puts out. This setup looks like it's right in my price range. Anyone got some input on this setup?

 

[specialreef]

ChemE,
Would this list be for a DIY canopy setup? Why only 3x54 bulbs for the 55? If not too much to ask i would like to see some pics also.

 

[ChemE]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9332464#post9332464 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by specialreef
ChemE,
Would this list be for a DIY canopy setup? Why only 3x54 bulbs for the 55? If not too much to ask i would like to see some pics also.

55 lit with ATI Aquablue, ATI Blueplus, UVL Super Actinic

55 lit with only 1 54 watt ATI Aquablue

Yes, the shopping cart from ReefGeek is a DIY canopy. I could have crammed a fourth bulb in but I elected to start out with as few watts as would work and go up if I needed to. I get very good growth out of most of my corals (can't get my LPS to grow for anything, SPS grow like a champ) and so I'm staying with 3 bulbs.

The ATI Aquablue is an absolute PAR monster so if you wanted the 10K look, 3 of those would be plenty for a 55. Even better would be 2 and a GE 6500K starcoat. I prefer a 15K look so I run an ATI Blueplus and a UVL Super Actinic. Hope this helps.

 

[ZOOH]

Very nice. Thanks ChemE. I'm definitely going to consider this setup.

 

[i dont eat fish]

Here are a few pics of my 55. I'm running one of each: blue+, aquablue special, geismann actinic, ge 6500k, and an URI aquasun. All are 54 watt driven by advance icn2s54's. I also have icecap reflectors.

 

[specialreef]

I wish i knew how too build a canopy for my 55. It'll be a wrap! OH boy, am i moving towards T-5's or what!

Good looking tank, I dont eat fish.

 

[ZOOH]

Nice. That's the type of color I'm looking for.