Lighting for a 30g long

[billdub]

What would be good/great lighting for this tank ? right now it's fowlr, but I want strong enough lighting for use with corals in the future when I find enough time. I dont want to have to change lights if/when I decide to play around with corals, thx !

 

[Blown 346]

The best possible option if you have the money, is a halide. You wont have to swap the lighting in order to keep the harder corals. It is the one stop lighting system.
I would recomend a 175 watt halide, and maybe actinic supplementation unless the halide bulb you choose has a high color temp.

 

[horkn]

i have 3x39 watts of t5ho on my 35g tank (3 foot by 12x17high)

i compared it to a 175w mh lit similar sized tank, and the mh was a lot dimmer than the t5ho (3x39) with proper reflectors. also, the t5 will not heat the water like the MH, nor use as much electricity, nor need to be changed as often as the mh bulb.. on a small tank like that, mh isnt the best option. and i keep sps, lps, softies, and a clam....

 

[billdub]

how about 2 x 96 pc ?

 

[fly2cast]

I would say for a tank that is long and shallow, T5 would be your best bet. If you went MH, you would need multiple bulbs to light the tank because of the length. PC's would probably work also because the tank is shallow. But if you ever wanted to upgrade to a taller tank, you would want T5's or MH.

 

[DesertBandits]

the PCs will allow you to keep any non SPS/clam corals in that tank. Its only 16in deep after all. However if you pay for electricity, you could run less watts of T5 with a much stronger effect, like 3x 39w, or even 4x39w. The T5s would be strong enoughto keep any coral/clam you could want in the future.

 

[horkn]

yep, in the long run t5ho will be less money in bulbs, and less money for electricity than PC. plus, you will be able to keep whatever you want. i ahve several sps, and a clam in my 35g lit by 3x39 of t5ho