Lighting questions and suggestions

[crny1]

Ok all,
Gonna do some revamping and adding a tank to the house for my wife and i have decided to give her my lights for her tank and i am going to redo mine.
I think i might have a heat issue if i went with MH as my tank is running about 81-83 now and its not even summer. I am not ruling it out just a thought to consider.
Oh... its a 75 oceanic full reef. I want to get into SPS also. What do you all think about a 8 bulb T5 setup? This way i dont have the high heat issue to deal with.
Where is the best prices on T5's and MH RETRO setups. I want retro not only to save money but to do it the way that i want it done. Also what bulb combinations do you recommend? I dont like the "yellow" look of some lights. I must admit that i get lost in the lighting issue!
Even if someone has something used they want to get rid of just let me know if you think it might be something i might be interested in.
Also on the T5 note..... does the workhorse 7 ballast run T5's?
I think i remeber reading that somewhere. They seem to be a cheap ballast compared to some. help me out here guys (and gals) Im lost and confused (which dont take much!)... :mixed: :mixed:

 

[fkdenton]

I have the tek t-5 light and I love it. Reefgeek has the best prices I found. They also have a retro tek kit. You also might want to talk to horance on the CIMA forum he did a 6 bulb icecap retro on his 75. On your tank 8 bulbs might be to wide for it you might want to look at the 6

 

[chadfarmer]

workhorse will run t5 from what i have read


if you are ahving problems with temps i dont suggest metal halide unless you are buying a chiller

 

[crny1]

no one else?

 

[Letmegrow]

That is optimum running temperature. Do not change a thing.
You worry a little after 88F.

If you need to cool down your tank, use a fan in your sump, Evap is the best way to keep stable water temps. If your hosue isnt like 90F your tank wont heat up, so don't worry about it. Keeping a "warm" house is actually the best thing for your tank, because your heater does less work, and the fan will always be cooling the tank. If you ever lose AC in your hosue and its 90F in there, simply turn off your lights, and add another fan for the time being, it's very simple.

Im not an expert, but I play one in real life.
You can check any of my tanks and if that's not proof enough, read some scientific journals and studies.

 

[bjc451]

my nano was running about 84 so i took out my maxi 1200 and put the stock pump back in there, so is 84 still cool

 

[chadfarmer]

my tank will be run on aqua controller jr and have temps from 76-82 degrees depending on what month it will be ran on



just make shur the temp swings are not big like 78-88 in one day