Lighting

[dartmti]

Hellllo,

I've been looking for some lighting for my (probably) soon to be 40 gallon aquarium. I plan to keep some mostly easier corals, a crocea clam, and other things that might require a lot of light (possibly an anemone) and was wondering if someone could please help me out.
I found these: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...luxeseries362x96wwith234wbluemoonglowledlamps
Will they give me the kind of light I'm looking for?

If not, I know a lot of people have reccomended those Tek lights too me. The only problem is, I have no clue as to what type of bulbs I need.
Here's a link with some bulbs:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Bulbs/
Which bulbs do most people use and/or are the best for a wide range of inverts and corals? I guess I'm asking which bulbs are for the most general purpose, or which would be the best for me.

Thanks for any help

Matt

 

[andrewprime1]

you wanna go with T5 high output bulbs and even then I am uncertain if you will be able to keep a crocea clam. not to worry, you should be able to keep some kind of clam at least. I hope this answers your question. I don't know if I actually understood your question....

 

[dartmti]

Thanks.

The crocea is at the top of my list, so I really hope I can keep it with the t5s.

Do you know exactly which bulbs to get? Thats my dilemma.

 

[MinnFish]

Crocea clams needs intense lighting, MH are recommended. Water quality must be kept at a high level. The crocea clam is a difficult species to maintain, not for beginners (or tank less than a year old).

 

[dartmti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12971396#post12971396 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MinnFish
Crocea clams needs intense lighting, MH are recommended. Water quality must be kept at a high level. The crocea clam is a difficult species to maintain, not for beginners (or tank less than a year old).

I realise they're somewhat difficult, I won't be adding one until the tank is more mature.
Do you think it is possible to keep them with t5s relatively close to the lights? (12 inches or so?)

Also, are 10,000k bulbs usually the most general purpose?

Thanks

 

[IslandCrow]

I've kept a crocea under a 4xTek T-5 and it was doing very well. This was in a 30g long tank with a DSB, so it was only under about 1 foot of water. As for bulbs, you may want to go to the Equipment and Lighting forum and look for a link called the T-5 Q&A thread. Grim Reefer is the man you want to ask (you can probably just PM him as well). For what it's worth, here's what I use for my T-5s. It's a little whiter than what most people go for, but the actinics still bring out very good color. If you want something on the bluer side, you can replace the Midday Sun with an Aquasun. . .

Front to back
Giesemann Actinic+
Giesemann Aquablue+
Giesemann Midday Sun
Giesemann Pure Actinic or UV Super Actinic

Anyway, there are all sorts of good combinations. If you know of a particular look you want to go for (very white, slightly blue, 20K look, etc.), Grim Reefer will be able to help you out. Otherwise, you may just want to get a few extra bulbs so you can play around with different combinations. You'll probably end up using the extra bulbs later, so they shouldn't go to waste.

 

[dartmti]

Thanks man.
That helps a ton!

lol, now I'm looking into getting metal halides. Do you think it's worth it for an extra hundred bucks? (an extra hundred isn't too much in this hobby...)
I found these two, and I can't figure out which is better. One comes with actinics, and the other doesn't, but says it doesn't need them.
link 1: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquar...urrent_usa_outer_orbit_hqi_actinic_lunar.html

link 2: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquar...usa_sunpod_powerpaq_hqi_lamp_lunar_light.html

Or do you think I'll get good enough results with the T5s?

Thanks

Matt