lightning for 55 G

[Siiri]

well, I have had my saltwater fishtank now for probably 10 months. Its a 55 G fish tank (48x12x18) and I am ready to get some corals (like the blue mushroom etc). However, I dont have the correct light for it yet.
I have it down to 2 ligh fixtures:

Orbit fixture, 2x65 wDual daylight 6,700k/10,000k and 2x 65w dual actinic 420nm/460nm with 4 lunar lights.

OR

Coralife 48 inch Lunar Aqualight 2X65w 10,000k and 2x65w actinic with 3 lunar lights.

which one would you recommend???

I also have one purple tip anemone and 2 green ones.
I would appreciate any help.

Thanks

 

[stewie24]

I'd suggest doing it right from the start.
Pcs are great - don't get me wrong. I have a 55, and for almost a year i was running the coraline unit (260 watt). It grew corals and made them look nice. However, if you are into reefs, more than likely within 6 months you'll be wanting to upgrade to t5's or metal halides. MH prices aren't too bad. If you are handy and can hang pendents or build a hood, i'd say for for those then. Right now I have 2x 175 watt metal halides over the tank and its still doing great. There is someone selling current usa 150 watt hqi retro's (comes with everything but bulbs) in the f/s forum for 130 shipped for each unit (I think). That's a good deal.
If you are purely stuck on PCs then i'd go w/ the orbit. Just becuase of the dual day/actintic. I've had the smaller orbit on my 10 gallon (2x 40 watt) and the coralife powerquad. I liked the color of the orbits better than the coralife fixture.
If you do decide to go w/ the coralife however, PM me as i'll be selling my 4x 65 watt unit - it works fine
Good luck on your lighting choice.
Stewie

 

[Siiri]

mh, I dont think I want to get metal halides. What do you think about the Nova Extreme T-5 Fixtures w/Lunar Lights 4x54w? it is Slimpaq 460nm Actinic and 10000_K T-5 HO lamps. You would prefer that one over the orbit?

Thanks for your help. I really dont know much about what light I need.

 

[stewie24]

Nah, t5's can run hot and they are pretty much useless without individual reflectors (thus the price difference between current usa and other brands.
I'd stick w. the orbit.
Stewie

 

[Harville]

you would like either the Nova or the ORBIT.

we set both up at the shop I work at and they've done nicley.

I think the T-5s look "better".

But I think the ORBIT is built more solid. ( bigger cooling fans, legs are more solid )

the Nova Extreme is basically the dual Satellite with T-5 instead of PC bulbs

I think you would be happy with either.

I'd do the ORBIT myself.

 

[hahnmeister]

I would spend the little bit extra and buy the tek light...the individual reflectors can boost the output by up to 40% compared to the flat reflectors in the orbit/nova. You can pretty much leave 2 bulbs off on the tek and have just as much light as with the orbit/nova running all 4 bulbs. Besides, they dont cost that much more...

 

[Siiri]

cool, thank you guys so much!!!

I will go with the Orbit

 

[stewie24]

Good luck with the orbit. I think you made a wise choice.
Don't forget that actintics shift in spectrum around 7-8 months and daylights shift around 9-10 months.
Keep your bulbs current or else you'll have algae probs.
Stewie

 

[Serioussnaps]

Tek t5 by Sunlight supply , or a MH fixture with 2 175 W lamps.

 

[Karl H]

Do you get the ripple metal halide effect with a T5 setup?

 

[hahnmeister]

No, but you wont miss it considering the benefits of T5 over halide.

 

[rickyscuba]

Tek 4 x bulbs is enough light for a 55 tank? I just want to keep some mushrooms and softies.

 

[larryl]

Nah, t5's can run hot and they are pretty much useless without individual reflectors

I recently switched from PCs to T5s on my 50 gal and the T5s do not run any hotter than the PCs. In fact, even without any fans, my overall tank temperature is cooler by 2 degrees, in part because I am only running 156 watts of T5 (4 x 39W HO) which are much brighter than the 288 watts of PC they replaced (3 x 96w).

I agree you need to use individual reflectors to take full advantage of T5s.


Larry

 

[DGL]

Build yourself a canopy and install four 46.5" 110watt VHO's. Two URI actinic & two URI actinic white. The tank will rock, you can keep any SPS, LPS, Clam, etc. That will give you 8 watts per gallon. You won'teed any reflectors, the URI bulbs have reflectors built in. Leave the canopy back open & run one 4" cooling fan blowing in,tank will run cool this way. You can run all four bulbs on one 660 IceCap Ballast unles you just want the actinics and actinic whites to come on seperately.