Lucky ol'e me....increase budget

[AquaWave523]

Yep, I'm going to bump up my lights to $500. I want to be able to keep Anemone, SPS and LPS. I'm going to upgrade from a T5 (four bulbs, original plan) to something better.

Anyone have any lighting recommendations? I'm concern about the heat and eletrical bill being too high, so I know some of you run your lights differently. Any suggestions on a good nice fixture for a 90 gallon (25" deep).

Thanks!
AW523

 

[Amoore311]

I'm running a 6 Bulb T5 on my 90 Gallon. I had a bit over everything. Keep clams on the sand bed with no problems. You could go up to 8 Bulbs if you wanted Coral like SPS near the sand bed.

If you go the halide route, 2 x 175 Watt should be good. I set a friend's tank up with that and he has a couple of anemones under those lights with no problems.

 

[AquaWave523]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15448869#post15448869 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Amoore311
I'm running a 6 Bulb T5 on my 90 Gallon. I had a bit over everything. Keep clams on the sand bed with no problems. You could go up to 8 Bulbs if you wanted Coral like SPS near the sand bed.

If you go the halide route, 2 x 175 Watt should be good. I set a friend's tank up with that and he has a couple of anemones under those lights with no problems.

Have you kept anemones under those lights? what are your setup (manufacturer etc.,)?

 

[Amoore311]

I had a rose bubble tip for a about a months. I only got rid of it b/c it kept walking all over my tank stinging my more expensive coral. I think the high flow from the vortechs ticked it off a bit.


If you are looking to keep an anemone like a Bubble Tip, they require about as much light as LPS in general.

My tank is a standard 90 Gallon AGA 48" x 18" x 24". The light is a 6 Bulb Tek Fixture. For the variety of coral you are looking at, I would do a 8 Bulb Retro probably.... this would depend on how much SPS you want to keep in the tank though.

SPS will be fine under 6 bulbs on the top 1/2 of the tank. 8 Bulbs would cover you if you wanted to keep sps on the lower portion of the tank as well though.