newbie trying to decide on lighting?

[bgbalz]

Am curious to learn more about "retrofit" lighting??

Any one with opinions on jbj lighting, am looking at a 75g stand and possible canopy from R & J and was told that canopy is good for leaving room for lights??

Anyone with any info please??

 

[geekreef_05]

Most standard canopies are too small for custom reef lighting to fit. This is the reason you see so many people building their own stands/canopy's.

Retrofit lighting and kits are simply all the lighting components in a package. You must put together the lighting equipment and mount it yourself. These kits are in opposition to the pre-setup lighting fixtures. Lighting fixtures tend to have their own mounts, and neatly contain all the nessicary equipment in one unit.

keep researching, your on the right track. I think its time for you to visit your LFS and start asking questions; only so that you can see these components yourself; and understand how they fit together.

happy reefin'

 

[Reefjunkee]

RETROFIT

 

[fservillon]

imho, lighting choice will be decided by what type of corals you would want to keep. for soft corals, you only need maybe 2-4 t5's. for sps's, anemone's and such, more t-5's or dual mh setup would be required. between a retro and fixture, i tend to lean towards the retro as you can install it yourself, configure it to your canopy or build a canopy yourself to suit the retro. the fixture is a bit more expensive but you get the lights in one sleek, clean package. my suggestion, decide on what you want to keep, leave room for upgrade so that in case you decide to keep light lovers, it's simple to add more bulbs, or incorporate a mh setup or two. hth.