please help. upgrading lighting today!

ahullsb

ahullsb

New member
I need to make a decision on a lighting upgrade very soon! I have a 55 gallon and am trying to figure out whether to spend a lot of money on a metal hallide/ pc/ moonlight combo like outer orbit or whether thats overkill. I keep the top of the tank open with no canopy. Would I be better off squeezing as many t5's as I can fit over it? And how important is having individual reflectors? Any help would be greatly appreciated. THese are what interest me...

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...2&N=2004+113175

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...9&N=2004+113352

http://www.hellolights.com/48aqpr2x15hq.html

http://www.saltycritter.com/lightin...ght-t5-only.htm

What do you think? Should I go get the aqualight pro because thats whats in our stores around here? Or do I order t5s?
 
if you're gonna do HO t-5s, make sure to get individual reflectors-- otherwise, they're not nearly as effective as they could be.

personally, as a college student, i like to save money on lighting by buying SE retrofit kits and building my own pendant out of wood from HD or lowes. a couple hundred bucks per 250w system is a great deal, i think.

but, if you have to have the aesthetic of morning/noon/evening lighting, get a combo light. personally, i find it a waste-- i'd rather just have my MH turn on and turn off. :D
 
why hamilton over aqua medic, or outer orbit, etc.? I trying to get to the bottom of whether I should use mh with a pc or t5 supplement, or whether t5's with individual reflectors is all I need. If t5's, I have no canopy, i need something other than a retro fit.
 
Your lighting needs are going to greatly depend on what type of corals you want to keep. FYI T5's IMO will not be cheaper than getting MH initially, maybe over the course of a few years with electricity and bulb replacement costs added in..
 
I don't have any idea how much higher my electric bill will be with mh or t5's...or the price of the bulbs whether I'm replacing 2 mh or 4 t5's. I don't want to be limited all all by my lighting anymore. I just want to buy a new ballast and never have to post a lighting question again! :) Do I order a mh combo online? Or find an aqualight pro in Sac? Or t5's.
 
Personally if i could afford MH I might have gone that way just for the light penetration, however, T5s have some advantages (provided you have individual reflectors)

- Better lumen maintenance (up to 95% of the light output at 20,000 hours)
- longer life
- easier to mix and match colors to get what you want

However, again i state if i could have afforded it..i probably would have gone with 2x250w mh over 6x54w HO even if after 8 months my T5 system is puttin out more lumens
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8525522#post8525522 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Justin74
Wow, if your down to drop over 600 bucks on a 150w set up, dude do this
http://reefgeek.com/products/categories/lighting/104193.html

Not only will you have better penetration you can really fine tune what color your happiest with, and no photosynthetic coral will need more light from this setup.Comes with bulbs and the money you save pays for itself.

-Justin
Click to expand...


Geee......aren't those the ones I suggested the other day?:cool:

Thats right!!! Thats right!!!!..........

For my own personal opinions I say MHs...and 150's will probably do you fine....I only upgraded to 250's to keep color on some of the more difficult SPS and have more placement options.

But for ease of getting into it, this T5 setup would allow you to keep anything you would want for a very long time....in addition the heat issue potential with T5s would be less, so needing a chiller may not be as needed.....

kinda a "6 of one, half dozen of the other" situation....really too close to decide....but your personal preference may be the deciding factor. Try to look at some tank pics of T5's vs MH's.

FYI: My Aqualight Pros where over $1000 for the 250's, in addition to the $600+ for the 150's I had put out.....+bulbs. So be honest with yourself and by what you want the first time......or else you will by them twice like me!! I suggest large purchases like this online.....harder to beat them on the large ticket items.
 
sac dots are you happy with the aqualight pro's? I thought I should get the 150's in mh but there still might be corals that need more light than that? Aren't chillers expensive? With the heater turned down my tank runs around 76 degrees. How much can I expect my tank temp to rise with mh? Is there that much difference between mh and pc's versus mh with t5?
 
A T5 oversimplified is a PC that has been straightened. As Justin mentioned, its the reflectors that make the T5s better, by focusing all of that light to where you want it. I think that T5s have more bulb options compared to the PCs so fine tuning the color may be easier to get the "look" you want.

Chillers can be "expensive" around $400 and up, but I think they are worth the money and a wise investment. Following the reasoning to up the lights by going to T5s or MH, I am "assuming" that you may want to get into the SPS,(I suppose the real question is still what you want to keep) .....if so, a chiller is a wise investment to control the temps, but not a nessity and you can control the upper end temp with your home A/C.

How much will it go up? Size of tank, your home temp, pumps in the water, and how close the MHs are to the water.....the Aqualight legs mount the lights about 4" from the water. If your at 76, you should be fine....I have been reading some stuff that says 80 is the optimal temp, but opinions vary.

So in short, a chiller won't be nessesary right away.

150's or 250's? That really depends on your preference and what livestock you want, I liked the color of a 14K bulb and the PAR for the 150w DE was starting to take a dump, and the bulb choices and info on Sanjay Joshi's site has mostly data for that wattage......My tank is primarily SPS and I wanted to be able to put the stuff anywhere in the tank.

The 150s will work for all LPS and SPS up high, clams, and anenome.....there isn't much higher demanding stuff than that, but the stuff I have gotten into can be finicky sometimes and I have enough light to force color into it if need be.....
 
I don't know if anyone has negative feedback on this company, but aquatraders.com has cheap hqi systems. I have had two of their power compacts and no complaints after a year. I am going to be upgrading to one of their hqi's this Christmas. $350 for your size light. Check it out.
 
I am leaning towards the 48 inch outer orbit...but it is 14-15 inches and my tank is only 13 I think. Does that matter? Do these t5's have individual reflectors or does that even matter considering the added mh? I don't see how this light could tank mount on a 55.
 
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