Question on Lighting for a new tank

[wboyden]

ok, Getting ready to setup my tank so it can cycle its a standard 55g tank.

47.5 inches long, 12 inches wide and 19.5" high (all inside dimensions)

Have a total of a 40g sump/fuge that will be setup under it.

Planning;
2 inches of sand about 80 pounds with and additional 2o pounds in the fuge.

going to add about 150 pounds of rock in total between the tank and fuge.

Most of it will be added dry/dead and seeded with a cup or 2 of live sand and a few pounds of rock rubble from a est. tank for seeding.

I was wondering about lighting I know that the light is needed for the algae growth when that starts to happen.

I currently have a single bulb 48" fixture that orginally was on the tank for F/W I also have a couple of the cheap 2 light "shop fixtures"

For bulbs I have of course the normal 48" bulbs 40 watts some of them say crisp white others say cool white

Also have a (not sure of brands but they are labeled as) Lightning rod T6 7000k Daylight 40 watt and a perfecto-a-lamp F40T10AQ 40 watt

Are these good for anything even if its only during the cycle or should I just toss'em and buy a better setup?

thanks
Bill

 

[reefscape15]

Toss them! Really they would be okay for your first few weeks when the tank is cycling, but you will NEED something bigger and better if you want anything to grow in your tank. And starting with dead rock is ok, but it will take a very long time (many months) for those few pounds to colonize the rest of the rock. Sand is a quicker process, because you can manually stir it together. I'd suggest a 6 or 8 bulb T-5 fixture with or without Metal Halide lights, depending on what you plan to keep in that tank

 

[wboyden]

I thought that might be the case, eventually I would like a mixed reef with alittle of everything but that is along way away so right now looking to just get the tank cycled and start get the rock and sand started to grow.

Been thinking of building a canopy for the tank, while I wait for it to cycle, So I'll have to do some research on lighting and which is best for what

 

[reefscape15]

Yea good idea to do DIY if you have the time. I'd go with 4 24" T-5s (2 rows of 2 bulbs end-to-end) on the front AND back of your canopy, but leave enough room to add Metal Halide if you want them later on. Go with individual reflectors on the T-5s, and you can use halogen shop light fixtures and retrofit them to HQI's that don't take up much space.