tricky
New member
I am setting up an AGA 54 corner tank and will be moving my softies from my 175 when it is done. My primary goal with this tank is to separate the lps and sps corals with a focus on growth with as little light as possible.
First, With so many brands and color combinations possible with the various T-5 lamps on the market, could I get some general opinions as to what brands and colors are best? I don't care for the extreme yellows and blues that I am familiar with when dealing with MH, but not real particular about the appearance as long as it is not an extreme and shows the general color of most softies accurately.
Second, I am looking for any opinions on how much light. The plan is to use minimal lighting in order to keep heat, evaporation and costs down. I realize light equates to growth to some extent, but what is a good compromise for a starting point. I will fabricate the hood so I can later add or remove as needed.
I will be using an IceCap 660 with IC reflectors and endcaps. The 54 corner is a little tough to put a lot of light over. I think I can squeeze a max of 1 36" (39W), at least 2 24" (24W) and one 18" (15W) lamps over the tank. This would total total 102 Watts. Right now I am considering starting with only 2 24" T-5s.
I spoke to someone that has used the same lenghts of VHO lamps over this same tank, yielding 275 Watts. I think that is overkill for my application. Any opinions on how T-5 with quality reflectors compare with VHO in this combination?
First, With so many brands and color combinations possible with the various T-5 lamps on the market, could I get some general opinions as to what brands and colors are best? I don't care for the extreme yellows and blues that I am familiar with when dealing with MH, but not real particular about the appearance as long as it is not an extreme and shows the general color of most softies accurately.
Second, I am looking for any opinions on how much light. The plan is to use minimal lighting in order to keep heat, evaporation and costs down. I realize light equates to growth to some extent, but what is a good compromise for a starting point. I will fabricate the hood so I can later add or remove as needed.
I will be using an IceCap 660 with IC reflectors and endcaps. The 54 corner is a little tough to put a lot of light over. I think I can squeeze a max of 1 36" (39W), at least 2 24" (24W) and one 18" (15W) lamps over the tank. This would total total 102 Watts. Right now I am considering starting with only 2 24" T-5s.
I spoke to someone that has used the same lenghts of VHO lamps over this same tank, yielding 275 Watts. I think that is overkill for my application. Any opinions on how T-5 with quality reflectors compare with VHO in this combination?
