What is the best reef tank lighting?

[crossxfire2]

Hey guys! I have a 55 gallon aquarium, and one of these days, it will end up being a reef tank. I am terrible when it comes to lighting, so I was wondering if yall could help me out. I know that power compact is pretty good, especially when you have a good mix of actinic and regular flourescent. I would like the best light possible so that anemones, and most kinds of corals could live with for long periods of time without me having to worry about if my light is suffecient enough. I was thinking of metal halide with an actinic boost. Also, if this makes any difference, I wont be keeping a lid on the tank. I have power compact now, and they are just resting on some glass that is strattling the water. I know the amount of lighting depends on the species that you are keeping, but I would just like a general idea if you know what i mean. What do you guys think? What is the best/healthiest reef tank lighting?

[Jeff]

t-5 will give you the par of metal halides plus you can buy different kelvin rating of bulbs for better color selection.

[lt1z28]

I would use T5 for that size tank. Aquactinics and Tek make 48 inch fixtures that put out enough light to keep just about anything.

[caferacermike]

A lot of people really rave about T-5 set ups. Keep one thing in mind, you MUST use the right reflectors or you'll just end up with a bunch of lights strung together. The lighting guys say the only reflector worth using is the TEK reflectors from Sunlight Supply. They can be expensive. I'd prefer to use 2x150w DE halides running coralvue 12k or Phoenix 14K with 2 actinic T-5 bulbs for color. Check Texas Hydroponics for great deals on T-5 fixtures complete with bulbs (you may have to order in higher K bulbs as they prefer 6.5-8.5K).

[Troy Valentine]

A few years ago I ran into the same problem with my 55 gallon tank. I to liked the power compacts but they just didn't have enough power to get the job done. My solution to the problem was to mount a single 400 watt MH above the center of the tank. This would give me the best of all worlds. Super intense lighting in the middle of the tank, for clams and all types of sps corals, and dimmer light on the sides of the tank for Bubble tip anemones and great polyp extention of all of my mushrooms/softies.
Not to mention the coolest looking glitter lines. HTH

[bozack]

tagging along

Are people still saying to go with T5's over VHO's?

[engwife36]

I have 4 actinic and 4 10k t-5's on min. 54w a piece. I'm happy with it. I'm going to use this tank to grow out frags.

[jc]

I like my t-5's however keep in mind they have bad resell value. If you sell your fixtures you won't get much for them. I would love to upgrade to 5' t-5 for my 180 but I hate to take a big loss. Right now I'm using 6 h.o. t-5's that are 4' long. Try to get the ballast that support 3 bulbs at a time in order to cut down on the plugs you will need.

[mathias]

Im a huge fan of MH and VHO's next to them... I would say a 10k or 12k bulb with super actnics vho.... looks great... and I get great growth... but wattage wise I always think I went a little over board... 400 watts for each MH I got 2 and then 2 110 watt vhos :)

[crossxfire2]

A lot of people really rave about T-5 set ups. Keep one thing in mind, you MUST use the right reflectors or you'll just end up with a bunch of lights strung together. The lighting guys say the only reflector worth using is the TEK reflectors from Sunlight Supply. They can be expensive. I'd prefer to use 2x150w DE halides running coralvue 12k or Phoenix 14K with 2 actinic T-5 bulbs for color. Check Texas Hydroponics for great deals on T-5 fixtures complete with bulbs (you may have to order in higher K bulbs as they prefer 6.5-8.5K).

So something like this maybe??


http://www.texashydroponics.com/shop/New-Wave-4-Foot-T5-Light-System-2-4-8-Bulb-p-2612.html

[Bill S]

I have T5s on my 55. Like them a lot.