Lights for Seahorse/Macro algae tank?

[Kimi]

I'm in the planning and buying stages of a 65 gallon seahorse aquarium that will have various macro algae growing in it. I was planning on buying the same light I've got on my 27 gallon, the Aquaticlife T5 4 bulb fixture with lunar lights and timer. However, for the 65 gallon tank, the 36" Aquaticlife fixture will cost around $340. Since I'll be paying big bucks for a chiller, I was wondering if I could cheap out on the lights. Odyssea makes a fixture almost identical to the Aquaticlife fixture, but it's just over $100 instead of $340...... WOW.... I know the quality isn't as good, and the bulbs probably leave much to be desired, but it has all the basics (I love having a built in timer, so spoiled!). I know the seahorses won't care what light I use (as long as it's not too bright), but how would the macros fare under this type of light? Does anyone use the Odyssea fixtures? It's not gonna blow up or anything, is it? :hypnotyized: Does it come with a warranty? Or maybe I should look around for a used PC fixture (not sure how macros would grow under PC's)? Thoughts, ideas, experiences would be much appreciated! :thumbs_up:

[reefreak]

kim if i get my leds soon i will sell my 6x39 watt 36" t5 pm me if interested

[Kimi]

Thanks Jeremy! :thumbs_up: Does anyone know if 234 total watts would be TOO much for the seahorses? The tank is 25" deep....

[reefreak]

my 55 is 20 inches tall and its not very bright i think it will be fine.

[tebstan]

I'm not familiar with either fixture... but what spectrum are the bulbs?

A better quality fixture will mean longer lasting bulbs, but it's the spectrum of the bulbs themselves that can make a difference.

I used 6500k bulbs because I want the macro to grow nicely. Some corals look washed out, but the macro is gorgeous and grows quickly. I just use hagen retro fit T5s and hagen "life glo" bulbs - nothing fancy at all.

[reefreak]

i have a current nova extreme with ati bulbs.

[Kimi]

I'm not familiar with either fixture... but what spectrum are the bulbs?


According to their websites, these are the stock lights (excluding moon LEDs) --

Odyssea
2x 39W T5 HO lamps 10000K
2x 39W T5 HO lamps Actinic Blue

Aquaticlife
(2) 36" T5 HO 39W 420/460
(1) 36" T5 HO 39W 10K
(1) 36" T5 HO 39W Purple

[tebstan]

10k bulbs will work, and will look more like a 'reef.'

I tried 10k bulbs, but I was so used to the 6500k, that it looked too blue for my tastes. I gave up on the ATI bulbs and went back to hagen. I'm upgrading to metal halides soon, and I may end up replacing the stock bulbs if it looks weird to me.

Under 6500k I grow enough dragons breath to prune back every 4 to 6 weeks, enough to fill a ziploc freezer bag. I also grow lots of ulva, which people tell me is hard to do, but it's like a weed in my tank. I get some pretty cool red turf algae when the tang doesn't notice it, and prolifera. I haven't tried much else. It doesn't seem like there are a lot of options for macro around here. The last few times I ordered some online they showed up nearly dead. I'm not sure what other people do for macro lighting, but the non-reef bulbs have worked out for me.

Here's my 'macro' reef. The ulva is hidden by the abundance of dragons breath. The prolifera is in the fuge, and only dropped in as a snack because the tang devours it before it grows. He doesn't touch the dragons breath though.
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/ftsD7-21-12.jpg

[Kimi]

Ooooo, pretty! Wow, that dragon's breath is gorgeous! I have dragon's breath in my 27 gallon under 10K lighting, and it is pale and sickly looking. Do you think the light is TOO bright for it? I might look into the 6500K lights for that tank, because I'm not a huge fan of the blue lights... maybe the dragon's breath would like it better. I have halimeda opuntia, mermaid's fan, and mermaid's shaving brush that are all growing nicely so far. When I get the 65 gallon up and running, I hope I'll have a nice variety of marco algae. Thanks for the input thus far!! :)

[reefreak]

Or you could do a par 38 led bulb or two

[Zack]

I'm in the planning and buying stages of a 65 gallon seahorse aquarium that will have various macro algae growing in it. I was planning on buying the same light I've got on my 27 gallon, the Aquaticlife T5 4 bulb fixture with lunar lights and timer. However, for the 65 gallon tank, the 36" Aquaticlife fixture will cost around $340. Since I'll be paying big bucks for a chiller, I was wondering if I could cheap out on the lights. Odyssea makes a fixture almost identical to the Aquaticlife fixture, but it's just over $100 instead of $340...... WOW.... I know the quality isn't as good, and the bulbs probably leave much to be desired, but it has all the basics (I love having a built in timer, so spoiled!). I know the seahorses won't care what light I use (as long as it's not too bright), but how would the macros fare under this type of light? Does anyone use the Odyssea fixtures? It's not gonna blow up or anything, is it? :hypnotyized: Does it come with a warranty? Or maybe I should look around for a used PC fixture (not sure how macros would grow under PC's)? Thoughts, ideas, experiences would be much appreciated! :thumbs_up:

The odyessa metal halide fixtures are junk, the ballasts stink and the bulbs are no good. Their t5 fixtures on the other hand are not bad. I swapped out their bulbs to higher end ones and ran that bad boy for a year on my 10 gallon with pretty good results. The reflectors were nothing to write home about but I've seen both worst and better ones. The led moonlights are really nice and from what I've heard the built in timer is decent.

[Zack]

Even with buying top of the line bulbs you'd still be saving money off of a name brand fixture. There's a few very long threads on reef central of people who took apart their t5 fixtures and added high end bulbs and had great results. The stock bulbs are not bad, but they lose color after a few weeks and get very yellow from what I've read online.

And of course, my house/ apt did not burn down from using them. The ballasts never got more than lukewarm.

[Kimi]

Or you could do a par 38 led bulb or two

I'm not familiar at all with LED's, I'd have to do some research first...

[Kimi]

The odyessa metal halide fixtures are junk, the ballasts stink and the bulbs are no good. Their t5 fixtures on the other hand are not bad. I swapped out their bulbs to higher end ones and ran that bad boy for a year on my 10 gallon with pretty good results. The reflectors were nothing to write home about but I've seen both worst and better ones. The led moonlights are really nice and from what I've heard the built in timer is decent.

Thanks Zack, it's good to hear from someone who has actually used the Odyssea T5's! I'm leaning towards buying this fixture and then swapping out the lights, maybe going with a couple of those Hagen 6500K Life Glo bulbs. Sure would save me some money so buying the chiller won't hurt as much. Speaking of, if anyone has a chiller that would work on a 65 gallon tank for sale, I'd be verrrrry interested... ;)

[Kimi]

And of course, my house/ apt did not burn down from using them. The ballasts never got more than lukewarm.

LOL, Good to know!! :bigsmile: