Lighting help!!!

Hi everyone. Im debating with myself over lighting for my 55 gal tank. Ive read 3 or 4 sections in books i have about proper lighting and wavelengths and what-not and have decided i dont understand it :-/. My general understanding is that for a saltwater aquarium 3-5 watts/gallon is ideal(correct me if i'm wrong.) My tank is a 55 long drilled tank by all-glass. It is 48' long and roughly 20' deep. At my LFS they have been helping me a lot with the rest of the process but when we were discussing lighting he was suggesting a system that was around 600 bucks. We didn't go in-depth because im not purchasing it right this second but he said it was a 6-bulb fixture with 2 actinic(?) and 2 lunar bulbs and 2 others i dont quite remember; im assuming flourescent or something:-X. Since then i have done, or tried to do, a fair amount of research on lighting and prices. When i set up my tank it will be fish-only and live sand and rock, but will convert to reef later so the lights must be adequate for some easy corals(not going to do the branchy stuff; LPS i think) I have seen lighting fixtures on the net for 300-450 bucks that are T5 HO(i think thats high output) 6 bulb fixtures mostly by current USA; but i also read some reviews of these fixtures not lasting long, so i wondered about the quality. Any suggestions/info on proper lighting for my tank would be awesome!!!! Thanks you guys rock!!!!

 

i would recommend this fixture for you Tek Light T5 Fluorescent Aquarium Light 4ft 4 bulb 216W

you only need 4 wpg for softies lps and some sps. also i dont think a 6 bulb fixture will fit over your tank. but i may be wrong

 

thank you for the quick reply. That looks like a good fixture i've heard about TEK but i was kind of shying away from a hanging light. My cielings are old and its the spray-on white, lumpy stuff. I'm probably just worrying for no reason though. I'll see how much it weighs thank you again!!!


EDIT: ahhh i see you can add a mounting bracket =] thanks this looks like a good option.

 

you only need 4 wpg for softies lps and some sps. also i dont think a 6 bulb fixture will fit over your tank. but i may be wrong[/quote]

i think you can put a 6 bulb fixture over your tank. a 55 is about 12" W and the last 6 bulb that i saw was 9" W. unless you arent supposed to have a light that big on a 55?

 

I believe you can fit a 6 bulb as well over a 55.
Either way, +1 to the TEK

EDIT: You might really want to reconsider the hanging kit. I recently hung mine and it's much nicer IMHO. Much easier to move out of the way if you need to get into the tank.

 

You will do just fine with the Tek 4 bulb unit that was mentioned above, and you will be able to grow all sorts of corals, including sps. I've been using that unit for 3 years now and as my sig shows, I've got a bit of everything, but mostly sps. Oh ya, wpg is now considered a obsolete way of deciding on lighting, as par ratings are used currently in determining coral survivability.

 

A 5 bulb TX5 will rock that tank and allow you to pretty much grow SPS all the way to the sand bed.

I only have 3.5 wpg on a 24" deep tank and my PAR values are well above what is needed to keep most corals. Enough for SPS pretty much anywhere in the tank.

WPG is a VERY vague rule... 5 WPG of PC is NO WHERE NEAR 5 WPG of T5 w/ SLRs or MH!!

A tek 4 would be fine, six in my eyes could very well be overkill..

Happy lighting!

 

Thanks for the opinions everybody!! I think ive decided to get the TEK 4 bulb - i was thinking 2 "6k middays" and 2 pure actinics....but i'm a novice at bulbs too so any advice here would be a great help. Thanks again!!!;D

 

thats a little low, you may get some algae growth with 6k's
most people do 2 pure actinics and 2 10k-14k(around that spectrum im not sure what they brands call them in t5s)s

 

Good call on the TEKs. I just got an 8x54W for my 90. For bulbs, I would go UVL. ATI and Giesemann are also good choices. The brand of bulb makes a lot of difference so do not skimp. I am including a link to reefgeek.com. A 4x54W TEK with splash guard and legs (UVL bulbs included) will run you about $400. Money well spent. I would stay away from the 6700K bulbs. Personally I do not like the yellow look they give the tank and they promote algae growth. Some choices available are 10000K, the 50/50 (12000K) and 75/25 (14000K). The higher you go, the bluer the look. My tank is going to have 4xsuperactinics, 2x50/50 and 2x75/25. Perhaps I will switch to 4x75/25. I might also throw in a Pro Color by ATI to bring out the reds. I don't know. I'll have to look at it when I receive mine.

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Sunlight_Supply/Tek_Light_Fixtures/48_inch__4x54W_Tek_Light_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_(Black)_by_Sunlight_Supply

Later dude.......John.