Questions on lighting???

Hey everyone, I was wondering what I should do. I dont want to go the halide way. I have a 30 gal. cube 20.5x18.5. Currently I have 80 watts of 50/50 PC the screw in bulbs and 30 watts of flourescent actinic. I wanted to know what I couldn't put in the tank meaning coral. And would it be better of if I installed T-5 HO. Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

24" T5HO with individual reflectors on an ice cap ballast are about the most efficient lights you can get. BUT I would go with a MH for your tank, and I am curious as to why you don't want to go that route. Your tank is screaming for 1 250w MH. If you do the T5's or MH there are no limitations to what you can keep. PC's there are.

 

Ive heard your electricity bill goes up a good amount (I dont think my room mates would like that too much). And also your water heats up alot more than I have to get a chiller and I just dont want to bother with all that on my first reef. Maybe on a bigger tank when I get out of the apartment I live in know.

 

Where do you live? I have a 29 gallon BF where I use a 250w MH almost right on the water's surface. Heat hasn't been an issue here except on the hottest of days, but I am in W. NY. Do you have a sump?

 

There are many soft corals that will do well with the lighting you have.

I only have a 24w 50/50 over my 12 gallon tank...and corals in it are doing great. (even a couple small anems doing OK)

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Let us know what up come up with.

Good Luck.

 

I live in california and last summer my tank got pretty hot. No I dont have a sump yet. Would that help with the heat. I got the tank from a friend that upgraded and he had mushrooms, greenstar polyps, anenome, and some zoas. Right now I have a few mushrooms, greenstars, and zoas they are doing good. This is my first reef so im taking it slow. Ive heard some people say that I could keep SPS up high in the tank. But who knows.