Help: New lighting fixture (Update: another option)

20'' 24'' 30'' 36'' 48'' 60'' 72'' POWER COMPACT AQUARIUM LIGHT W/ LUNAR MOON | eBay

Amazon.com: Aquarium Light 24" Lighting T5 Hood Freshwater Coral Fish Actinic Fluorescent: Pet Supplies

The first option is a 2 bulb (65 watts each), 130 watt fixture. The second option is a 4 bulb (24 watts each), 96 watt fixture. This fixture will eventually become the fixture over my refugium (6 months-1 year). Int he mean time, I will use it in my 20 gallon (soon to be) reef aquarium.

Suggestions?

 

It depends on the coral you want to keep. A 4 bulb will be over kill for a fuge. My buddy just traded me his 4 bulb T5 fixture for my 2 bulb T5 fixture. He said he was having too many unnecessary problems for a fuge with that amount of light. If you will be keeping high light acros go with the 4 bulb fixture. Also with 4 bulbs you have way more options to choose bulbs for the kind of spectrum u like.

 

I would love the option of growing SPS, if I so chose to do so. Would the 96 watt 4-bulb fixture not be sufficient enough?

With the 4-bulb, could I simply remove a bulb or two and use it above the fuge? Keep in mind the 2-buld has more wattage.

Would both be sufficient for a bubble tip anemone?

 

For sps 4 bulbs are always better. There is a big chance of the sps browning out with only a 2 bulb fixture. Wattage isn't what is needed to be messured when it comes to lighting coral now a days, especially with T5's. It's the PAR you want not wattage. The 2 bulb fixture may have more wattage BUT 4 bulbs will give out way more PAR than 2 bulbs. PAR isn't only important aswell, but spectrum aswell. Some coral do a lot better in a more blue color than others and vice-versa. Depending on the fixture you have there are some (like the one i have, 4 bulb 24" AquaticLife T5) that have 2 different switches for each set of bulbs. So then you can just keep 2 on instead of all 4. If the fixture only has a single switch for all bulbs and you only put in 2 bulbs and try to turn it on.... It won't turn on. Over all you have way more options with a 4 bulb fixture with 2 different switches and more PAR to keep sps and anemones to boot.

 

I would go with the t5"s because the pc have to be replaced every 6 months and the t5s once a yea and because of what was said above ^^^

 

Yes. PC's are basically old news and the old ways of lighting. T5's give you three times the light output. When it comes to flourecents T5's are the way to go. The bulbs are cheaper, higher output, last longer, have way more spectrum of bulbs to choose from, uses less wattage, and produces a lot less heat than PC's. The quality and look of the light is much nicer and appealing to the eye aswell.

 

Fantastic, thank you!

The 4-bulb setup does have 2 switches (and a third for lunar).

 

So basically T5'S all the way!!!!!!!! lol

 

I'm pretty excited to make this purchase. I've been running a 2 bulb, 28 watt, 10,000 K and actinic bulb unit for months (and for a year on my first setup 3 years ago) and have seen very little growth of anything. The only thing that really grew in my first setup under that unit were the green star polyps and mushrooms.

 

what else are you keeping in that tank?