Light help! coral beginner

Hey everyone. I have been helping my brother with his saltwater tanks for a few years but they have all been FOWLR tanks. I have a 28 gallon bowfront tank that I want to make into a reef tank. I am quite lost on what lights to use that would be good on a pretty tight budget (college student). I am just not sure what's a good choice between MH and t5 lights. Im really not sure what kind of corals I would like to have but I dont really want to be too limited as to what I can get if I see something I like. ANY help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

You can never go wrong with MH's, but they are expensive and you might have to buy additional equipment to off set the side effects(fans,chillers). Alot of ppl have T lighting and its working for them, but are limited on some corals(IMO). You can always get a used unit on craigslist or a lesser brand like Odyssea on Ebay. I think you should research on what corals you want to have and go from there. One piece of advice, dont buy cheap b/c you'll be buying the " good stuff " later and spending the money aways. While researching, save the money for the good stuff. Hope this helps, Luna.

 

If your going to go with Odyssea I would stay away from the EBay route,
the shipping for all the stuff I have seen on there has been outrageous!

I have bought several items including lights from Aquatraders.com. I had
a problem with 1 bulb not working when I got my light and they responded
by immediately sending out a full set of bulbs for my light. And iot looks to
me like they are offering free shipping right now.

 

I to have bought and been satisfied with Aquatraders

 

It really depends on what type of coral you want. There are a ton of amazing tanks running T5, mind you I couldn't get the coral form SPS.
A nice 175W or 250W pendant MH would work well

J

 

To 3Reef!!! ​

Salutations! Glad to see you found way here!

If budget is limited, PC's are not a bad way to go...stick with soft corals and you can easily get by with 3-4 watts per gallon.

I have a Nano doing really well with only 2w per gallon.

Fish don't care.

Just make decision which way you want to go before buying as you will live with for a long time, hopefully.

Let us know how your system is doing & post some pics.
​

The Tao of Marine Aquaria
Tips for Our Hobby and Life

© 1997 Adam H. Whitlock
Edited By Elizabeth M. Lukan 11/25/00


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hey everyone. I actually live near a store that sells odyssea lights. There is a 24 inch fixture with a metal halide and two 65 watt PC lights on it and possibly a moon light or two for 160. I have been looking and that is the cheapest fixture by a bit. the other fixture im looking at is: 24 inch Current USA SunDial T5 HO 4x24W w/ Timers & LED for about 200. any thougts?

 

both mh and t5 can keep all corals depending on the setup. its the almighty dollar that makes it happen

 

its hard to say without knowing your tank size.i beleive my daughters 10 gallon is best off with the 40watt power compact.my 55 gallon with every type of coral in it has 4 54watt t5's over it.my corals may grow faster with hm idk but its beautiful.if i ever get a deeper tank i will have to get mh lights but i won't cause i'm not exactly well off.

 

here this does'nt include t5's but its usefull for judging pc and mh light requirment for tanks
marineandreef.com/ Aquarium Reef Lighting Chart--Find the best aquarium hood lighting for all sizes of reek tanks