Lighting brands -- preferences

I would agree that MH is the best way to go. A MH and T5-HO actinic combo sounds pretty good. T5s are great though, I only have the 36 inch 156 watt fixture over my 36 gallon. It does well, also looking to add a retrofit kit too it to increase light output.

 

I upgraded to this setup from Current USA, specifically the 250 watt unit.

Outer Orbit HQI/T5HO | Current What's Next

 

ts383,

I just recently finished my new canopy with lights.. I asked the same question, and said the samething ( What do you recommend & I dont mind dropping the money if I have too ). But IMO if you have the skills or have a friend that can help you, I would build a canopy and install VHO's with MH's. (Also if you go with them from the start you wont have to change later if you would like to grow some hard stuff.) I didnt know much about lighting and still dont, but I initally was going to buy a premade light fixture and set it on the top of my tank without any hood, but thought that wouldnt be as pleasant to look at, as a canopy would. Also I to was worried about that heat issue using MH's since I dont have a chiller. But after reading and talking to alot of people on here and at the LFS , and so on I gathered that more people than not, did'nt recommend the use of T-5's and it was like anything else either people loved them or they hated them no imbetween. But the VHO/MH combo everyone said that was a good lighting combo. Now that brought me to the next series of questions, what size ballast and type Mag/Elec and what color spectrum. The consensious 2-250W MH's ( 14K- 20K ) depending on the amount of blue you want. I ended up with the Ice Cap 660 VHO ballast with 2-110 super atinics and 2-250W Ice Cap HQI Electronic ballasts and I used SPS 20K bulbs. I build my canopy and mounted the MH's about 11.5'' off the water and VHO's about 9'' left the back of the canopy open and put 4 5'' fans blowing into the canopy ( 2 on each side ) and hoped that was going to be enough. Now my canopy and lights have be up and running for 3 days and my water temp before anything was 77.1 degrees, now with the new lights and canopy it is 75.3, using the fans of coarse. And it looks awsome..... Total money invested in lights, canopy and fans was $785.00..........

 

Hi< I had pc's most of my " reefer " life with the exception of the last 4-5 yrs I got MH's. With MH, I have so much more of a variety of corals than with pc's. The shimmering effect is also awesome! If you have a deep tank, MH's are needed to reach bottom dwellers. The down side, IMO, MH's are expensive and do produce alot of heat. However, I have one 4" fan on top of my tank and my temp. stays @ 78-79 and I dont have a chiller. If you need to lower your temp even more, after installing the MH's, just leave the fan running a little longer. If I would leave my fan on any longer than the lights are on, the temp would go as low as 68-70. My lighting system is 692 watts in total. You also need to ask yourself what corals are you planning to have now and in the future. I hope this helps.

 

I would recommend Metal halides or T5ho's, these are the best on the market. I personally cannot handle the brightness of MH and I can't handle the migrains that come with the intense brightness. T5ho's have been rated as good as MH as long as your tank is 20inches or less in depth. They are powerful fluorescents but not powerful enough for deep tanks. I have the Nova Extreme and I love it and everything in my tank has doubled in size and continues to grow. Alot of people have sps and clams with t5ho but none of them have deep tanks. It's personal preference and how much $$$ you want to spend.