Lighting for 29 gallon w/SPS and clams?

Hey all,

I tried searching for a thread which I'm sure exists but came up with no luck =(. I was curious what kind of lighting you would all recommend for a 29 gallon reef tank. I'd like to get clams and SPS corals in there as well at some point.

I figure everyone would recommend T5HO lighting, but how many bulbs should I have, watts, etc. Would two be enough? At 24W each? My head is spinning! This is my first saltwater tank and I'm taking it slow but looking toward the future!

Thanks guys,

Drew

 

Have you decided between t5's and halides? I don't know much about t5's, but if you are interested in a halide I would recommend a 150w. You could probably actually go with a 75w depending on your tank dimensions.

t5's will run cooler and use less power. They will also have almost the same intensity of a halide. Halides make tanks looks extremely crisp though. I highly doubt I will ever run anything but a halide over a reef.

If you want to go t5's though, I would think that a 4 bulb unit would be fine.

Either way, good to see that you're doing your research before buying. Keep that up! Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Ivan

 

I have a 29 gal and am running a 4 bulb T5 fixture and have both SPS and a clam doing fine. Granted, any SPS are placed at the top of my tank.

 

I also have a 29. I am running a 30" four bulb Aquatic Life fixture. The light is awesome.

 

Ok it sounds like 4 lights might be the way to go. These would be 24W a piece then correct? If I retrofit two ballast's i could set them to turn on an hour or half an hour apart.

Are you guys using half actinic lighting and half 10,000k?

Thanks,

Drew

 

Or you could buy this http://www.3reef.com/forums/sale/24...-pro-skimmer-w-mag-3-sale-tampa-fl-91939.html

 

Go with ATI Blue Plus instead of actinic it puts out 3x the light of an actinic and gives almost the same effect. For the white bulbs get ATI Aquablue Specials. Or one Aquablue special and one UVL actinic white. The actinic white will make your reds, pinks and purple pop.

 

shop.aquatrader has some good fixtures that you can buy. cheap. and surprisingly good quality.