Lighting help for the noob...lol

Be careful if you're literally "making" your own lights from parts. If you dont have good ballasts, reflectors and bulbs you are losing out on a lot of the benefits of using T5 bulbs.
Make sure you have waterproof endcaps etc, not just any old T5 part for industrial/commercial use is good for a marine environment for growing coral.

If you meant just using a retro kit I agree 4x39w T5 retro would be great.
Here's a good one if you're looking:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...put_Retrofit_Kit_w!_Bulbs_by_AquaIllumination

Keep in mind that the lights are 80-90% of your food for your corals so skimping on lights is like feeding your dog grass clippings and watermelon rinds from the dumpster.

 

Well I have a friend whos an electrician and I think me and him will come up with something...I like the sound of the T5 lighting.....

 

Do these lights get really hot? like should I add a fan?

Any good sump setup ideas for a 10 gal tank? answer here please
http://www.3reef.com/forums/filters-etc/pump-return-questions-69087.html




BTW thanks for everyones help!!!

 

T5s are the coolest running bulbs out of all of your choices besides LEDs. But LEDs are too new and too expensive. If you buy a fixture....it will have a tiny fan cooling the ballasts....if you make your own retrofit kit, you will need to cool the ballasts more than the bulbs. If your electrician freind decides to help you out, make sure you use only marine grade endcaps. Also make sure you use correct bulbs for reefs. I gaurentee you that your friend cannot make something better than the retrofits that you buy from reef stores. The reflectors are one of the most important parts of T5 setups. Ballasts too.

 

Not to belabor the point but the electrical part is only a very small part of a good T5 system. Just trying to pass on some of the things I've learned about lighting. Hope you don't take it the wrong way.

Like Matt said, the reflectors in particular, if you want good ones are made of a very specific type of highly reflective aluminum and are precisely curved to focus all of the light from all sides of the bulbs out and around the bulb and pretty much straight downward. Unless you copy the bends of a good reflector precisely there is a good chance you will not be able to design one that is as efficient. If you don't have an efficient reflector you're losing a large amount of your light so while you might save money on the reflectors you may have saved money just by getting 3 bulbs with good reflectors rather than 4 with poor ones, not to mention the added energy costs and bulb-replacement cost that comes with more bulbs.

Anyway, if you do your research I'm sure you'll do fine, I just want to make sure you understand the importance of the reflector because it's something easily overlooked if you're not aware. Feel free to ask any specific questions about equipment etc on here as well, I'm sure someone will know the answer or point ya in the right direction!

 

you guys convinced me to pull the CC out and buy some light I like these ones I found they are Current USA Nova SunDial T5 Aquarium Lighting Fixture 4X39 Watt 36 inch......If anyone knows of a cheaper brand the are good please let me know.......Anyused ones out there anyone is done with?

 

outer orbit 36" metal halides. These use a double ended 150watt halide buld. They also have 2 T5 lights in each..........I found this in 3reef classified....how will these ligts do on my system

 

Halides will work. They consume ALOT more electricity and create much more heat. I would stay with the T5s, but its up to you. The current sundial isn't bad but I don't like the color of the bulbs. What is your price range? For the price of the current, you might be able to find something that includes different bulb choices.

 

Current USA are lower end fixtures and bulbs, I wouldn't go any cheaper than that honestly, you really get what you pay for with lighting. Some people like their Current fixtures some don't.

This is the fixture I would get on the low end if it were me, or maybe try and find one used.
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...t_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_(Black)_by_Sunlight_Supply

If you buy used make sure you find out how old the bulbs are. Replacing the bulbs is a good chunk of change compared to the price of most fixtures.

You will save some cash on the lighting (compared to a good quality fixture) if you get a retrofit kit like I linked earlier but you will need a canopy/frame to attach it to so if you weren't already planning on having a canopy that might cost a couple dollars and even out the total cost.