Lighting On 55g SPS

Hi there,
I just had a quick question. Would this lighting suffice a 55g SPS / Clam Reef Tank?

Tek 4x54 T5HO

 

Nope. you need halides or something of that intensity of light.

 

If you want to do t5 I would suggest an ati powermodule.
Check out reefgeek.com

 

I have 4 t5 over my 55 and i can grow sps but it has to be waaaay at the top of the rock. if your doing sps only i would look into halides

 

Sorry guys, but this is not correct. In fact, it has been proven over and over again that you do not require MH lighting to grow SPS. Some of the nicest SPS tanks are lit by T5's alone. The only time it is valid to say that you NEED MH lighting is when you have a deep tank, say over 24" deep, where the T5 would not penetrate deep enough.

In a standard 55g tank, 4x54W Tek T5 would be able to support SPS growth, but not as well as the 6 bulb fixture would. With a Tek 6x54W fixture over a 55g tank, you could grow whatever you wanted wherever you wanted.

Please note that I am talking about a Tek fixture or something with even better SLR reflectors. An older T5 light with single parabolic reflectors is nowhere near as good, and would not provide sufficient light for what you want.

 

x2, 4x54w with SLR and even overdriven bulbs to 80w would do it..

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...igh-Output_Fixture_(Black)_by_Sunlight_Supply

that tek fixutre doesnt have slr or is overdriven.. states 50g sps dominate tank ok

top of the line bulbs helps too..

 

I have a 55 with a 6x54w Tek fixture. I have many sps corals and a clam, no problem with any of them. I used to have a 4x54w T5 Nova Extreme and I could grow sps but they tended to brown out b/c there wasn't enough light.

 

Thanks guys, it seems I may have to go with the 6x54w.