Lighting Questions for upgrade

Ok I have posted a few times here, and many times I post people tell me I need to get better lighting. I have a pc w/ 1 96w 10k, and 1 96w actinic. and no lunar light on it. I was looking on ebay and saw this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/48-Aquarium-Power-Compact-Light-260W-Lunars-Odyssea-CE_W0QQitemZ380113249041QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item380113249041&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1308|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

Does this look like an upgrade for me or not. It is more watts and they are 12k bulbs. but not sure if I would get enough of an increase for the money. and no I cannot do a halide or T5 right now cause I cant afford them. anyone have thoughts or better options?


On a second note: I have learned alot from 3reef thank you everyone. an example of what I learned: do not cover your tank, reason being reduced light into tank, and the big one... I was fighting my ph being low. Opened the top from the glass covers and a day later ph is up to 8.0.... thanks everyone!!

 

Wait until you can afford T5's or halides. If your going to spend money upgrading, don't do it with PC's. They are slowly being phased out of the hobby anyways.

 

I agree, wait till you can get T5's they are more than worth it.
Also, I always say stay away from EBay when buying higher priced equipment like lighting. You want to buy it from a store that has a good reputation and will have good customer service, not to mention will honor the return policy. You always pay for what you get.

 

ok sry for more questions... but when looking for T5 lights. this is just an example: if you have 200watts from a PC, and 200watts from a T5 light, is there a difference? or is it the same?

 

Big difference. 200 watts of T5's will be much more powerful than 200W of PC's.

 

Your tank is a 75 right? I would look in to TEK's 6X or 8X54W unit, that would be a nice lighting system for that tank. Run UVL bulbs

 

a 75 isn't very tall so you could definitly get away with T5's, the 6x or 8x54 units would be a great upgrade as packleader suggested.

 

+1 on above a watt is a unit of power being used and not an indication of light output
you need to lool at Lumens output to understand how much light is given per watt of electricity used

there are some 3 x 1 watt (total 3 watt) LED gu10 halogen replacement lamps on the market now that can give of more lumens than a 50 watt halogen lamp

so watts is no indication of light output

Steve

 

awesome. well once again you guys have helped me out!!! I like not wasting money lol.

 

ok I promise last question..... What brands do I stay away from?