Lighting Questions

Discussion in 'Reef Lighting' started by courterbobby, Mar 9, 2010.

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  1. courterbobby

    courterbobby Plankton

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2010
    Messages:
    12
    Location:
    Atlanta, Ga
    Hello,
    I need some questions answered about Lighting. Every time I go online to research, I get frustrated and want to give up, so I am giving this a shot to get feedback.
    Okay, I have a 30 gallon Aquarium set up and is fully established for about 8 months now. The dimensions of the Aquarium is 30" long, 12.5" wide, and 19" deep. Right now I have PC lighting 10000k with an Antic Blue Light Also. I want to up grade to Medal Halide lighting. Can someone please give me an estimate on what I will need? I want to start getting some more corals that need more intense lighting. I currently have 40lbs of live rock, a Rose BTA, and mushroom corals in the aquarium and they seem to be doing fine with the current lighting.

    One other question is for my NEW 80 gallon set up. The tank was originally fresh water, and I am converting it into Salt Water. The dimensions for it is 48" long, 18" wide, and 23" deep.Again there is just a standard Florescent Light on it and I know that needs to be changed. The Aquarium is currently going through the cycling process and has about 160lbs of live rock in it. I want to use Medal Halide for them too, so if I could get a general idea on what I will need that would be awesome! After the tank is cycled and aged I want to have light intense corals
     
    courterbobby, Mar 9, 2010
    courterbobby, Mar 9, 2010
    #1

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  2. Reef2Keep

    Reef2Keep Purple Spiny Lobster

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2009
    Messages:
    460
    Location:
    Oceanside, CA
    I haven't used halides yet, but from what I know you will need at least:
    -some type of fixture (either DIY canopy style, or store bought complete)
    -ballasts
    -bulbs
    -fans or some type of cooling system for the bulbs
    -supplimentary bulbs/ballasts (not necessary, but often recommended)

    You can also just upgrade to T5s if you want to save lots of money and still greatly increse the corals you could keep. Complete fixtures are fairly cheap in comparison to halides. Just a suggestion...

    Hope that helps, and there are plenty of halide pros on 3reef who will hopefully chime in to better help you out:)
     
    Reef2Keep, Mar 9, 2010
    Reef2Keep, Mar 9, 2010
    #2
  3. scottf

    scottf Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2009
    Messages:
    55
    Location:
    new hampshire
    you can either go with a light fixture with mh and t5's or go with mh pendants im currently running 3 250w giesemann nova pendants on my tank running 14k bulbs not currently running any actinic supplimental lighting.it all depends on what you want 1 or 2 mh lights and how much $ you want to put into it.or like reef2keep said you could go with t-5's and increase the corals you could keep and save some money
     
    scottf, Mar 11, 2010
    scottf, Mar 11, 2010
    #3