newbie w/light ???

I am just getting my first reef w/fish tank set up. I have a bow front which is 36L x 12 to 15D x 21H. I know I will only do soft or leather corals at first, but certainly hope to advance. Is this light too much for it? I am trying to by good stuff now so as not to upgrade later. I'd appreciate any feedback and/or suggestions. Thanks.


Current USA Nova Extreme Pro T5 Aquarium Lighting Fixture, 6X39 Watt, 36 inch

 

no it will do just fine

 

Do you know if the lights in it are those that I want to use at night and others for the day? If not, do you know what it is I need to look for?

 

welcome to the ADDICTION, the light is perfect for that setup. IMO one of the most important equipment, next to the light would be the protein skimmer. Trust me I learned the hard way. good luck

 

that's a really good price on that.

if you wanna do it right from the beginning get MH.

for about 100 bucks more you can make that happen, get something like 2x150w...

run something like a 14k bulb... you won't need any actinics... nice blend of white/blue.

the light is just so much nicer imo, it looks sharp and clear and shimmering... fluorescents, even t5's just seem dull in a way and unnatural... under MH you see the glint off of your fishs scales and everything just pops.

i mean you really can't have too much light... and since you don't wanna upgrade later, i'd spend the extra hundo and get an MH... or an MH/t5 combo fixture... you have a 36" so it's a little wide for a single lamp... you could get like a 250w pendant for maybe 300 or so

Reef Aquarium Lighting: Hamilton Technology Low Profile ReefStar HQI Metal Halide System

that one's $305... for 250w, it's only a single bulb though so the edges of your tank won't be 100percent lit... but for me that would be fine and i think it would look sick... the pendant will have a wider spread than like a sunpod or something and you can hang it as high or low as you want to get the coverage you want.

http://www.marineandreef.com/Outer_Orbit_Light_36_inch_Current_USA_p/rcu01041.htm

that one's $340- but ti's also got some PC lighting as well... so more light and better coverage... that would be about all the light you could ever need for that aquarium... plus it's a fixture so you don't ahve to hang it.

just depends on personal preference, but MH owns every other light... i dont get why people spend so much money on these t5 fixtures, sure they are pretty bright, but the effect is just so different.

the only advantage to t5's to me is mix/match bulbs... but there are so many different choices for MH bulbs that you can really do that with MH to find your exact color spectrum.

fluoro's just don't compare imo.

 

For my 46 i have the 36" 4x39 t5 ho tek. It's a bit pricey at $350 but you will be able to keep whatever you want with this light. Just an option