quick question

I've read through a few posts here, a few articles other places on the web, but I am still in the fog about which direction to go on lighting my 90 gallon tank. Right now I have my base rock down, and live sand. I have a few fish in there with a snail and a hermit crab. Before I order the live rock I want to get my lights right. Right now I have (2) 48 inch power compact units that hold (4) 65 watt bulbs each, for a total of 520 watts of lighting roughly 5.5 watts per gallon (I know watts per gallon doesn't always work as a measure of adequate lighting) I also have sitting in my back office 4 brand new VHO bulbs from URI I have never used before and 4 T-5's.

From everything I've read, cost, lumens, watts, pAR. There are multiple reasons to go with one over the other.

But throw out all reasons and keep the best health for the inhabitants of the tank in mind. Which lighting would you go with? I already have the PC's up and running, but like I said I've been hesitant to put anything like live rock or coral in the tank, because once I put the rock in I don't want to disturb it any more than I have to, plus to run T-5's or VHO I'd have to buy a ballast, which isn't a problem if it's going to be worth it for the fish and corals I will eventually have in the tank.

So which is the best way to go from here? I did fine with VHO on a 55 gallon tank many years ago, but this is a 90 gallon tank 48.5" x 18.5" x 25.4" I want to eventually be able to keep just about anything soft or hard, anemone etc... and have there be enough light to keep them healthy and happy. I don't have the budget to do Metal Halides or LED at this time.

Thanks.

 

First off, live rock will be fine with any kind of lighting, so go ahead and get your live rock in there so the bacteria can start building up on it. Second just go with T5HO fixture. More energy efficient. If money is not an object i would say go with LED.

 

Thanks, that's kind of what I was thinking as well.
I have an oak canopy for my tank, so I am going to order some good reflectors and fit the lights into the canopy. I think I'll probably power them with what I seem to have found to be the replacement for icecap ballasts "coralvue" ? If going with T5 HO how many T5 bulbs would you put on this 90 gallon tank to get the best penetration and presence of proper UV balance?

In your opinion how effective would the power compacts I have now be? Not to worried about efficiency as I am about being able to maintain a healthy tank.

 

You need to figure out what you're going to be keeping.
Each species has its own light requirements, your job is to provide the best possible compromise between the highest and lowest requirements in the tank.

 

I would like to keep at least one carpet anemone eventually, polyps, xenia, I'd like to have a gorgonia in there, maybe a plate coral. Some leathers, maybe a clam, I've got a plant growing in there right now -halimeda seems to be doing ok, more plants seem to be starting to grow since I put it in there almost two weeks ago now.

 

Compact florescents are just out dated. I would say MIN 4 bulbs. But 6-8 would be great! And i would go with ATI bulbs when you can as they are probably the best bulbs you can buy.

 

4 T5HO bulbs will cover all of your planned needs more than well enough and handle any SPS coral you would wish to have. Any more bulbs would most likely be overkill and cause issues will the coloration of your corals unless you carefully control your light period.

PC are adequate for low to medium light coral in a standard 90 but better in short tanks as their penetration ability is limited by their design and the quality of reflectors. You may be able to make a go of it with if you have a PC fixture built by AHSupply and use their bulbs also.