upgrading lights

right now i have one 50/50 floursecent light for my 30 gallon. the tank is 30 inches across. Ive been looking at t-5's but all the bulbs for it are 18 watt. what kind of lighting should i go with that is not very expensive. when they advirtise the light as 30'' (hood) is that the length of it? the bulb? or both?

thanks for answering all my questions in advance

 

T5HO bulbs for your tank will be 24" long and 24watts. That is what you should be looking for. Try Aquarium Lights Hellolights.com for their retrofit kits.

 

I know Current sundial canopies for 30 inch tanks are 4 x 24 watt
Dr Foster and Smith carry those I have noted

T-5 HO Aquarium Lighting: Current Sundial T-5 Canopy Light Fixtures

Steve

 

I recently picked up these for my 30. Pretty decent for the price:
3Ft/4Bulbs fixture

You'll probably have to move 2 of the bulbs since they put 1 blue with 1 daylight on each circuit.

 

The Current brand T5 HO that Steve suggested is a nice fixture and an affordable, reputable brand.

 

The fish need it and odyssea brands are also good IMO, they're much much cheaper but their band names are not too reputable among the reefing community.
I've been using Odyssea for quite some time without a problem.
The only issue you may have with both the Fish need it and Odyssea is that they don't come in 30" fistures. Only 24", 36", 48" etc.

 

thanks guys for your feed back

 

how much watts should i have to grow corals?

 

well a Watt is a unit of electricity and not really the best criteria on which to judge any lighting needs

but with 4 x 24 watt lamps - good quality lamps of the right balance in terms of colour temp would be ideal for soft corals and LPS IME

having never kept SPS corals under anything less than 6 lamps - I am unable to advise on that aspect

Steve

 

It all depends on wut type of corals u plan on having anywhere from 4-8 watts per gallon.. 4 being for low light soft corals and 7 or 8w for hard corals