What kind of lighting

Hello, Im new and just starting out. I have about a year or so before i start my tank. I have a 150g tall. Being that it is 30" tall I know i need MH. Id rather not if i can because i dont want the meeter spinning so fast i can cut my own deli meat. ;D

I know i want to have various corals and such. Id like to make a venture into LED but its so expensive. Is there another option? Can i make a mix of lights that will make everything in the tank happy?

My tank is 48"Lx24"Dx30"T

Thank you for your help in advance ;D

Mr. Smiley

 

welcome to 3 reef Mr Smiley

a lot depends on the type of corals you want to keep, so research is key
T5 lighting would be great for many corals, softies etc even down at the base of a 30 inch tank
it avoids the electrical cost and also the heat issues and you could get a 8 lamp fixture over that width of tank without any problem
and you can always have the more light demanding corals higher up in the tank
as the amount of water underneath the coral is not important, its the amount of water between the light and the coral that matters.

some species like Zoanthids and shrooms do really well under subdued lighting IME
and naturally any non photosynthetic corals would also be fine at that depth with T5 lighting

MH (dependent on wattage) would mean your good to go as far as lighting is concerned , with whatever you like and whatever depth you like in a 30 deep

thats my thinking on the subject


Steve

 

You can do like an 8 bulb T5HO fixture....That will let you put SPS up at the top, And LPS and Softies Mid to bottom.....MH would be the best but The T5HO will do..

HEres a really nice one.Its a 6 bulbs but will work
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Sunlight_Supply/Tek_Light_Elite_Fixtures/48_inch__6x54W_Tek_Light_Elite_T5_High-Output_Fixture_%28Graphite%29_by_Sunlight_Supply

Look around on that site...

IF not heres another.
Current USA Nova Extreme Pro T5HO 10k/460nm Actinics

Both are great and will do fine on your tank..

 

Well t5 on that size of a tank will use about the same amount of power as mh. Leds will work and they will use less power but start up cost will be outragious on a tank of that size

 

For that size tank, I would go with halides. But some HOT5s would work too, depending on strength. What's your budget?...Marineland has a lamp that has 2 halides, 2 t5's & 2 LED's. That's just the small fixture. Marineland Pro Lighting 24-Hour Lighting System-The 48" has 2 MH, 4 T5's & 4 LED's(total of 516W). that will run you about $900 though. lol. There are many options.

 

I would go with halides. As with T5's the performance of halides depend on the quality of the fixture. In my experience unless you get a really cheap halide the difference in heat and electricity between halides and T5's isn't that huge. a couple degrees(which can be important if your on the line already) and a few dollars in saving per month.

 

As of right now I have not set a budget for lights. Since i have about a year i can save for almost any light.

I have seen some fixtures that have the combination of T5 and MH. The MH's that ive seen are only 150w. Would two 150w and the four t5's be enough?