Cost effective reef lighting?

[magakitty]

What is the most cost effect lighting that we can use for our reef tank. Right now we have about 156 w of 50/50 PC lighting and are being told at the lfs we can't really have coral, or at least nothing colorful in that lighting.

What do we really need and what is the most cost effective method of doing so? We want tidal area, 15-30 ft depth type corals.

thanks

[Grins]

Your lighting will be fine for softies, polyps and non-photosynthic corals like sun coral.

If you want to keep SPS, clams and some LPS you'll want T5s with individual reflectos or MHs. They actually run about the same. The way I got mine Maga was to go through my local reef club and buy someone's used lights. They were upgrading to 400watt units so I snagged 250s for a bargin. That is fairly common in most clubs. You can also look at the classified ads on RC for similiar deals...but they tend to give better deals to locals.

[fsn77]

What size is the tank?

It's kind of hard to recommend any kind of specific lighting set-up without knowing what the tank's dimensions are and what corals you'd like to have.

[magakitty]

sorry about that - it's a uniquarium, 55 gal, tall

http://www.fishtankwarehouse.com/cart/shopper.cfm?action=view&key=CFL010

[Subliminal]

Personally, I'd look at craigslist.com, reefcentral.com, and find a local club and look in their classifieds. I know there's one in palm springs (look at the bottom of reefcentral's forum list for local clubs.

As to which light is the best, it really probably goes Metal Halide, T5 then PC. But, with the right setup, a PC setup will let you keep anything you want.

I personally went with a PC hood, because I got it from craigslist, with new bulbs, and a nice looking unit, for ~$50. And that for 220w, which is certainly plenty on my 29g. And I keep a mixed reef of anemone, softies, lps, and even an sps or two.

Anyway, cost effective is a relative term. ;)

[fsn77]

For a 24" tall tank, it's hard to provide enough light intensity to keep even medium light corals near the bottom with PC lighting. I feel the best options would be either a T5 HO, MH, or combination set-up. If you choose T5 HO, it's best to purchase a fixture (or retrofit kit) that includes individual reflectors for each bulb, which maximize the light going into the tank.

Since the tank is only 15" front to back, space might be a limiting factor for a T5 HO retrofit kit (if you even have a canopy). Four, maybe five T5 HO bulbs / reflectors can fit in 15" -- five would likely be a little tight depending on canopy design. Depending on ballast and bulb choice, you could have anything from a soft coral only tank, a mixed softie / LPS tank, or even a SPS tank.

The effective coverage for a MH is approximately 24", meaning a single MH would not provide intense lighting for the entire 36" length of the aquarium. Two could be used with overlap in the center, but that would definitely add to the cost. However, depending on the design of the rockwork, lower light corals could be placed near the ends of the tank if a single MH was used.

Then, there's always the possibility of a MH / T5 HO combination. A MH / T5 HO fixture is pretty expensive, but piecing together a retrofit system combining the two is more affordable. Ultimately, bulb choice would determine what could be kept outside the coverage area of the MH.

In order to really save money, buying used lighting is the only way to go. Both fixtures and retrofit kits are sold used for far less than new. If you buy used, be sure to factor in the cost of replacing the bulbs, as a MH bulb can run $60 - $100 depending on brand / color spectrum, while T5s run around $20 a piece.

[magakitty]

YOu know I believe that I made a mistake by iding the tank as a tall. I know that the sand bed is <2" and it is about 18" from the top of the sand bed to the top of the tank. so I think it is probably the other 55 - which measures
18 x 36 x 20

[jayghmi]

I run compact pc's 50/50 and have had great success with cup coral, kenya tree, pulsing xenia, cabbage leather and muchrooms. I have pretty good coraline growth as well. You can keep a great variety of newbie corals under pc's.

I plan on upgrading at some point too, but for now I am very happy with these beginning corals.

Jay