I am a newby I Need help choosing a light fixture

[Jack1243]

would this light be suitable for a 55 gallon for anemones and hammerheads and frogspawns its 250 watts so a high watt tank is 5 watts per gal so 5 x 55=275 so 15 watts of pretty good i think...........but i am a newby soo you help me http://portland.craigslist.org/yam/for/1392889502.html

[Ace25]

Compact Floro fixtures are not really that good for reef tanks and a little overkill for fish only tanks. You could do softies with that light, but for only $50 more you can get a nice Nova Extreme T5HO fixture (http://www.marinedepot.com/48_inch_Current_USA_Nova_Extreme_4x54W_T5HO_48_Inc h_T5_Fluorescent_Light_Fixtures-Current_USA-CU01120-FILTFIT58U-CU01122-vi.html) that will give you 2-3x more light than the fixture you linked to and you would have no problem with hammers or frogspawns with the T5 light.

[Ken b]

In my opinion 5WPG is a little on the low side. !0 -12 WPG is a well lit tank. You should have little trouble with growing anytrhing with that ratio. As always I purchase with the notion that any lighting system will grow with me.After all you don't want to upgrade tank size and not be able to have equipment grow with you.

[Jack1243]

Would these lights work ? http://fishneedit.com/4ft4bulbs-with-l44.html

[Ace25]

Other than it being out of stock that looks like a great light for the price.

[Jack1243]

Would those work nems and polyups and hammers and xezina? and soft coral like these?

[fsn77]

Watts is quite possibly the poorest of measures for quantifying light for a reef tank. Watts is a measure of power consumed, not the amount of light generated. A 250w metal halide will do far more for coral than 250w of power compacts / compact fluorescents.

The fixture linked above should be fine for the corals you listed in a 55g. As for anemones, that depends on the lighting needs of the type(s) you want to keep. I can see some being just fine, while others may not be.

[Jack1243]

The thing with halide is it would melt the plastic bar in the middle the tank splitting it in half anf the price.

[Jack1243]

The halides are too short also.

[fsn77]

Over a 55g, there would be 2 metal halides (one over each half) and neither would be near enough to the center brace to melt it. Unless restricted to a short canopy, halides (or any light for that matter) can be placed at whatever height is needed for them above the tank. Increased height off the tank comes with advantages and disadvantages, it's simply a matter of balancing them to get the results you desire.

Nonetheless, my mentioning of metal halides was more for reasons of why watts is a poor indicator of light quality. Although, there are anemones that would do far better under MHs than the number of T5s that can conceivably be placed over a tank as narrow as a 55g.

[Jack1243]

Thanks for the help i am getting this light. here is a 55 gallon with the same light. http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-55907585196829_2073_3381334 Sould the tangs be in that small of a tank

[fsn77]

Tangs in a 55g (one, let alone two) is generally considered a no-no by many people. The reason is that they will quickly outgrow a tank of that size. Even a 75g or a 90g is too small for many adult tangs. Something with a 6' long footprint is more appropriate.

I think getting the 4 bulb T5 fixture is a fine choice for the corals you're looking to keep. Keep in mind that bulb selection can greatly effect the tank's appearance and the health of its inhabitants. With T5s, you'll have plenty of choices to customize a look you like and provide plenty of light.

[Jack1243]

Thanks you know alot. will will post pictures once i figure out how.....

[fsn77]

Here's a link describing how to post pictures. (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167754)

[Jack1243]

Would this MH get very hot? http://cgi.ebay.com/48-500W-Aquarium-Metal-Halide-Lunar-Coral-Reef-4ft_W0QQitemZ290353027775QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_0?hash=item439a639abf&_trksid=p4999.c0.m14

[fsn77]

It'll really depend on how good the fan is. Even then, I'm not sure a single fan in a MH fixture is sufficient for cooling a 2 x 250w MH well -- but that's JMO.

[Jack1243]

ok could i place i normal fan for the house and point towards the light when its on?

[Jack1243]

Ok which is better 4 Bulb T5 or That MH in the link

[Ace25]

Tough call, both have their +'s and -'s. The MH will give you more light than the 4 bulb T5s and give you the ability to not have to worry about lighting on any type of coral, but the power it will use and heat it will cause is a drawback. If you only wanted softies, LPS, and low light SPS corals the T5 is a much better choice, if you want acropora corals (colorful sticks) the MH is the way to go.

[mak3mydae]

if you want acropora corals (colorful sticks).

:laugh:

I would personally go for MH's. If you're going to do such a big reef( to me ), you are going to spend a ton of money anyways. You're likely going to want other corals later on that are going to need higher light. If you get MH's, you can techniquely use a house fan and point it at the fixture, but who wants a fan in the way of looking at a bunch of awesome corals? Heh. If you dont plan to get anything else then i suppose T5's would be fine

[Jack1243]

How often would you have to replace the bulbs on the MH?

[Ace25]

The "normal" answer is every 9-12 months for both MH and T5HO but I myself always do every 6 months. I only have 1 MH bulb to replace, but I have 10 T5HOs which hurts.

[Jack1243]

What the range of DE MH 15,000k and 20,000k bulb replacement?

[Ace25]

Lighting is such a complicated subject even when you don't take into different bulb manufacturers. The short answer is "There is no golden website that shows bulb lifespan / spectral shift / intensity loss over time". I wish there was. That said, bulbs differ so much from each other that you can't really say something like "14k will last longer than 20k" due to every bulb being different. Certain 14k bulbs will last longer than certain 20k but certain 20k will out last certain 14k, it all depends on the Mfg and working environment of the bulb (properly cooled).

My personal preference of bulbs is the Phoenix 14k, but again, that is just a preference I have and not trying to say it is the best bulb/color since that is subjective.

[Jack1243]

I mean the price range