Lighting ??'s

[mlefessler]

I've been doing some extensive research on T5HO lighting systems as I currently only have a 48" double-strip fluorescent light with one 50/50 and one actinic bulb.
Granted, I don't know much about them, but I wish to further educate my decision with your help (rather than the pet store folks who are going to try to sell me something I don't know much about).

I've only got a few low-light corals (mushrooms, GSP) and I wish to expand my coral collection (softies only, no hard). I've decided that I will be going with the 6 strip with individual reflectors. Good choice? Too much? Haven't decided what company to go with, but perhaps I can get some input there.

I'm curious to know, I have a 75-gallon (standard footprint) and do I necessarily need a 48" light strip, or can I get away with a 36" strip as we all know, the financial side isn't exactly growing money on trees. Any comments, suggestions?

Also, going with a 6-strip, what light bulbs would be wise? I know I'm going to alternate blue/white/blue/white,etc for an even distribution, but is there a lighting schedule that I could adhere to?

Thanks for the help!

[greech]

A 6 bulb T5HO will be overkill for softies only. In fact, a 2-bulb T5 or even a CFL fixture would be all you need but I would not recommend one for that tank. Are you sure you will only ever want softies? If not I would go ahead and get at least a 4 bulb. With T5's it's mostly about the reflectors. You want them to be individual. TEK fixtures from Sunlight Supply and ATI fixyures are regraded as some of the best in the hobby. Nova Extreme and NE Pros from Current are also very popular fixtures. You could do a 36" fixture but you will have shadows on each end which will limit your coral placement options to an extent. A quality 4 bulb T5 would be sufficient for softies and LPS and some SPS placed near the top. A quality 6 bulb T5 would open you up to just about anything and allow you more placement options (higher light demand corals near the bottom) and afford you more color options.

Quality bulbs IMO would be Geisman, ATI, UV and Korallen-Zucht (KZ). HTH

[mlefessler]

Thanks for your reply, greech.

As far as a 36" compared to a full 48", I'm not too worried about the sides having shadows as my tank is aquascaped like a lagoon.
I did a water change today and it's cloudy right now, but once it clears up (probably tomorrow morning) I will take a photo for you to see how it would pan out.

I'm no expert on corals and I wish to keep it on the "easy" side as I don't have a lot of time to maintain the tank as it is.

Hmm, either way, I think you are right regarding the 2 vs 4 vs 6 bulb t5. 2 bulb would be a little tight and a 6 bulb would be over kill. 4 bulb system sounds like a good medium pertaining to what I'm looking to house.

With that being said, my next question is: scheduling.
What's a "normal" schedule for a 4-bulb lighting system? With lunar lights?
And also, what lights would you suggest as far as 6500K, 10K, actinic, etc.?

[DoctaQ]

people tend to run 6-8 hour photoperiods, sometimes people will have 2 bulbs come on earlier and stay on later, usually some kind of blue.

as far as t5s go, its much more complicated than 10k and actinics, theres all kinds of colors that you can mix and match, ati seems to be a respected brand

[greech]

There is a fairly popular T5HO GE 6500K bulb which produces a nice white light. ATI Blue+, ATI Aquablue Special, UV Super actinic, KZ Figi Purples are some popular bulbs that folks use in their fixtures.

[mlefessler]

I'm curious about these different bulbs for T5's. What's everyone else got?

[<3Oscar]

I'm using a 4 bulb T5HOs (dual reflectors) over my 90g. I currently have the standard setup with 2 10k whites and 2 actinics alternating, leaving on for aprox. 8 hours a day. But the LFS carries a Red full spectrum bulb I've been thinking about trying out in the mix. My current setup does well with my mushroom, softies, zoas, and my frogspawn (LPS). I really enjoy the vivid colors it brings out in the corals and the fish!

[mlefessler]

Thanks, Oscar! =) That's exactly what I like to hear. I'm looking forward to bringing in some oranges, reds, pinks and blues (got enough purples with my coralline algae taking over my tank). Do you leave both on 8 hours a day, or do you simulate the dawn/dusk with the actinics?

[Jstdv8]

im running a nova extreme pro 6x 54w 3x10k and 3x 460nm actinics.
my growth on my softies is outstanding. The current usa bulbs arent the best, but I'll change em in another 10 months to some ATI bulbs instead