lights question?

fjc973

fjc973

AC Members
Jul 30, 2007
23
0
1
hi i'm new to the hobby and need information on wich is the best between this brands and what kind of corals i can be able to grow under those lights
orbit compact fluorescent 130 watts 2-65

satellite compact fluorescent fixtures 130 watts 2-65

caralife aqualight compact fluorescent 130 watts

nova extreme t-5 with lunar ligts 96 watts four 24 watts with 2 lunar lights
thanks
 
satellite's made by Current USA. Coralife and Current USA are both reputable brands that are reliable and relatively affordable compared to some of the European brands. I wouldn't recommend one over the other between those since either one will be a good choice.

However, I DO recommend the nova extreme over the other two just because it uses T-5. It is less wattage, but I still think t-5's are slightly better than compact fluorescents. It will be more efficient per Wattage. I do believe Nova extreme is also made by Current USA. Please correct me if I'm wrong.



For all three lights, you can probably keep most soft corals and mushrooms. It probably will not be enough for LPS, SPS, and clams. Hope this helps.
 
T5's give you more bulb choices, however the Nova comes with bulbs so your not going to be swapping them out immediately. In the future you can get any color look you want.

T5's do output more lums per wattage than PC lights do especially with individual reflectors. However the T5 light your looking at doesn't have individual reflectors and I don't know how single reflector T5's compare to PC lights. With PC lights you can't have individual reflectors due to the bulb design.

I have had and sold both the Current Satellite and Current Nova Extreme fixtures. The fan noise drove me nuts and they didn't output enough light to keep what I wanted. There not bad lights you just can't keep high light corals, etc.

If you want an outstanding light a T5 with individual reflectors is the way to go. When I bought my Aquactinics TX5 light I was amazed at how quiet and bright the light was. However it comes with a price tag more than double the lights your looking at.

With your choices I'd choose either the Satellite or Nova Extreme. The Orbit is the same light as the Satellite except it has a different enclosure, I didn't see the point in spending the money. The Current USA PC lights seem to have slightly more bulb choices than the Coralife lights.
 
I have had the coralife 130 watt 30" light and liked it. I kept xenia, clove, toadstool, ricordea and fuzzy mushrooms. All did very well. Lighting is a really tricky portion of the SW hobby - or so it seems to me as a newbie. There are a lot of threads on the subject on this forum and it is worth taking your time to read and research...which obviously you are. This is one part you don't really want to spend the money twice.

Have you decided what you want to keep in your tank now...and in the future. That makes a big difference.

I now have the coralife pro which is a combination of the MH-CF and then the led moonlight. I have to say that I really like having the moon lighting.

The coralife I haven't noticed the fan noise being over the top, seems other sounds from the sump or case fan are more noticable than the lighting fan.
 
so the 150 m/h that i got is good then ?what kind of corals can i be able to grow ? i'm trying to set up a 15 gallon high or something like that small . thanks
 
can anybody gave me any information on aqualight advance series HQI metal halide fixture , like how it will work on a 15 gallon or 20 gallon regular ? thanks
 
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