Im in the process of studying up on a sw tank Im planning on putting together soon. It will start out with a few fish, as much liverock as I can afford, and cleaner crew. Most if the plan is ironed out, but still considering lighting. After it is established I want to try a few of the easier to keep corals, nothing too difficult at first. So about the lights, there are so many choices out there...lol. Leaning toward a metal halide setup with pc or vho for actinics. What kind of life expectancy can one expect from the bulbs before they need to be replaced? How much do they affect the electric bill? Some of the corals Ive read about dont need that much lighting and some thrive in intense lighting, so I guess Im looking for a setup that I can eventually have most anything I want to keep. Any ideas or advice is greatly appreciated.
Lights
- Thread starter Wah-ya
- Start date
I started with VHO, and kept upgrading to MH with the VHO now for the actinics. I really like the MH lighting--the tank just looks so much crisper and clearer! The MH bulbs tend to last for about 2 years or more, while VHO start shifting in about 6 months, 8 on the outside. I added 2 400W MH in one month, and saw about a $5 change in my electric bill--but this also included having 2 new 120 tanks running, so isn't all from the lights.