Lighting.

[SaltyK]

First off, i am pretty new to the saltwater game but have over 10 years with freshwater mainly African Cichlids.

With that said I have a power compact light on my tank right now. It has 2 actinics and 2 pc. I have been looking at maybe switching to a lighting system that has 4 HO T5 or 2 Mh and 4 actinic. Any guidance on what i should do or should i keep my current lighting as it should be enough?

[ttomkat1]

Hello SaltyK,

You lighting needs depend primarly on what you plan on keeping inside of your tank. Soft corals do very well on CF lighting where hard/stony require more intensive lighting.

Pros & Cons:

1.) PC lighting is cheap, cheap to buy cheap to use. Downside is it cannot penetrate water deeply and is not intense enough for hard corals.

2.) T5's are still new in the game. They are cheap to use and don't output much heat. Key to use is in setup. It can take quite a few bulbs (up to 5-6) and require individual and high quality reflectors.

3.) MH are super powerful and can keep a great variety of corals. Downside is they output a lot of heat and consume quite a bit of power.

So I hope that helps, choosing a lighting system depends on your needs and capabilities in the tank.

---ttomkat1

[SaltyK]

I was looking at having some soft and hard corals. As well as some anemones and mushrooms. But at this moment i was looking at mushrooms and soft corals.

[seapug]

if your tank is less than 18" deep you'll have no trouble keeping mushrooms,soft corals, and even LPS corals happy with CFs or T5s provided they are sufficient wattage. Look for some sort of set up that will fit your tank in the 200-300 total watt range and you'll probably be fine (as long as it's not super deep). If you want to do SPS or an anemone, definitely consider going for the MH.

[SaltyK]

I was looking at these 2 setups:

* MH 250W x2.
* 65W straight pin power compact x4.
* Lunar LED x4.

or

Individual parabolic aluminum reflectors
2-TRU actinic and 2-TRU 10,000K T-5 HO lamps

[cdangel0]

I would either go with option 1 or change option 2 to a 6 bulb unit.

[deklin]

Don't use the TRU bulbs for T5, bulb choice makes a big difference in light output and there are much better options available than the TRU bulbs. Make sure to go ATI, UVL or geisman in your bulb choice. Aquablue, Aquasun, super actinic and blue plus are solid bulbs.

I'd recommend the aquatinics 5 bulb fixture or the Tek 6 bulb fixture if looking for a fixture. If going retrofit, use icecap.

[SaltyK]

Thanks for all the help.

My last choice of lighting i was looking at had 2 150w HQI Metal Halide and 2 54w HO T5 bulbs and moon lights. So my 2 choices would be:

* MH 250W x2.
* 65W straight pin power compact x4.
* Lunar LED x4.

Or

2 X 150 HQI Metal Halide
2 X 54 T5 HO
3 X Moonlight cluster

[seapug]

if you do one of those make sure you give the mushrooms plenty of shade. Mine roasted under 150W MH + PC actinic.