FOWLR-Lighting help please

[Macimage]

Hi everyone,

As many of you know, I have a reef tank with mh & t5 lights.

However, I am setting up a 180 gallon (6' x 2' x 2') fish only tank with lr & ls, as I'd like an angel and butterfly show tank.

The used setup I have has 4 36" pc bulbs, two in the middle and two towards the back. Along the front it had two t-5's for actinic, but they were trash and are gone.

My questions are what are the best lights for fish coloration, not much heat and good energy consumption?

Should I replace the 4 110 watt pc's with t-5's? Do two 54 watt t-5 bulbs put out the same amount of light as one 110 watt pc? I would think they would use the same energy? How about heat output? Or would that be a wash?

Should I replace the two t5's at the front for actinic early morning and late night viewing with new t-5s, NO's, Pc's, vhos?

I'm looking for good lighting that enhances the beauty of the fish and is energy efficient.

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions!
Joyce

[barbra]

I would stick with T5 for efficiency and cool running. The selection of bulbs really depends on your own taste, although most people are partial to the blue and blue/white bulbs like actinic and most 10k. You don't really need much light, so I wouldn't bother with PC or any of the others.

[Macimage]

It already has 4 96 watt pc bulbs with 2 ballasts.

Is the energy savings worth swapping them for 8 t5s?

Will 8 t5's run cooler and use less energy than the 4 pcs?

Does 100 watts of pc light equal 100 watts of t5 light?

Joyce