would this be enough light?

[seafansar]

I have a 125 gallon tank that's 6' long and about 18" tall. I plan on keeping soft corals, LPS, and anemones. I think I've narrowed down the type of lighting I want to 36" 39W SLR T5 HO retrofit kit. I'm trying to decide if I should get the kit that comes with 6 bulbs or 8 bulbs. I've been told that 6 would do fine for the LPS and soft corals, but anemones need more. Just wanted more opinions on that. Also, what should I look for when I buy the bulbs? And how hard are these kits to put together? I was thinking of taking it into my LFS and have them assemble it.
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/IceCap/SLR_Retrofit_Kits/

[WinnipegDragon]

6' long means two 3' bulbs side by side. I would think for softies you want at least four bulbs 'deep', and six bulbs for SPS/clams/anemones.

So that's 8 or 12 bulbs.

[saltycreefer]

Depends what anemones you want to keep, but the 6 bulb unit should be adequate.

[saltycreefer]

6 bulbs on each side i mean.

[tangeray]

i don't have any experience putting it together but it shouldn't be too hard. just follow the diagram/instructions on ballast. 6 bulb should be ok you might need more lighting if you intend to keep rbta. good luck

[seafansar]

So I guess I'll go with the 8 bulbs then and keep it 4 bulbs deep.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12035841#post12035841 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltycreefer
6 bulbs on each side i mean.

I don't have enough room to fit 12 bulbs (6 deep) in there unfortunately.

Also any ideas on what I should look for when buying the bulbs to get good color and keep the inverts happy?

[WinnipegDragon]

I think the general rule is 2 or 3 whites to one blue, so with your eight bulbs put in 3 that are 10k-12k and one pure actinic on each side.

[papagimp]

fwiw, my bubble tip anemone sits at the bottom of a 75g tank, underneath 6 x 54w HO T5's.

[tangeray]

and it's fully extended with bubble?

[WinnipegDragon]

6 x 4' bulbs over a 4' 75g should be plenty to keep anything.