Lighting Question

[va_blue_stang]

I plan on useing two power compact fixtures on my 72 gallon. They will each have 2- 65w 12000k and 2- 65w acintic. Will this be sufficient enough lighting for most coral?
Thanks everyone for all the help

[Sisterlimonpot]

What kind of coral do you want to put in the tank?

[va_blue_stang]

Not sure what would be some suggestions for this lighting?

[va_blue_stang]

Any suggestions wasn't sure if i could get soft or hard coral or possible both

[noboddi]

260 watts PC lighting is awfully anemic for a 72 gallon corral tank. You might want to look at T5s. They are pretty inexpensive, or as inexpensive as anything gets in this hobby, and you will have better results.

[alextheromanian]

my suggestion is to not go with PC.
they are weak get hot and use up alot of energ thus killing your energy bill.

if you arent worried about an energy bill...and they really dont go up all THAT much i suggest ooking at a different fixture.


after spending months and months and realising i have no money to sacrifice on a ligh fixture withut giving up other important equipment i took a risk and it paid off


i got a double PC with 250W MH fixture...for 139$ ...with FREE shipping...you cant beat that.

in any case mine was a 30 inch long ficture...

you have 72 g tank....but give it a shot and check out AQUATRADERS.COM for their lights....


some people will talk smack about them but i havent had a single problem with mine in well over a year...the problematic ones wer the ones that had the old ballast.

in any case..not saying you should buy it but atleast check out those lights...and if you really insist on NEON type lights....go with T5HO not PC.

[va_blue_stang]

Problem is i already have both fixtures and bulbs. i calculated the acintic's watts in the over all wattage was that not right. are the 12k all i should added the wattage for?

[va_blue_stang]

What if i put all 12k bulbs in both lights that would give a total of of 520 watts. also are blue actintics needed or are they more of show lighting to bring out the colors?

[Ranchhand02]

I would sell them and upgrade to T5. I had the same pc that you are talking about on my 75 gallon tank and I recently upgraded to t5 and my corals already look alot better. I would sell the PC and get t5.

[abulgin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14347546#post14347546 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by va_blue_stang
What if i put all 12k bulbs in both lights that would give a total of of 520 watts. also are blue actintics needed or are they more of show lighting to bring out the colors?

If you swapped out both actinics for something in the white/daylight spectrum, that would improve your potential outcome substantially. Actinics are really just for aesthetics. They do provide some useful spectra, but, really, the amount they provide should pretty much be discounted when trying to figure out whether your lighting is sufficient for corals. The watts/gallon rule you're using is very outdated.

Your tank will lose that "blue" accent, though. You can add some back by using a bluer daylight bulb, like a 14,000K or even a 20,000K bulb for 2 of your bulbs. Those still provide a good amount of light energy.

With that amount of light, you could probably keep most corals, even SPS, so long as you placed the higher light loving animals in the upper half of your tank. Now, I don't think this is your best long-term solution because there are much better light fixtures/configurations out there, including high-output T5s with individual reflectors and metal halides. You're going to have to be diligent about replacing your PC bulbs every 6-9 months, whereas the newer T5s and MHs will last about 14-18 months, so in the end I'll bet you'll spend more money than you would if you purchased a new fixture.

Remember, a watt is a watt, so it doesn't matter whether you use 500W of metal halides or 500W of power compacts--your power bill is going to be the same, at least from a strictly lighting standpoint. The key is getting the most output for that buck, and that's where T5s and MHs beat out PCs. Again, though, if you swap out the actinics for daylights I think you will do alright.

[robot2222]

in the long run power compacts cost too much too replace. compared to vho or t5 s.

[loosecannon]

That light will be ok for alot of soffty`s and lps.