Your Opinion on Lights?

[Nitroware]

I am looking to buy some lights for my tan k. I want to have a reef tank, corals, and fish (obviously). Here are the pecs on my tank:

- Size: 29 gallon
- Dimensions: 30" x 20" x 12" (w x h x d)
- Rock: Lots (Probably like 1/3 of my tank)
- Corals: None Yet, I want to have a Pulsating Xenia, perhaps a clam, Zoo's, A leather Mayby, etc.
- Has a glass canopy

These were the two that I was considering:
http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-24in-Metal-Halide-System-Basic-p/54222.htm
http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-30in-2x65W-Power-Compact-Light-Fixture-p/51202.htm

What would you choose? I have a little experience, but it never hurts to ask around...

Thanks in advance!

[footballdude2k3]

personally i wouldnt do either, i think that t-5s would be good for that tank, i am not a fan of MH and i do not think that PCs would be enough for a clam, but i could be wrong on that as i do not have experience with them.

[Uncle Salty 05]

http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/shop/index.php?task=show&cat=2FT+Deluxe+Metal+Halide+with+Compact+Fluorescents

[Nitroware]

So perhaps something more like:

http://shop.aquatraders.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=54241

It has Metal Hallide and T5, I like those two though because they have the Blue LED's, lots of power, etc. Plus At night Ill leave the LED's on which will make a really nice shimmer effect. That was my thought at least...

[Uncle Salty 05]

Not familiar with Odyssea products so I cannot comment on their quality or longevity but I highly recommend Hamilton. I have used their products for nearly two decades and have only had one PC ballast failure.
Granted the Hamilton fixture is four times the price but you are getiing a 175 or 250 MH vs 150 and 130 watts of actinic vs 28.
I understand if money is an object as it is for me then the fixture you show above should meet your needs as long as any SPS are positioned high in the tank.

[sedor]

Odyssea fixtures are on the low end of lighting equipment. If you plan on upgrading to a larger tank soon it might be a good choice, but if this is going to be your tank for years to come then I would invest in a better build light fixture. I agree with footballdude, even though I voted halides I think T5's would be an excellent option over this tank. Look into 4 bulb versions.

[Ryand63]

Go with some t-5's i think too. But fair warning to you about aqua traders. All I have heard is bad things from them for the most part, receiving broken products, bad customer service, etc. But I have heard a few satisfied customers, but be ware!

[Nitroware]

Yes, I have looked around about them and there were a few complaints, but I say even more good things then bad. Some people had ballast issues, and I think somebody's fan broke. Even with those issues, to fix them may be $100 for the ballast and radio shack has fans :). So we will see. Currently they are out of stock, so I have to wait anyways.

So why am I getting so many T5 suggestions...why not CF or MH?

Thanks to the replies so far, this is a great help!

[greech]

T5's provide good par and aA LOT of color options (especially in a 4 bulb fixture). In a smaller tank, T5's won't create the heat that a MH will and therefore keep your temps and evaporation down. They are also many reasonably priced fixtures out there and the utility costs are cheaper than MH's.

A good 4-bulb fixture with individual reflectors will allow you to keep just about anything in that size/height tank.

[sslak]

Neither. Look at T5's

Or a 150 or 175w MH with a couple T5 actinics (thats what I run on my 58g and love it)

[Beaun]

A 29g really does not need MH's to grow what you want to grow, you could even keep high light SPS under nice T5's in a 29g tank. There is a 24" tek fixture that would be perfect for that tank.

http://www.marinedepot.com/24_inch_4x24W_Sunlight_Supply_Tek_Light_High_Output_Fluorescent_Lighting_Fixture_24_Inch_T5_Fluoresc ent_Light_Fixtures-Sunlight_Supply_Inc-SL2111-FILTFIT54U-SL2111-vi.html

[Allmost]

T5 HO is the best option.

[Tilmo2180]

I have a Tek Light and I love it. Good colors and lots of bulb options. +1 on the Sunlight Tek Light, little more than the oddessey ones but well worth it.

[Nitroware]

Interesting, the only problem with T5 is the power restriction, it seems that a 29" bulb will not give any more then 24 Watts of power, where CF can go to 90 Watts. But you think that is enough?

[Dante_JoseCuerv]

Light from T5s is much more intense than light from PCs. Don't compare the wattage directly.

[Allmost]

light from t5s is much more intense than light from pcs. Don't compare the wattage directly.

+1

[Uncle Salty 05]

T-5's will never give you the "shimmer" effect you get from metal halides and surface agitation no matter how bright they are.

[drew1]

I'd go with the MH if you're looking to have a clam. The other corals and fish will do fine under PC. I have an odyssea MH (2 x 250 plus PC's) over a 55 gallon tank. I love the fixture although we did replace both ballasts (with ice cap) after the first ballast went. Even with the ballast replacements I'm still way ahead of most other MH fixture with respect to cost.

[duastina]

I also have an odyssea fixture, it came with MH and PC combo, I recently ripped out the PC's and replaced them with T5HO retro fits and let me tell you even though the T5's are lower watts they are way brighter!

[jchase1970]

since you will only have about 17" of water max depending on sand, pc will do fine, t5 will give more color options, MH over doing it.

[Johnny C]

T-5's will never give you the "shimmer" effect you get from metal halides and surface agitation no matter how bright they are.
They won't give you the added heat or the sky-high electrical costs either! ;)

I'd go with the MH if you're looking to have a clam.
The claim that you need MH Lighting to house is a clam is nothing but a myth. I kept a clam just fine on the sandbed of my 29G tank under 6x24W T5's.

Nitrowire: I would follow the advice of some others on this thread and go with a Tek Light. You can't go wrong and can house whatever you like! :)

[travis32]

Tagging along on this..

So what's the difference between like this Tek light:
http://www.marinedepot.com/48_inch_8x54W_Sunlight_Supply_Tek_Light_High_Output_Fluorescent_Lighting_Fixture_48_Inch_T5_Fluoresc ent_Light_Fixtures-Sunlight_Supply_Inc-SL2111-FILTFIT58U-SL2121-vi.html

and say the Nove Extreme Pro:
http://www.marinedepot.com/Current_USA_Nova_Extreme_Pro_T5HO_10k_460nm_Actinics_20_Inch_T5_Fluorescent_Light_Fixtures-Current_USA-CU01083-FILTFIT5T5-vi.html

Other than the price tag of almost $100.00 more?

I'm looking at upgrading from PCs to T-5s mainly to get more color out of my corals, and hopefully make the LPS happier and Healthier, plus my wife too wants a clam. ;)

[Celestin]

I'm a MH fan, but I think it should choose based on what type of corals you plan to keep. If your going to keep lps and zoas I say go T5's. Also, you can usually find decent deals on lights off of local club forums. I rather buy a better T5 setup used than a low-end new.

[rklaue]

I have & have had MH & t5.

I would recommend t5's all the way, except for the neat shimmer MH provides. You can get that with any pinpoint source of light though...

[Aristarchus]

I can't believe no one has said anything about the glass canopy yet- unless I missed it. I'd get rid of it to provide better oxygen exchange and your light will also penetrate a little better(that's right, I said penetrate).

[drew1]

As far as the clam, I have no personal experiece. I thought the choice was PC or MH and I didn't think PC was strong enough to support a clam for any length of time, but again, no personal experience with clams. I also agree to lose the glass canopy.

[Johnny C]

So what's the difference between like this Tek light and say the Nove Extreme Pro other than the price tag of almost $100.00 more?
The Tek has better reflectors and ballasts which all in the end produce more light. Plus, the Nova comes pre-stocked with bulbs that are junk. You want German-made (i.e. Giesemann, ATI) bulbs and with the Tek depending on where you buy it from you can usually get your own choice of bulbs for about the same amount of money. The Nova Extreme Pro is regarded as one of the cheapest T5 fixtures on the market; this is yet another case of how you get what you pay for. Lighting is one of the most important aspects of our aquariums and it's not something you should skimp on.

Hope I didn't sound harsh at all, just trying to help as best as I can! :)

[Uncle Salty 05]

My goal is to duplicate what I see in nature.
Nothing but MH or LED are going to accomplish that.
One 150 or 175 MH is not going to produce much more heat than a fixture full of T-5's and it will look much more natural.

[travis32]

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of our aquariums and it's not something you should skimp on.

Johnnyc: this is where I'm confused, based on the links above, the nova extreme pros are actually almost $100.00 more than the Tek Lights (based ont he 48" fixture).

So, are you saying this is a case where price isn't indicative of quality? And even though the Tek lights are $100 cheaper, they are better? The links I posted should show the price differences.

[Drewcipher]

We have kept a clam in our 75 gallon for several years under T5s. They look fantastic and run cooler than MH. The bulbs are cheaper too, and seem to last longer.We like them so much we bought a 14 bulb setup for our 180 gallon that we are setting up. It looks great, but we don't have any critters yet, so we will have to see if it is enough.

[Beaun]

Johnnyc: this is where I'm confused, based on the links above, the nova extreme pros are actually almost $100.00 more than the Tek Lights (based ont he 48" fixture).

So, are you saying this is a case where price isn't indicative of quality? And even though the Tek lights are $100 cheaper, they are better? The links I posted should show the price differences.

The NEP comes with bulbs the Tek light does not come with bulbs from MarineDepot.
For compairson purposes here is the 6 bulb 48" Tek with bulbs $415.95 ( http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Sunlight_Supply/Tek_Light_Fixtures/_48_inch__6x54W_Tek_Light_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_(Black)_by_Sunlight_Supply )

The tek fixture IS better then the NEP, the refletors are higher grade and the ballast is much better as well.

24" Tek light with choice of bulbs $281.95
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Sunlight_Supply/Tek_Light_Fixtures/24_inch__4x24W_Tek_Light_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_(Black)_by_Sunlight_Supply

[travis32]

Arg. It's an apples and oranges thing.
Thanks!

I never did get my fruits right. ;)