New guy with a question!

[Kryshah]

Hello all, I'm a bit new to both this forum and marine aquaria. I began my marine tank about six months ago and currently it's only FOWLR with a decent cleanup crew. I would love to add a bulb anemone in the near future for my two ocellaris clownfish, but I'm having issues with lighting. My budget is infinitesimally small and all I'm running right now is a T8 shoplight with some high K retail bulbs. It's pitiful, I know. I'd love to buy the Coralife Lunar Aqualight fixture with two 10,000k bulbs and two actinic bulbs and lunar LED's, but again budget is a concern. I stumbled on this (http://www.ebay.com/itm/48-216W-T5-HO-Aquarium-Grow-Light-Hood-Marine-Reef-Fish-Tank-LED-Freshwater-NEW-/270858690276?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f106f9ee4) looking for a deal on ebay and was wondering if any of you pros could give me any advice on this bargain bin lighting. It may be useful to know that I have a 50 gallon tank 48" long 12" deep and 20" tall and the top of my rock is about 10" from the water surface.

[Kryshah]

Not sure if this could be helpful...

<a href="http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/gg148/kryshah/?action=view&amp;current=P1050791.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg148/kryshah/P1050791.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[rjcranor]

If you can find one I have a Aquatic life it has 2 to blue atenic,2 10k and 4the sets of moon lights. It has just one cord and you can program each set of lights when you want them to go on and off. I think it was about 189.00 mine is a 36" fixture on a 50 gallon that is also 36". The one you are looking at has individual cords for each light, so you will also need to get a power strip with timers to set your lights. The light is the one you see on my picture of my tank.

[Kryshah]

I appreciate the advice, but it doesn't really answer my question. That's a better lighting setup, but costs more than the coralife fixture. My issue is a lack of funds. I do like the idea of possibly buying a 36" fixture, though I think I'd like to get the most lighting I can for my thank.

[spieszak]

The problem with cheap lights is that more often than not what you end up doing is almost immediately replacing the bulbs. That then makes the price of the light a lot more than what you paid for it. Then you have good bulbs in a cheap housing that tends to not have good reflectors, or falls apart over time, and that tends to be the best case scenario. Depending on what you get you may end up with something that doesn't really meet "standards", and has chances of causing fires...
So as for the light you noted (thats not longer listed), its likely a crap shoot, and your not likely to know unless you can find someone who actually owned one, and even at that, what they required from the light isn't necessarily what you require. the "fringe" light builders come and go, and not many of them stick.
If you want better lights, and your budget is limited, my advice would be to try craigslist, or bite the bullet and save up overtime and get something proven.

[fishgate]

I'd say for that price its a pretty good deal.

I just got this similar light but just 36" for $80 shipped.

http://www.aquatraders.com/36-inch-4x39W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52304.htm

They have the 48" fixture for $99 shipped.

http://www.aquatraders.com/48-inch-4x54W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52305.htm

[Kryshah]

Alright! Thank you guys very much. Fishgate, are those pretty decent fixtures? I don't really like the brackets, but I can deal with that for 99 bucks. Do I need glass canopies with it, or can it hang over the water as is?

[rjcranor]

My previous light was a coral life within a year it was shorting out, had to resort back to a couple of plain fixtures till I saved enough money to get the one I have now.

[fishgate]

I really like them. I have two. The 4xT5 with moon lights have 3 seperate plugs so you can control each light on its own. Also all of the ballasts are external making these units VERY compact. I can't speak to long term durability but I did forget to remove the unit before I took the canopy off and it came crashing to the floor. Not a scratch on it and never missed a beat.

These units have a slide-in acrylic lense so they are not water tight. And I have a glass top anyway.

Also they are the EXACT measurements they list. So mine is exactly 36", which for my 36" wide 40B I took off the brackets and built the holder into my hood. So if your tank is exactly 48" wide or less, these are going to come all the way to the edge.

[gmate]

I don't know if you're comfortable doing this, but getting and making a DIY fixture that is comparable to the Coralife 36" (which I currently run) would cost you about 100 dollars to make, and the fixture new itself can run 250$. Aquariumpart.com has pieces of these fixtures which can be used.

[Kryshah]

So, what sorts of animals could I expect to buy in the future with just a HO T5 fixture with four 48" bulbs? Would this be considered moderate lighting given my tanks dimensions, or should I expect to upgrade again?

[tkeracer619]

4 t5 with individual reflectors would be plenty of light. Problem is there are no fans so the bulbs will get hot (reducing output & life) and they don't have individual reflectors (reducing output)

A BTA might be fine under that lighting in your tank and on a budget it is what it is. It is definitely much better then what you have. You might have to feed the nem to keep its colors bright.

[rjcranor]

Imo you would have to upgrade or replace it because of issues with it.

[Treg]

I'd say for that price its a pretty good deal.

I just got this similar light but just 36" for $80 shipped.

http://www.aquatraders.com/36-inch-4x39W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52304.htm

They have the 48" fixture for $99 shipped.

http://www.aquatraders.com/48-inch-4x54W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52305.htm


I just bought one of these for a new refugium that I just set up...

For the money, I am really happy!

4 T5's over your tank would be more then enough light.
For $99, if it craps out in a year... throw it away and buy a new one!

[Kryshah]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate your input. I think I'll go with the cheaper one until I graduate next year with my biology degree and my income increases a bit.

[tkeracer619]

You could always give plasma a few times and get the nicer one now...

I was a college kid once too ;)

[Kryshah]

You could always give plasma a few times and get the nicer one now...

I was a college kid once too ;)

Not easily done in rural WV! But thanks for the suggestion.

[Kryshah]

So, I was going to buy the odyssey 48" but they were out of stock. So instead I ordered one of these:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OOJZ8Q/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details

Does anyone have any experience with these?

[Kryshah]

I guess that's a no...

[Kryshah]

Well, here's the new fixture. I didn't realize how blue it would be with the actinics! I'm definately digging the LED's though.

<a href="http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/gg148/kryshah/?action=view&amp;current=379945_10150431018404477_516114476_8288254_1605086110_n.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg148/kryshah/379945_10150431018404477_516114476_8288254_1605086110_n.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/gg148/kryshah/?action=view&amp;current=374909_10150431019124477_516114476_8288259_307563501_n.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg148/kryshah/374909_10150431019124477_516114476_8288259_307563501_n.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>