new to salt lighting Qs

[jalli81]

OK ive been buying equipment to convert a 55 gal tank i have from housing a basilisk that recentlys passed away =/ Ive purchased most of the hardware i need and am currently saving to purchase lighting, but im come to a roadblock and my head hurts from all the reading ive done. My tank is 48L 13W 21D and im planning on a 4-5in dsb. Sooo the actual water depth will be 17-16 in. I would like to to "eventually" purchase anemones, clams, n SPS. ive looked around i really like the Aquaticlife T5HO w/ lunar leds my question is would that be enuff for that livestock ? i havent decided if i should get the 4x54 watts or 6x54 watts setup either. Im open to other suggestions such as MH but dont have the funds for LEDs. My other hardware atm is a aqua C remora HOB, 2 hydor koralia 2(600gph), 2 75 watt heaters, spectra pure mpro. My wishlist contains a CPR AquaFuge 2 large, and a digital aquatics reefkeeper lite. No room for a sump in my current stand :headwally: as it was not purchased with aquarium keepin in mind.

[jon99]

In short, yes, T5 lighting is adequate for keeping clams, sps, and other high light demanding critters. I don't have any personal experience with the Aquaticlife brand, I've used retrofit icecap for both MH and T5. I would however strongly urge you to shell out the extra bucks on the front end ad get the 6 bulb not the 4. Not only will it be brighter giving you more possibilities in the future with your livestock, but one big benefit I've discovered after trying it out after 7+ years of running only MH is that there are many different color bulbs and you can arrange them in various combinations to get the color and intensity you're after. 6 bulbs will give you more possibilities and options letting you customize the light to your prefernces. If you haven't already, check out the t5 lighting thread... http://web1.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2096816 ....it's a million pages long, but worth reading through here and there just to get a gist for bulb combinations for maximum growth vs maximum coral color, brands of bulbs to buy, where, etc.

[michaelr]

+1 go for the 6x54 watts. 4x54 watts wont be enough for sps corals and such whereas the 6 should be enough

[small alien]

Also, 6 will just look better from a visual perspective. Less shadow. More animals in full light.