Is a T5 24 watt 420nm good for corals?

[mjc041800]

I might get a single T5 24" 24 watt light for my 30 gallon bow front tank that is about 19" tall. Is this good enough for a more softie dominant tank with maybe a few sps? If not, what is? I am so confused on this topic , so many diff. choices. Examples of your own would be awesome, and experience/lessons learned :). Thank you!!!

[jayball]

I might get a single T5 24" 24 watt light for my 30 gallon bow front tank that is about 19" tall. Is this good enough for a more softie dominant tank with maybe a few sps? If not, what is? I am so confused on this topic , so many diff. choices. Examples of your own would be awesome, and experience/lessons learned :). Thank you!!!

If you are talking about a single t5 as your sole lighting than no that would not be sufficient.

What are the dimensions of the tank? 2 bulbs would be minimum (with high quality reflectors and ballast) with 4 being much better depending on the depth of your tank.

Generally speaking you want a mix of violet/blue bulbs with at least one full spectrum in the mix

A single bulb would be acceptable to add to something like an existing LED fixture.

[GhostCon1]

Generally you can have less light for shallower tanks due to the reduced penetration required from the shallower water column depth.

I like to have a minimum of 250 watts of light for SPS, and that is keeping them in the middle to top part of the tank.

With all that being said, what would help us is knowing the dimensions, especially the depth, of your tank.

[mjc041800]

Generally you can have less light for shallower tanks due to the reduced penetration required from the shallower water column depth.

I like to have a minimum of 250 watts of light for SPS, and that is keeping them in the middle to top part of the tank.

With all that being said, what would help us is knowing the dimensions, especially the depth, of your tank.
My tank is about 19" deep and 30" long and I don't really know the width because it is a bow front. So what light fixture do you recommend? I was thinking a led fixture, but that is a lot of money and I am on a budget :). What if I have a low/decent light but feed my corals often? Thank you!

[pisanoal]

check out the buy/sell forum section and look for a used metal halide setup. i would think a 150 over that tank would be enough for softies and a few lower light sps like montis. Probably looking at $100 for something like that.

[Sugar Magnolia]

The OP doesn't meet the requirements to view our classified forum yet.

A 4 bulb T5 fixture would allow you to keep a wide variety of corals.

[disc1]

420nm light is very purple. It would make a great moonlight, but it isn't very useful for the corals.

[jayball]

My tank is about 19" deep and 30" long and I don't really know the width because it is a bow front. So what light fixture do you recommend? I was thinking a led fixture, but that is a lot of money and I am on a budget :). What if I have a low/decent light but feed my corals often? Thank you!

I am going to guess that it is 11 inches deep on the side and 15 deep in the middle, seems common around that size. My "budget" recommendation would be to start with a 2X24 T5 unit and add a 24 inch Led strip like BML or reefbrite when the budget allows. If you measure and you can fit a 4-bulb above it out of the gate that would save you some money in the long term and prevent it from looking cobbled together.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=AK01035&child=AK01035&utm_source=adwordsfroogle&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=adwordsfroogle&utm_content=AK01035&gclid=CJ_f8dnl7MYCFYsRHwodU8EFEw

Above is a 4 bulb at 30 inches long (still standard 24 watt bulbs) that comes with an okay set of starter bulbs and moonlight with a built in timer. You can upgrade it when it is time to change the bulbs by getting ATI, giesemann, or (insert other German bulb manufacture)

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/24-ati-sunpower-high-output-t5-light-fixture.html

For a little more you can have the premium grade fixture but you will have to get outlet timers, 4 bulbs, and suspend it.

Edit: cheapest way is if you have any sort of canopy to hide stuff get a pair of retrofit kits or used M/H as stated above, check craigslist.