What light should I use?

[shoddyk]

I am thinking about setting up a Prop tank and need some info. I would like to have 2, 20gallon long tanks and need to know what king of lights and how many watts I should use. I am not looking to spend alot of money right now. I am just looking for lights that would be good for the corals to grow. I plan on growing mushrooms, ric's, softies, and lps corals. Thanks

[donfishy76]

You could use VHO or PC lights without trouble.

[pledosophy]

T5's ! ! !

[tangey]

Ya either vho's or T-5 or even pc's would be fine.

[egdevilboy]

go MH, better coloration and growth. Not too much more expensive neither.

Also look into the 33long (48x13x12) tanks (fit good on a 55 gallon iron stand). Its just my dream frag setup so im passing it on.

BTW, RCer NYBen makes some good frag rack systems at a decent price.

[CoralNutz]

IMO, a 20L isn't deep enough to be thinking MH, especially for softies/rics....

IME, VHO's win hands down for color out of all the PC's and T5's I have waisted my money on over the years. Unless someone's doing sps, I will always recomend VHO's with URI bulbs.

The 33L is the bomb for a frag tank too, that's what I have..... :D
(This is when I first set it up and it's empty.... It's jam packed full of zoas now :D )

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a61/coralnutz/DSCF0932.jpg

[JUSTIN 1234]

pc or vho r good.

[TapeWorm]

I am getting great coloration and growth out of softies under 14k 250 watt MH in 10 inches of water.

[tekknoschtev]

I think the best lighting you can purchase is VHO or better after searching through the sale forums here or a local group. I was intending on using VHOs over my setup, but found a killer deal on a MH and ODNO setup for my tanks (two 30 breeders, my dream frag tanks :p). At the moment, my goals are only for softies and a few LPS but this gives me the freedom to move to SPS (in the MH tank) should I decide to. Got both setups for about half the cost of setting up a VHO setup new, so I couldnt pass it up.

But over a 20 long, I think MH would almost be ruled out, simply due to potential heat issues, and the fact that you are currently only going for softies. Thats not to say you couldnt raise the MH higher if you found a great deal on one though - especially considering there is the possibility of moving to SPS frags and then you woudnt have to upgrade lighting.

[BrianPlankis]

MH: too hot and too strong for 20L
PC: Crappy life on bulbs(6 months max for growth, sometimes less), replacement bulbs more costly than VHO or T5s.

I would go VHO or T5s, fabulous choice for 20L. URI VHO bulbs are the best IMO. Keep an eye on sale forums, but VHO and T5 will cost less in the long term even if they are a tiny bit more expensive at first. If you can find a used Icecap ballast, they are the BEST. I have an 8 year old 660 running VHO and it is a champ!

Brian

[shoddyk]

How many watts of t5 should I go with and what bulb configuration?