Shopping list help... Please

[Sueet]

Hi... I am brand new to Saltwater Aquatics..... I have a tank, used, acrylic, 80gallon, with a canopy, but the lights were removed from the canopy. 48" wide...
Can someone please tell me what to buy to be able to install lights into this canopy, preferably capable of supporting corals (probably mostly soft, but possibly a few hard), and possibly eventually a few fish.

I have been reading as much as I can about it, but I am finding alot of conflicting info, and of the ones that people agree on, it seems the price tag runs five hundred dollars or more..... sheesh, that's a bit too much for me right now. Anyway, I keep seeing "retrofit" ... What does that mean, is it what I need? And if so... What items exactly would I need to buy to put this together?
I am not as dumb as I sound here, although, from the reading I've done on this forum, I'm nowhere near you folks yet either ..... Well, anyway, all help greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch!
Sueet

[Reefland]

Hi Sueet, Welcome to Reefland!

Welcome to the confusing world of lighting your tank!

If you only goal is to keep soft corals and LPS corals, a nice 4 bulb VHO retro kit would be great. Retrofit means the kit needs to be mounted inside a canopy. It cannot be used unless it is mounted somewhere. A VHO 4 bulb kit will come complete with everything you need to mount it to your hood (except some screws for the end caps) and include the ballast and bulbs. They are very easy to connect and mount and will support soft and LPS corals.

Scott Z.

[Sueet]

Umm... just one more question... 4 bulb, vho, ... What wattage? 65? 96? ... or doesn't that matter? Also, which colors? Probably half blue actinic, and the other white? And..... does the K rating make a major difference? Hmm... guess that's more than one question. Hope you'll forgive me Thanks.
Oh.. and thank you for the welcome too
Oops..... one more question... where, in the zillion or so dealers online... would be the best place to buy what I need?
Sueet

[Reefland]

You'll want to get the 46.5" bulb length to ensure it will fit insde your hood. I would go with 2 Aquasun and 2 actinic blue for the bulbs but if you want to go more to the blue side, go with 2 actinic white and 2 actinic blue.

As far as where to purchase the kit, I am partial to our sponsors.
http://www.reefland.com/sponsors.php

Scott Z. D

[Sueet]

You'll want to get the 46.5" bulb length to ensure it will fit insde your hood. I would go with 2 Aquasun and 2 actinic blue for the bulbs but if you want to go more to the blue side, go with 2 actinic white and 2 actinic blue.

As far as where to purchase the kit, I am partial to our sponsors.
http://www.reefland.com/sponsors.php

Scott Z. D

I am still unsure of which "wattage" to get... and so far, for all the ones I have looked at (both on your sponsors' pages, and on the other pages I have been to, the cost is still pretty high, 400 and up... Would it be cheaper to buy the parts separately and put them together myself? If so... what parts are needed/critical, does brand make any difference, and could I build a better lighting system, one that would be more capable of supporting other types of life later on should I decide to get items with higher lighting needs? Unfortunately right now, money IS an object, because I've spent so much already getting the tank, RO/DI, filter, plumbing, etc... I know it is going to be awhile until I have to stock the tank, but it seems like the lighting should be in place before I put anything living (including rock and sand) into the tank. Thanks for the help/input.

Sueet

[Leddy]

Check out North Coast Marine, its a sponsor here on the site. They have a kit you can get thats a URI Ballast made by IceCap, with wiring harness and endcaps for 4 VHO bulbs. Each VHO bulb is 110W. Its a good deal, I think like $129.99, I plan on getting the kit in a few weeks. Check them out though, you might be interested. look under specials.


Leddy

[Sueet]

Check out North Coast Marine, its a sponsor here on the site. They have a kit you can get thats a URI Ballast made by IceCap, with wiring harness and endcaps for 4 VHO bulbs. Each VHO bulb is 110W. Its a good deal, I think like $129.99, I plan on getting the kit in a few weeks. Check them out though, you might be interested. look under specials.


Leddy

Great, that is exactly the sort of advice I wanted.... but ... what other pieces/parts might I need to use this? There must be something else, or it would be called a retrofit kit.. right? ... I agree, it is a good deal, at least compared to the prices I have been seeing!

[Reefland]

What you see for 129.99 is just the ballast. To get everything you need, you need to look for a 4 bulb retrofit kit and on average it will run you between $300 - $320. These kits I mention come complete with everything you need to light your aquarium with VHO.

Scott Z.

[AquaticCo]

IceCap makes a 660 or 430 ballast which will run fluorescent Bulbs. URI is a bulb manufacturer. Not slamming you just information

Check out North Coast Marine, its a sponsor here on the site. They have a kit you can get thats a URI Ballast made by IceCap, with wiring harness and endcaps for 4 VHO bulbs. Each VHO bulb is 110W. Its a good deal, I think like $129.99, I plan on getting the kit in a few weeks. Check them out though, you might be interested. look under specials.


Leddy

[Reefland]

URI is also now marketing a ballast similar to the Icecap ballast that is manufactered by Icecap.

Scott Z.

[AquaticCo]

I did not know that about URI. CoralVue is actually doing the same thing but with better electronics... so they say.

Doug

URI is also now marketing a ballast similar to the Icecap ballast that is manufactered by Icecap.

Scott Z.