What lighting is best for 90 gal reef?

[RevClyburn]

Hello
just wondered what sort of lighting would be best for my new 90 gal. reef? I want to try the new T5 lights, but everyone seems to be under the opinion that Metal is the way. I've had Metal before and yes, that's a lot of light, but it has its issues too, namely it's a wee bit expensive, electric wise. So, would flourescents be just a good or T5's? I am leaning more towards T5's, a retrofit kit. I have a ballast I think will be able to run them. But, what is your opinion. The corals I want are mainly mushrooms, ricordia and Zoanthida. Maybe a yellow leather and Colti, and some star polyps. All of these don't require a lot of light. So what do you think?

Thanks

RevClyburn

[Poseidon]

LOL!! I voted for BOTH T5 and Metal Halide... I just wanted to see if that would work, and it did.

To answer your question, IF you can swear up and down that you will NEVER get the SPS/Clam/Anemone urge then T5, otherwise spend the extra cash and get MH. If you buy the best you only buy it once, if you "settle for less" then you may end up spending money on 2 fixtures!

[Ninong]

Lighting is so subjective that I hesitate to make any recommendations anymore. You can be successful with a wide range of lighting options. The key word here is "successful" and how you define it.

The more light you pour on, the more colorful your SPS corals will be and the faster they will grow. That doesn't mean you can't have a successful yet slower growing and slightly less colorful tank with less lighting provided you know which lamps to choose for maximum bang for your buck.

The current Reef Central Tank of the Month is a good example of what can be achieved with just two BLV 150w 10,000K HQI DE lamps (plus two 24w Osram blue PCs) over a 160-gal tank that is 27.5" tall: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-02/totm/index.htm

That tank is 51"L x 27.5"W x 27.5"H. His only lighting is a 4' long fixture with two 150w 10,000K HQI DE lamps and two 24w actinic PCs.

[RevClyburn]

Thanks everyone for the information. I'm going with the T5's and will probably do my own retro kit. There are several electrical outlets near me that sell ballasts for T5's and I can get the endcaps from online. I will go with 4x54w bulbs at first and see how it goes. All I want is Zoos and Mushrooms really. I think the both can thrive in that amount of light. If need be, I can always build a 6 bulb setup, I think, lol. So, what do you think of that lighting for a 90 reef? Do they make T5 bulbs in a higher wattage? Could try 2x96 and 2x54 if there are 96 watts bulbs. Any comments?

RevClyburn

[Ninong]

Do they make T5 bulbs in a higher wattage?

Sure! They make 80w T5's but since those are 5' long you would have about a foot of it hanging over the side of your tank.

Better stick with the 4' long 54w size!

[RevClyburn]

hmmmm a little to much light, lol. Oh well, I think I will have enough for what I want to do. What combination do you think would work best for Zoos and Mushrooms?


RevClyburn

[Ninong]

I think that four 54w T5's would be very nice for your 90-gal tank for what you want to keep. I'm not sure what names they use for T5's but it you were putting four VHO fluorescents over your tank I would tell you to start out with two Actinic Whites and two Super Actinics. So whatever that translates as in T5 nomenclature, go with that and see how it looks.

You can really mix and match to your heart's content and not be too far wrong unless you go crazy with too many actinics. You should have at least one actinic but no more than two. You could have at least one daylight but no more than one IMO. You could even go with four different "colors." One daylight, one equivalent to a 10,000K Actinic White VHO, one "blue" and one "actinic."

Try them all and see what you like best.