160 gallon tank.. how much lighting....

[reseter5]

i have always had fish only... i would like to add some easy corals... i now have 4 .. 48" 40 watt bulbs.. 2 actinic.. 2 8000k.. i dont want to do halides . .how much do i need in flouresents and what should i use t5 t8 12 ??? thanks
tank is 28 tall....

[Samper]

You should definately go with T5's since you don't want halides. Give me the dimensions of your tank and I'll let you know what I'd go with.

[reseter5]

the tank is a flatback hex.. 30 deep 5 ft wide...... thanks

[FireEater]

Yes, T5's are the way to go. Especially with todays electric costs.

Last month my bill was 500 bucks on a 1800 square foot house with a 2 ton A/C unit. I run 3 250W MH and 6 T5 bulbs. I also run a chiller and live on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

First thing next March when my bulbs are due for a change, I am going strictly T5's. It will cut down on the heat, thus keeping the chiller form running so much and cut down on the use of electricity. I have seen success with SPS tanks running T5 setups and look forward to doing the same.

My actual electric cost was 246 dollars and the cost for the natural gas to make the electricity was 261 dollars. I paid more for the natural gas cost than I did for the electricity usage! Needless to say I gave them the boot and went with another company which locked me in at 11.7 cents a Kwh.

[Zoanuts]

Reseter,

As far as T5's go. I would consider as much as your hood will hold with that deapth. So what you are telling us is the Lxwxh Length is 72"x?X30 ? I know it is a flat back but all dimentions as close as you can get

[reseter5]

26 high at the water level..........

[Samper]

Is there a center brace?

[reseter5]

the tank is all custom.. the whole top is glass .. all the braces are glass...

[Samper]

For starters take the glass tops off. Since your tank is 5 feet long you are going to have a problem with t5's. I've never seen a 5' bulb but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. I use Coralvue retro kits and have 2 48" fixtures on my 75 gallon. They are slightly shorter than the 48" so I had to glue in some acrylic pieces on the left and right side of the aquarium to support them. You could do the same thing but glue in larger acrylic pieces to hold 2 2' retro kits on each side for a total of 4 bulbs per side and 4 2' fixtures all together....this gets expensive come bulb changing time. Even easier would be to get two 48" fixtures and lose some light on either end. Maybe someone else will chime in because I'm not sure I'd go with T5's if I had a 5' tank.

[Reefland]

You could go with the t5's and stagger them to cover the 5' length.

[Zoanuts]

He has some very good options out there. T5's are great you would just have to order a 36 and 48 inch retros. Or you could get combination MH and T5's for supplementation.

[Zoanuts]

You could go with the t5's and stagger them to cover the 5' length.

That is the best way to get them to fit and get a wonderful array of bulbs at the same time.

[reseter5]

i keep the glass tops off but the center brace is permanent.. but its glass.. i gues i could stagger 3 foot lights... there is 4 -4foot vhos in there now... what corals do you guys recomend if i am not using halides... ..... stonys.. zoos... polyps... leather .. monties... thanks

[Zoanuts]

With T5 lighting you will be able to keep all of your selections.