lighting

[bethany]

what is the best lighting to get for your reef?

[Original Fin]

This should get you started, but I would say it all depends on the following:

• What kind of corals you intend to keep
• The size and shape of your tank
• Your budget
• Whether or not you intend to use a canopy

You can choose from these types of lighting, listed from lowest cost/performance to highest:

• Old school normal fluorescent (T8-T12 tube diameters)
• Power compact fluorescent
• VHO (Very High Output) Fluorescent (T12 tube diameter)
• T5 fluorescent
• T5 HO (high output version of T5 diameter) fluorescent
• Metal Halide (A type of HID or high intensity discharge bulb) HQI, HMI are subset types of Metal Halides. (Hydrargyrum quartz iodide and Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide)
• LED (Light Emitting Diode)
• Combo fixtures utilizing two or more of the above types are also popular