Getting back into the hobby, I need lighting upgrade advice..

[danielmiller82]

Hello reefers. I am new to this forum but not new to the hobby, though I have been out of the loop for a few years.

Reference:
I have recently moved my 30g tank (36¼ x 12¾ x 15¾) back to my house from my dads where it was mostly neglected for the last 4 years. Strangely enough, the sandbed and liverock are still very healthy (lots of coraline, pods and feather dusters all over) even though the lighting has been kinda bad. It has a 20g sump that I will soon be partitioning off as a refuge/sump. I have two 21" 65w CFLs, though the actinic has died leaving only a single 10k which needs replacing soon. I currently have a dozen or so hermits, some snails, a bicolor basslet, yellow watchman & eventually plan on getting a clown or two. Corals aren't really a priority, though I would like to add a few. The plan is to stick mostly with softies. My favorites are: Hammer, frogspan, star polyps, zoas, ricordea and other 'shrooms, and maybe throw in a couple of acros at the very top if everything else is growing nicely.

And now for my question:
I have been reading up on lighting lately and want some advice from people experienced with medium sized tanks like mine. I have looked at HQI/HMI lighting, though it is a little overkill for my setup. LEDs seem pretty nice, but are still a bit pricy. I was wondering what your thoughts are on T5s. I could just replace both of my CFL bulbs for under $40 and be done with it, but I may not have enough light for the coral to survive near the bottom (The lights are currently about 7" above the water surface). From what I have been reading it seems like a setup with 4 30" 31w T5s (2x10k & 2x420nm) each with their own reflector and two ballasts would fit my needs. (The only manu. I have found who makes the 30" T5s is coralife, but its the biggest that will fit in my canopy.)

Would this setup give me enough light to justify the cost of replacing the CFLs or should I just stick with what I have and make do?

Alternately, is there some better/cheaper setup that I don't know about yet that will give me what I need.

[metalhead]

I would highly recommend T5's for your tank. I run a 72'' constellation fixture on my 180 and absolutely love it. I used metal halides exclusively before switching to T5 and feel that it was one of the best moves I ever made in the hobby. Check out the 30'' fixtures from ATI, Aquactinics and Icecap... Those are some of the best manufacturers around IMHO. Things you'll want to look for in a good fixture are good, quality individual reflectors (one for each bulb) and a good cooling system with multiple high-quality internal fans.

[danielmiller82]

thanks. The guys on reef central are trying to convince me to get a MH even though I stated that they are overkill for what i need. I think I will try to see what kind of price a setup like that will go for.

[reeferbill]

thanks. The guys on reef central are trying to convince me to get a MH even though I stated that they are overkill for what i need. I think I will try to see what kind of price a setup like that will go for.

Before you invest in a metal halide light check the new LEDs they have come along way and are very cost efficient on your future electric bills and no bulb replacements. Happy Reefing!!!!!!!!!!

[toolingrl]

I am currently running the 30" coralife T5 HO I bought online. It works great and is the only 30" fixture that has 30" bulbs, so you get light throughout the tank which is important. You don't want a 30" fixture with 24" bulbs, you will get dark areas. The only downside to this is that coralife is the ONLY manufacturer of 30" bulbs (that is available to me anyway) so you have to buy their bulbs and they tend to not last as long as other brands (according to my LFS guru). The bulbs are pretty cheap so it doesn't really matter and its best to replace them more often anyway.
cheers!

[reeferbill]

I am currently running a Nova Extreme Pro 36 inch 6 x 39watt T-5s on my 46 gallon bow and my corals are very happy. I have a green slimer acro, yellow scroll,3 types of closed brains,frogspawn,3 chalices,duncan,5 types of mushrooms, 5 zoos,2palys , xenia,2green star pollups ,and agreen bubble-tip anenome. Happy Reefing!!!!!!!!!1

[Parrothead]

I am currently running a Nova Extreme Pro 36 inch 6 x 39watt T-5s on my 46 gallon bow and my corals are very happy. I have a green slimer acro, yellow scroll,3 types of closed brains,frogspawn,3 chalices,duncan,5 types of mushrooms, 5 zoos,2palys , xenia,2green star pollups ,and agreen bubble-tip anenome. Happy Reefing!!!!!!!!!1

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