Hmmm, I seem to find several pics of reef tanks running pc lighting with corals. these ones look cool

http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewto...ls+pc+lighting

Obviously you did not read my post very well i said SPS corals. Like acropora and others. Soft corals should be fine like zoos mushrooms leathers and such LPS will mostly be fine as well but sould be placed higher in the tank to get more light.

I guess the point is, if you plan to do SPS, clams, anemones, why waste the money on PC and switch later like the rest of us did...... :lol:

i run pc lights for the reason that i cant get mh in my hood. trust me if you can get mh do it now, dont waste your money on the pc lights. the bulbs are $$ and don't last long. the colors you get off of mh lighting cant be matched. missing out on sps and clams is something i really regret.

my next big project after i get everything running is a new hood and light rig. mh and t5 is the way to go.

Ok, quick suggestion from some one who has spent more on lighting than on the rest of his tank :rolleyes:

I started with PC,s and VHO combinations, then later I added a 175 watt MH to the set up, and now I am at 250 watt HQI with normal bulbs not Double ended bulbs. Keep in mined that every time I changed my lights I have to build a new set up for them. well in hind sight start with MH for the daylight and VHO for the actinic and save your self a lot of hassle.

I will add that I kept all kinds of hard corals under the PC/VHO set up but there color was well more brown than anything else. the color got a bit better with the 175's and with the HQI 250's it is outstanding. so while they all were able to keep the corals alive only the 250's were able to bring out the nicer colors.

Steve

Yup. & as I posted on another thread, 65w PCs are not very bright & any initial intensity they do have wears out quickly. If you need to go the PC route, 96w is best. Like the others have written, MH is highly recommended, unless spending more $$ on lighting upgrade is what you want in the future. I've got PCs & especially disappointed with the 65w ones.

Why limit yourself?

JME

Anthony