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#1
04-02-2009, 03:13 AM
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Lighting question???
My husband and I are trying to find lighting so we can eventually start to have some low light corals in our tank. It's a 55 gallon, with live rock and only a few fish and inverts in it at the moment, but it is a column tank.
The dimensions are 20"s wide by 30"s tall. We were thinking a T5 lighting system and were wondering if that is the best way to go. If so, if there are lights with a width that short. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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freshwater 55gallon bowfront Saltwater 55gallon column seahorse tank saltwater 65G mixed tank w/ 30G sump 
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#2
04-02-2009, 03:19 AM
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well if you are looking to just have a FOWLR that is FISH ONLY WITH LIVE ROCK.
then you can just have a couple fluorescant over the tank like a actinic and a 6500K phillips bulb. But i feel that you will not stay this way. lots of people will upgrade many times over their hobby life. I know many people will do the T-6 like you stated in your post you can keep pretty much alot of corals in the tank with them. But if you are looking at mushrooms, leathers, Zoo's, some zoo's are not needing lots of light. but polyops are another one. if your tank is going to have a canopy or a open look then its going to depend on what you want to hang on your tank a fixture or a Canopy from there we can narrow it down.
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180 starfire front, LPS, millipora Doesn't matter how much you have been reading until you take the plunge. You don't know as much as you think.
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#3
04-02-2009, 03:41 AM
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I have a great light for sale that would work on that tank that you can grow into....
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=50984 Cheers
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Cheers ________________________ 210g Mixed Reef
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#4
04-02-2009, 05:22 AM
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Since your tank is only 20" wide, but 30" deep (which is a significant depth to light) T5s wouldn't be your best choice. you can get 18" T5s, but the selection of bulbs is very few, and the intensity of the output is quite low. I think you would be much better off looking for a MH light for your tank. Since your tank is 30" deep I would suggest you try to find a 250w MH as they are only a little more money than a 150 or 175w. Since you (probably) won't be supplementing with actinics, try to use a 14-15K bulb for a slight blue tint to make your corals look nicer. This would allow you to keep pretty much any corals, anemones, or clams you may ever want.
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#5
06-07-2009, 08:07 PM
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Your tank is too deep for T5....
Even a 150 watt MH might not be enough depending on the corals you want to keep... if its softies are the only things you want to keep then its sufficient... but if you want LPS or even SPS... I look into 250 watts or even a 400 watt MH.... but more of a 250 watts...
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