Advise please on lights.

[lorenz0]

Originally Posted by Kostas

how many watts are cheap bulb?
i know someone with a t5 each 54w. so my cp are strong then those.

Chuck that whole watt per gal theory out the window. lol best thing i learned about lighting. it all depends on the output of the light. even though PC might put out more watts its still not giving off the proper light for certain coral (SPS mostly). than when you add reflectors into it your increasing the light. I have a 130watt PC on my 20H and a 108watt T5OH on my 10gal and the difference is insane. the T5's put out way better lighting.


T5's have won the battle with me when it comes to lighting. the two things that sold me on T5's were the heating issue and shadowing with MH lighting. Once i get my larger tank up and running i am looking forward to comparing my roomate MH/t5 set up to my T5OH set up.

here are the two fixtures i would reccomend:

http://www.current-usa.com/nova_extreme_pro

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...ILTFIT58U.html

the tek fixture doesn't come with bulbs but from what i heard they have better reflectors but you need to buy the bulbs. the one plus side to the NEP is the fact you don't need to buy bulbs right away and is a bit cheaper on the wallet. I am happy with my NEP but the 20" lighting is a whole different story since there isn't any bulb support for it besides what current has to offer.

to be honest look at peoples tanks that have the lighting your looking at and see how it is effecting the coral. here are 2 thread on RC that i watch:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=421647

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...5&pagenumber=1