Newbie light question

[aj2001]

Hello all,
I had a couple fish only Marine tanks many years ago,and would like to start a reef tank,I've done much research and feel okay about most subjects except lighting.I'm only starting w/ a 55 gallon, and plan on doing only medium additions of live rock,coral and anemones.I know that the metal halides are the best of the best,but I'm worried about heat and cost.Can a small reef survive w/ actinic or 50/50 lights alone?,my local shop has quoted me $1200 for 2x halides or $350 for a tube light setup, yet when I check out the internet shops they advertise actinic's for reef tanks for 15-$17.
Any help would be greatly apprectiated.

 

[mariner]

Mail order your lights. A fish shop will rip you off. You can do a dual 175 watt for that tank or a dual 250 watt also and that will give you leway to upgrade tanks in the future.. Go with PFO. Check out marine depot or champion lightings selection. They will most likely have the best prices. I bought a dual 250 watt PFO retro setup from marine depot for 400 bucks. That included everything, Even bulbs. At 1200 bucks, they better be made of gold. My suggestion is don't even support that shop anymore. That price they gave you is a slap in the face.

[ March 22, 2002: Message edited by: mariner ]</p>

 

[louey louey]

HERE HERE, those guys are trying to rip you off! Buy your lighting on-line. The places that Mariner suggest have good prices. An Icecap 660 powers many combination of VHO lamps. With 4-110W VHO bulbs and you could keep most anything in a 55. But ultimately you would probably wish you had halides. An icecap 430 to power a couple of 110W actinics along with a couple of MH ballast driving 175W 10K bulbs would be a nice set-up. Whatever you get, just keep in mind that you are probably going to want a larger tank sooner that you think. Buy things that will work with a larger tank.

Everyone wants a larger one, right?

Louey

 

[freedom75]

Adam

what Part of NC are you from. I would like to know what Shop quoted those prices. Unfornately there is one in my area that would do that. I run a pair pf 175 watt MH's I bought them new from marine depot . The set included new ballast reflectors and sockets for 250.00 and then I went to Lampsnow.com and bought a pair of Ushio 10K bulbs which I really Like for an additional 150.00 added them to my hood. If you are worried about heat raise your hood to at least 12 inches above water I have mine 14 inches off water and I also run a PC case fan off a 12 volt answering machine power supply in one side of my hood. So far this has kept my temp to raising no more than 3 degree's a day, and that is on a 12 hour cycle. I was also slightly worried about amount of heat ballast was putting out so I also rigged a fan that sit and blows air across the ballast. This setup keeps everything nice and cool and cost around 400.00 . I hope this helps . if you have any questions that I might be able to help you with please feel free to email me

JohnWray
[email protected]

 

[Jawbone]

I just went to my "freindly" LFS and asked for a replacement bulb. They quoted $175.00 for 1 bulb. I said thanks anyway and changed the subject

anyway the same bulb online costs about 65 dollars plus a little for shipping.

I do like having the LFS around and always go there and attempt to purchase from them. But dont impulse buy before knowing what it will cost. I will glady pay an extra few dollars for anything to help keep the LFS in business and for the convienence of not having to wait for my stuff.

but If I could save over a hundred dollars on one purchase... you bet your sweet patootie I will buy online.

 

[aj2001]

Just wanted to thank those who have responded,and ask one more question.I have now read 4 complete marine/reef books and spent dozens of hours on the internet and various bb like this.
I'm starting w/ a 55 and would like to start of w/ approx.50-60lbs of live rock,I went to a second local lfs and was quoted the same $600 for a MH hood(although I believe it had 2 pc ballasts too)no bulbs though.)And about$500 for an Icecap 430 set up....I've read the thread on overdriving No's w/ electronic ballasts and all, and am Interested,But what if "for now" I just wanted the most basic lighting that would suffice to keep live rock for filtering purposes,and wait a year or so to get into corals and a true reef enviornment.?I get different answers in each book and Lfs.
Thanx much
Adam J.

 

[srbayless]

Howdy,

I would go with a VHO 4x110 watt setup. You can get a complete Icecap 660 setup with bulbs for around $330, or you can get the lampsnow.com (now Hellolights.com) electronic ballast for around $250 with bulbs. That is what I have done on my 40g tank.

If you really want to go cheap and still have some assemblance of light, you could get the Coralife NO fluorescent ballasts and use NO bulbs. This is what I did when I first started my old 55g tank. The ballasts will power 2 NO bulbs, and cost around $55 each at petwarehouse.com. With bulbs, that would total around $150 or so.

I suggest going with the lampsnow.com or icecap VHO setup. VHO is perfect for a 55g tank. The 4' 110watt bulbs cover the whole tank, and 4 of them will give you enough light to keep almost any coral. The added bonus is that when you upgrade you tank size (and you most likely will), you can get Metal Halide and use your existing VHO for actinic supplement.

Regardless of which lighting setup you go with, definitely buy it online. I hate to see LFS close, but their prices are just ridiculous. My favorite place is Marinedepot.com and Petwarehouse.com. Marinedepot.com is the absolute best in my opinion, and I use them for all my needs. The only time I use Petwarehouse is if I need something that Marinedepot doesn't carry.

I would have had to bail out of this hobby shortly after starting if I hadn't started to use the online stores. My LFS was charging outrageous prices on hardware: A good example is the seaclone skimmer I bought from them for $149, and that was on sale. You can get the same skimmer online for $70. They also tried to sell me a little giant 2MDQ-SC pump for $180, and you can get those for around $100 online.

Good luck,

Scott.

 

[VESKAS]

Adam:

I've got a complete 48" CSL MH/PC Hood w/bulbs for $400....2x175w 10K & 2 65w 7100K actinics. I had it on my 55g reef.

I also have a complete 48" CSL PC Hood w/bulbs for $250 (55x4).

Email me. You pay for shipping from MA.

<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>