I' have been looking all over the net for a lighting solution for my new tank. The problem is it's 30' long but 24' deep and the only lights i can find in 30" are 2-65 watt pc. I've seen some halides for 30" but my center brace will block some of the light. I don't neccesarily need mh but 130 seems a liitle weak for the depth of the tank. I have found 36" fixtures with 2 96 watt pc's but i don;t want it hanging over the edge. My dream would be to find a fixture with 2 75 watt mh on both ends so the center brace will not be an issue and actinics running along the front and back of the fixture but this does not appear to exist. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Right know i have a 96 watt quad coralife from a ten gallon tank i had set up. i currently have 30 mushrooms of different varities and encrusting gorgonian and a candy cane coral. This light is sufficing for now but i want to add some additional diversity in my corals. No sps, but some lps and i don't believe the current 130 watt pc is enough considering the depth of the tank.
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lighting solution for 56 gallon tank 30"L 24"D 18&
- Thread starter singlejm
- Start date
The wattage is very deceiving with T-5s as they are very efficient. The thin lamps are more efficient than PCs and VHOs, however, their real advantage is far better reflector design. If you go this route stick to the setups that have individual lamp reflectors.
PCs are good too, but their odd shape makes for lesser efficiency - particularly on the reflector end of things. VHOs are fine too, but are even less energy efficient than PCs and currently have even poorer reflectors available.
As for wattage, you don't really have much choice. Just as with PCs or VHOs you're basically looking at 24" lamps. In T-5 HO that means 24 watt lamps. Assuming this is an 18" wide tank 4 to 6 lamps would fit over the tank and should be plenty of light from what I have seen of T-5s.
If you're seriously considering these I would do some searches online as there are a lot of follks using them and a ton of information out there now about lamp recommendations etc...
HTH
PCs are good too, but their odd shape makes for lesser efficiency - particularly on the reflector end of things. VHOs are fine too, but are even less energy efficient than PCs and currently have even poorer reflectors available.
As for wattage, you don't really have much choice. Just as with PCs or VHOs you're basically looking at 24" lamps. In T-5 HO that means 24 watt lamps. Assuming this is an 18" wide tank 4 to 6 lamps would fit over the tank and should be plenty of light from what I have seen of T-5s.
If you're seriously considering these I would do some searches online as there are a lot of follks using them and a ton of information out there now about lamp recommendations etc...
HTH
Actually I have the same tank and was in the same situation. Seems there are little choices in terms of lighting when it comes to 30" long tanks. I found some simple no frills low cost 30" T5 fixtures made by Coralife. They come in "saltwater" bulbs with an antic and "freshwater". My local fish store has them in stock and also webaquatics.com. I just purchased 4 fixtures in place on top of my tank. I hope it will be enough light. Considering the price and fit I cant complain...well untill I see how it goes with corals eh?
keep me posted cause i was considering the same thing. 4 of those fixtures is like 144 watts i believe and i found them for 40 bucks a piece on the internet .My only ? is is it one reflector or individual lamp reflectors, cause individual seems like it would reflect every bit of light. But also the individual one's i have seen all built into the same fixture are pretty expensive, like 350 and you can get 4 coralife for 160. Is it going to use a ton of electricity running four different fixtures which means 4 different ballasts at once?
singlejm...
Update: I have been using this setup for abt 2 months and gotten corals including torches, frogspawns, xenias, bubble tip anemone, and a clam (2 weeks ago). All seem to be doing well, not bad for $40 a piece and doesnt create much heat. My water temps stay just abt stable, maybe going up 1 degree or so if they have been on all day. The construction is one reflector per fixture/unit or 2 bulbs. In terms of electricity, its not bad at all.
Update: I have been using this setup for abt 2 months and gotten corals including torches, frogspawns, xenias, bubble tip anemone, and a clam (2 weeks ago). All seem to be doing well, not bad for $40 a piece and doesnt create much heat. My water temps stay just abt stable, maybe going up 1 degree or so if they have been on all day. The construction is one reflector per fixture/unit or 2 bulbs. In terms of electricity, its not bad at all.
I think the t5 bulbs you want are t5 HO bulbs. I think the HO bulbs are like the VHO bulbs. Very high output if not please correct me.
I have a 180-gal and just ordered a fixture that is 5' for a 6' tank that has 6 80-watt HO t5s. I had 2 400 6500k and 3 vho UR 160 watt. I will let you know how this turns out.
I have a 180-gal and just ordered a fixture that is 5' for a 6' tank that has 6 80-watt HO t5s. I had 2 400 6500k and 3 vho UR 160 watt. I will let you know how this turns out.
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