cheap lights advice

[Mihai]

Hi,

For the first year or so I'll probably run my soon-to-be new 90 gal
tank with 4 NO fluorescent lights and I'll upgrade when I'll get my
next raise

I was initially very happy when I saw that PetSmart had the Coralife
10,000K lights at only $23 (as compared to the LFS that has them at $45).

However after that I found out that there are even cheaper
alternatives, and I found locally three of them:

At Walmart, the GE Daylight ultra with:
CRI 75, 6500K, 3050 lumens (initially) at $6

At Home Depot
Philips Daylight Deluxe
CRI 84, 6500K, (don't know how many lumens), at $5
and
Philips Natural Color with
CRI 92, 5000K and 2325 lumens (20% less than the GE!)

A few questions are in order:

Given the fact that under NO I cannot keep any light-loving hard corals,
does it matter for the health of the corals (or other life forms in the aquarium)
whether I use the
10,000K or the 6500K (or even the 5000K)? In other words, do I harm anybody
(corals or not) if I go for the cheaper lights?

If I don't harm anybody, which light do you recommend? Should I go for
the lumens, for the CRI or for the temperature?

On those lights it said that they last 5-6 years under "normal"
6hours/day usage. Does this mean that they'll last 2-3 years for 12
hours a day usage?! Everybody recommends changing at 6-9 months. Not
that I cannot afford at this price, but just out of curiosity.

Finally, can I keep some soft corals under four of those NO fluorescents
(i.e., 4x40W = 160W in a 90 gal tank (48'x18'x24' - 24' deep)?

Even more final than finally, when I upgrade, should I upgrade to 2 x 250 MH or
to 2 x 175W MH? The goal is to keep anything my heart desires (and I can afford) from a lights point of view.

Please no answers from Coralife employees or shareholders ;-)

Thanks a bunch,
Mihai

 

[Anonymous]

Go for color temp, because all NO's are gonna make happy is you.. (Sort of anyway..)

And you might want to check the DIY forum for tips on maybe slowly throwing some things together for better lights so you don't have to wait for that raise..

Good luck and welcome to the club!

 

[Mihai]

Go for color temp, because all NO's are gonna make happy is you.. (Sort of anyway..)

You mean to go for the high temp (6500K) or for the hight CRI? It seems to me that better CRI should make me happier as it is closer to natural look (no?!)

I'll certainlhy check the DIY section on lights (I actually love DIY projects), how cheap
can I get 2 x 175W or 2 x 250W? I saw on ebay (just posted today!) as low as $200 and $230
with bulbs and ballasts, but the seller does have some negative feedback (3% said that they never got the stuff)...

Other than this seller I saw 2 x 250W with ballast and bulbs at $600 which is out of my range now (I still buy LR, I need a RO/DI unit, and I'm working at a refugium a manifold and a closed loop circulation in the main tank). Then of course the inhabitants

 

[ChrisRD]

The Philips Daylight and the GE Daylight are both full spectrum lamps. Not sure about the Philips Natural. IIRC the GE is the brighter of the bunch. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about the CRI. All of these lamps will appear slightly yellow, but the 5000K IMO will be too much so. For a nicer color you might think about running 1 or 2 NO actinics along with a couple of the Daylight lamps.

As for what you can keep - I've kept mushrooms and zoanthids under NO lights with absolutely no problems. There are actually quite a few things that would be OK, especially at the top of the tank. Light levels will get pretty low toward the bottom of a tank that deep though...

When you do the upgrade to MH, I'd suggest going with the 250s if you're looking to keep a wide range of stuff. Not much difference in price or to operate, and a very wide selection of lamps in that wattage - plus you get the extra punch you need to get good light levels at the bottom of a 24" tank.

HTH

 

[Mihai]

Thanks a lot Chris
BTW, how do you change your screen name? (you said you can do this in the post of WannaBe)

Thanks again,
Mihai

 

[ChrisRD]

You have to ask a site admin for help with that (ie. Len, Chucker, Shane)

 

[Anonymous]

What Chris said....

And if you ever think about keeping "SPS", go for a 400w MH.. - They'll thank you for it... :wink:

 

[Mihai]

400W MH?!!!!! Wow. Isn't it too much?

According to Antony Calfo (I hope I didn't butcher his name), on
www.wetwebmedia.com, 400W MH is overkill; and he should know, he's the author of "the book of coral propagation"...

M.

 

[ChrisRD]

Over a tank that is predominantly high light corals and clams, the 400 Moguls or 250 DEs are commonly used. Especially for deeper tanks.

Over a mixed tank (or a shallow tank), the 175/250 Moguls, or 150 DEs are popular.

HTH