newbee confusion wiht lights

[cinnamongirl]

I'm very confused abouting lighting. I'm a complete saltwater-newbie, but I do have a brain in my head. I've got a good graps on the equipment I need for filtration, etc, but I'm completely lost on lights.

What I have so far:
75 gallon tank
2 maxi-jet 900 powerheads
AquaC Remora Pro protein skimmer
2 100w Pro-Heat titanium heaters
EHEIM 2215 filter
Plan on using live rock for biological fitration, once tank is set up

BUT I am completely lost when I start researching lights. All I really know is what the difference is between MH, VHO,and PC. I get lost when I start reading about K and watts... I don't even know the difference between retrofit and canopy?!?! The more I read, the more I'm confused

Thinking about this for lights

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...8&category=3212

Will this be good enough, and what else do I need to get this light set up and running?


I want to have corals, a few reef-safe fish, and whatever else my heart takes me to. I'm not one to settle on whats easy, but I also know enough to take it simple and slow.

Help please


Cinnamon

 

[Anonymous]

That link is not working.

PC and VHO are good for basic corals.
If you want clams and SPS you almost neeed to use MH.

Do you already have a canopy?
How do you feel about pendant lighting?

The cheapest and easest would probably be a PC set up on stands just above your tank, but your options are endless untill you know what you want to keep, how you want it to look, and how much you wnat to spend.

BTW. Welcome to reefs.org.
Hopefully some moderator will welcome you better than I can (pretty graphics and such)

 

[ndimuzio]

I use MH and VHO, if you have some money to spend I would do MH from the start.. if your trying to save some money while doing this go with VHO..

 

[hdtran]

Watts refers to how much power your fixture consumes. To first order, PC, VHO, and MH are all fluorescents, and convert W to photons about the same. (Just to first order, ok?)

K refers to the 'color', as in what blackbody temperature approximates your light. The sun is a good approximation of a blackbody at about 6000K (to one digit). Many folks like 'bluer', because corals are underwater, which removes more of the red component of sunlight, leaving bluer light down in the deep blue sea. Bluer light is approximated with a hotter blackbody (10,000K or 20,000K).

Retrofit refers to 'retrofitting' lights on an existing fixture or hood, more or less. Canopy would refer to a new top for your tank. I'm a fan of (good) LFS's for their ability to help you here.

Hey, moderators, pay attention and give the new reefer that shiny animated "welcome to reefs.org"!

 

[Anonymous]

uh MH's arent flourescents..actually theyre incandescent...K is the light spectrum..its used in conjunction with photosynthesis process...Power Compact and VHO(Very High Output) are flourescent lighting...In my opinion with your set up id go with MHs from the start, especially if you want Soft Polyp Stony corals..you can compliment this lighting with PC or VHO lighting that is more actinic in nature..you would kinda need a physics class to really IMO understand the reals of lighting spectrum and so forth..I really cant explain it but maybe one of the more seasoned hobbyist can...Retro fit is more or less a Do It Yourself deal, it comes with the things you need to make your own canopy/hood/fixture if you so desire..if not you can buy complete fixtures. Its what you wanna do.. I hope some of this helps...

 

[hdtran]

Sorry, LordNikon, but the MH lamps used in aquaria are plasma discharge lamps, not incandescent (filament gets hot) lamps.

Hy

 

[cinnamongirl]

Thanks for all the help!!

As soon as I get the rest of my equipment (which is already ordered) I plan on starting to set up and cycle my tank with live, precured rock. Do I need the lights before that step? Or can I wait for the tank to cycle and take the extra few weeks to do more research?

I believe I've decided to go with 2 250w 10k MO lights, coupled with 2 PCs, but I'm not sure with anything beyond that. What w of power compacts should I go with? I do want to grow corals, and I'd hate to limit myself to one certain kind simply because my lights are not adequate.

Can someone suggest a K for the PC lights, so i get a good spectrum?

Also, I'm thinking of a moonlight... where's that fit in?

I also think I am going to buy a complete hood rather than diy, simply because I'm such a newbee, I dont want to mess things up. I'm not afraid of DIY, and my bf is all about diy, but he's never set up lighting for reef tanks before either. I'm trying to limit this to less than $500, and I'm finding it difficult.

Any more suggestions would be helpful, if only to boost my confidence that I'm doing the right thing.

 

[hdtran]

I personally prefer VHO to PC, but that's a matter of taste (I like anchovies on my pizza, and most people run away from anchovies as fast as they can...)

If it were me, I'd do about 100W for each PC (or VHO) lamp, and I'd do one blue (actinic, it's called, I think in the vicinity of 20,000K) and 1 white. Depends how much blue you want in your tank; I don't like things too blue.

Your MH will provide a fine spectrum, you really don't need to worry about the PC (or VHO) spectrum. That's just to supplement the MH lighting.

Your LR can cycle without lights. In fact, many like to cycle with reduced lighting, in order to discourage the growth of nuisance algae.

Moonlights are an expensive way of getting some lighting for your tank after the main lights go out. It makes your tank look cool if you wake up in the middle of the night.

Yes, you're doing the right thing.

For a complete hood, I think some companies (e.g. Coralife) make a combined MH/PC fixture which would work for you. JBJ also comes to mind, but my memory is flaky today (some might say my memory s always flaky...). Browse thru the reefs.org sponsors. I vaguely remember that hellolights will 'custom build' a hood for you, based on your choice of MH and VHO supplementation.

See if your LFS will build your fixture for you if you promise to buy stuff from them. My LFS put together all the lights & wiring on my canopy, because he knew that I was going to buy just about everything from him.

 

[cinnamongirl]

Thanks Hy

Unfortunately I can't find a LFS that does anything but freshwater. I live in central PA, with nothing like this too close.

This is awesome, exactly what i needed
thank you thank you thank you!

 

[cinnamongirl]

PS: anchovies RULE!!

 

[Mikef1]

Have you checked out Marinedepot.com

 

[Anonymous]

actually, Id even go two actinics (blue) PCs or VHOs... just a matter of opinion and taste; the blue light actually allows you to put the most intense-lighting-requirment corals and clams down farther, since blue or actinic light is the frequency and color that penetrates the depths of all water the best!

 

[Anonymous]

actually, Id even go two actinics (blue) PCs or VHOs... just a matter of opinion and taste; the blue light actually allows you to put the most intense-lighting-requirment corals and clams down farther, since blue or actinic light is the frequency and color that penetrates the depths of all water the best!
By the way, I would defnitely go with moonlights! Very awesome; the behaior of everything really comes out under those at night! Just get the kind that have suction cups that stick on the out side ends of the tank, or have your builder-person incoporate them if they can; whatever you want to do really!
hope that helped at least a little! Stay cool -> 8)