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Old 09-11-2007, 01:24 PM   #1 (permalink)
YellowBelly
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Newtown, PA
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Lightbulb Do I need an extra lighting fixture?

I have a 24" wide 120 gallon tank. My SPS corals are about 10-11" away from my light fixture and the light sits 5-6" above the waters surface. The fixture is 48" long and 11" wide but the glass is only 6" wide so the lighting covers a 6" area. I would have 6-7" in front of my light to add another fixture. I have two 250 watt Double Ended 14K Phoenix bulbs with very small reflectors and four 65 watt Actinic 03 bulbs. I have the light directly over the SPS corals. My soft corals, LPS, zoanthids and mushrooms are all doing fine. Some of my SPS corals are not as brightly colored as the tips and branches are. It seems like some of the branches shadow others and cause those spots to look brown. Since I have room on either saide of the tank to add another fixture I was thinking about adding the new Marineland 4x54 watt T5-48" Deluxe Strip Light Fixture which is 5-7/8" wide or the Nova Extreme T-5 48" Fixture 2x54 watt which is 4-1/4" wide. Would either of these fixtures help to brighten up my SPS corals or should I stick with what I have now? I guess I should really make a canopy and use a two big reflectors for my MH's so I would get the most benefit from them but I'm stuck with the fixture I have. Would the added T-5 lighting help my stony corals grow and leave less shaded spots than what I have now?

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