55 gal lighting question

Bavs · 05-04-2008, 04:36 PM

Hey all,
I have a 55g thats been set up for a little over 4 months and i think its time to start adding corals to the tank. Currently i have a 260watt PC fixture and the tank is 20" deep. I want softies anyway and i think the PCs should be fine for it, but i was thinking about getting a BTA to house my clowns. Is this lighting good enough for the anemone? I was thinking about upgrading to the 210 watt NOVA T5 fixture. I read the thread comparing the T5 to PCs, i guess my main question is, can my tank house the anemone, and is the upgrade worth it? thanks!

botie · 05-04-2008, 04:50 PM

bavs i have a duelsatellite ps 260 wattes i had a lta in there to house my clownfish and it was just fine with the light loved it i grew almost twice the size from when i got it my clownfish died (from ele shock in water didnt know it at time) but lta got so big it started touching my zoos and killing them so i gave it to a friend with a fowlr tank same light and its doin great both are tanks are 75 gallon and i had it at bottom of tank so you will be just fine

botie · 05-04-2008, 04:51 PM

that ps is supposed to be pc sorry about that guess i should proof read

R34dawn · 05-04-2008, 04:57 PM

Hi! Just yesterday I spoke to fellow reefer that advise me my 216w t-5ho maybe to much for my 55g, he told me that may bleach the corals because of the high lighting output, also told me that the t-5 put out 1.8 foot candle or lumens per watt, compare to a mh metal halide thats 1.0 per watt. also stated that he uses a 216w over one 75g and still pretty bright.
i will assume that you shouldn't have any problem keeping an anemone, but it need to be
seriously acclimated!

mandarin11 · 05-04-2008, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Just yesterday I spoke to fellow reefer that advise me my 216w t-5ho maybe to much for my 55g, he told me that may bleach the corals because of the high lighting output

There is absolutely no way that the light is too much for a 55. As to 216 watts t5ho over a 75 being petty bright... Well that is just one of the biggest newbie indicators I've ever seen. Nothing against newbies, we all start out as one, but they shouldn't advise people on things that they aren't up to par on. We don't look at 'how bright it is'. We look at lighting quality, depth penetration, and lumens (and par). These are the things that really matter with corals, not 'It's a pretty bright light'. If you want some decent corals you need the 4 bulb (216 watt). This will let you keep a good variety of corals. If you see SPS in your future you need to go with 6 bulbs. (R34dawn-this isn't meant to be offensive to you. You aren't the one that said it.)

As to Bavs question on is it worth it? Most definitely. Upgrade your PCs. You won't regret it. Anemones are high light creatures. They will like t5ho way better than pc. You will also see your list of corals that you can keep expand a lot. Good luck.

R34dawn · 05-04-2008, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandarin11

There is absolutely no way that the light is too much for a 55. As to 216 watts t5ho over a 75 being petty bright... Well that is just one of the biggest newbie indicators I've ever seen. Nothing against newbies, we all start out as one, but they shouldn't advise people on things that they aren't up to par on. We don't look at 'how bright it is'. We look at lighting quality, depth penetration, and lumens (and par). These are the things that really matter with corals, not 'It's a pretty bright light'. If you want some decent corals you need the 4 bulb (216 watt). This will let you keep a good variety of corals. If you see SPS in your future you need to go with 6 bulbs. (R34dawn-this isn't meant to be offensive to you. You aren't the one that said it.)

As to Bavs question on is it worth it? Most definitely. Upgrade your PCs. You won't regret it. Anemones are high light creatures. They will like t5ho way better than pc. You will also see your list of corals that you can keep expand a lot. Good luck.

I was told that by geekdafied, I am pretty sure he knows when it come to corals

R34dawn · 05-09-2008, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandarin11

There is absolutely no way that the light is too much for a 55. As to 216 watts t5ho over a 75 being petty bright... Well that is just one of the biggest newbie indicators I've ever seen. Nothing against newbies, we all start out as one, but they shouldn't advise people on things that they aren't up to par on. We don't look at 'how bright it is'. We look at lighting quality, depth penetration, and lumens (and par). These are the things that really matter with corals, not 'It's a pretty bright light'. If you want some decent corals you need the 4 bulb (216 watt). This will let you keep a good variety of corals. If you see SPS in your future you need to go with 6 bulbs. (R34dawn-this isn't meant to be offensive to you. You aren't the one that said it.)

As to Bavs question on is it worth it? Most definitely. Upgrade your PCs. You won't regret it. Anemones are high light creatures. They will like t5ho way better than pc. You will also see your list of corals that you can keep expand a lot. Good luck.

I wouldn't post anything in that matter if i didn't have some kind of proof,
here is a pic from my tank using 108w actinic only 460n and if that ain't intense to you better remove your dark shades....no offense

>))))*>