Money is an issue!

Hey all... As a fair few of you should kno already that I'm only now steping into the wonderfull world of salt water. And I just want to say that all of the info that I've been getting here has been a tremendous help in my endevour. I'm planning to set up a 50 gallon tank to be my very first reef tank but I'm overwelmed by the cost of my lighting system... I was told by a well known and reputable reef specalist that I would need 18 bulbs at 18 inches each to secure maximum potential with my reef tank. My tank measures 36" long by 18" wide and 18" high... When I calculated the wattage, I came up with 270 Watts in total. Does this seem too much or is it adiquate? However, money is a very big problem, I'm only 17 years old and I don't work for that large of a salary. But mind you, every penny that I work for will go to my new tank. When I worked out my lighting expenses, i came up with a figure of $5310.00TT which is the equivilant of $885.00 US. And that is without the fixtures and fittings... Does this seem a bit high? And what other options do I have? Can I just go with say, 9 Bulbs at 15Watts each and be safe? Or should I just put out the money?: I plan to use the Coral Life 50/50 Atinic Bulbs

 

What the....18 bulbs??? who ever told u that is trying to ripe you off...or does not know anything lol....lets see you have a 50 gal reef? 36 inches...i would say for mh its gona be around 500 and about half if ur going with pcs

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004 113030&ref=3532&subref=AY check this page out, the Mh fixtures, pc or t-5 fixtures for 36" would all be good

What do you plan on keeping in the tank?

Also i think those bulbs are not for reef tanks...15w each is very low...most pcs are 55w min usually 65w

 

I just recently put some money into some new lighting for my tank and have been doing saltwater for more then 3 years. A word of advise, check eBAY. I bought a 2x 96W Power Compact Fixture (not sure how new you are, that means its the ENTIRE fixture,2 bulbs, ballasts, cooling fans...) with Lunar lights (which add an AWSOME effect at night) for about $85, plus shipping it was like $110. That would give you almost 4 Watts Per Gallon, the general rule is 3-5 watts per gallon. 4WPG would limit what you could keep tho. Personally I have the 2x 96WPC, PLUS another 96WPC (3 total, over my 46 Gallon bowfront, which is the same length as yours, 36") bringing me to more than 6WPG. That would let you keep a lot of different corals and anemones, just stay away from clams unless you have metal halides. Anyways you will ALWAYS be able to find what you need on ebay for about half the price. And lots of the power sellers ship internationally. I just spent about $500 on ebay and liveaquaria.com, and got EVERYTHING I needed...The new lights, a new PC bulb, a protien skimmer, power heads, FIVE corals, an anemone and a star fish! $500! I could have easily paid double, maybe triple that by going to my LFS's. You could also look into a few 18" fixtures if you wanted, or maybe have to, split them up. I could have but its easier to just get a 36" fixture to span the entire tank...for me anyways. BUY ONLINE!!!!

 

Ok, 15Watts per bulb at 18" long. The guy wants to sell you NO (normal output) bulbs. I used to dabble with those back in the day. Trust me you dont want to there. First they dont pack a punch like MH or even PC's. Plus did he tell you that you would have to replace them every 4 to 5 months cause they dont last very long. They loose there brightness after a couple of months and all you will end up with is algae. I know some people that have had great success with them but they are rare. If your planning a reef definitely go with PC's or even better MH's. If your going fish only then 3 or 4 bulbs will do the trick at giving your fish nice enough colors, no need for more.

Like the others said, buy online... EBAY is great for stuff like this.

HTH

Marc.

 

PC With Moon LEDs

I just bought this 36 inch light from Marine and reef for $205 shipping and 90 degree legs included. http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power_LUNaqualight.html

Have a look at their site many of their lights are on salr right now. Great customer service and international shipping info on their site as well. MHs available as well.

Good luck!

 

The normal output bulbs are all that I can find in the lps in Trinidad I waz thinking about the metal halide also. But that is also quite expensive though I think I'd work out cheaper. I would look into the PC's also. BTW, what type of fixtures do the MH's use? Is it the regular Ballast and fittings? I'll also look into EBAY but the only thing I'm worried about is, my bulbs arriving in one piece especially if I buy MH's.

Thanks for the Help everyone

 

Dador, I checked out that web site and I made up my mind already. I'm definately gonna buy one of those aqua lights. I'll work out alot cheaper. My only question is, would 192 watts of light be enough for a 50 gallon reef?

 

192 watts will equal out to less than 4WPG which will be allright, but will also put lots of limits as to what kinds of corals you can keep. The only thing I can think of is if you kept them close to the top, they would do better. Also dont forget your power heads for added flow, and a good liquid supplement like Kent Marine Coral-Vite. That is an "Essential Vitamin and Trace Mineral Supplement for Miniature Reef Marine Aquariums" You could also look into another single bulb PC fixture which would add another 96W and should fit on the top of your tank depending on if you have an overflow filtration system. If it wasnt for my tank being a bowfront, my 2x 96WPC and 1x96WPC wouldnt all fit on the top because I dont have a sump. All of my filtration hangs on the back. Anyways I hope that helps.

 

JMO, but I would not buy a coralife PC. Everyone I know that buys one to save a few bucks ends up upgrading in the future. I would try and think about where you want to go with your tank as far as livestock. Lighting is one of the most important things in your tank, don't skimp on it. As far as a recommendation. I would go with a 6 or 8 lamp T-5 unit or a T-5/MH combo.