can I still use these lights?

I have a fish only tank right now, but want to turn it into a reefer. The lighting I have now are 4 18" ReefMed Reef Sun 50/50 lights. Can I change the bulbs and use this lighting system for a reef? The guy at the local store said they are not enough, but wasn't sure if he was just trying to sell me something. I have a 75 gallon 48WX18WX20H Seaclear with an Urchin Pro (got it to work!!!).

 

Those are probly NO(normal output) it probly would not be enough to support a good reef tank. hellolights.com you can get a VHO ballast and 48'' bulbs for about 120ish shipped.

 

Woould something like this work?

http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power_Orbit.html

or this

http://hellolights.com/484xcoraqpch.html and add moonliught

 

The orbit Hp would be a nice choice.

 

those 18" are about 24watts a piece... not enough for the good stuff. God, not enough for your 75g. Your tank is not that deep, so you can do well with PCL's or VHO's.

Here we go again, what do you plan on keeping?

If you want a little of everything, go MH.

 

A little condescending, no? I'm new to this so I'm sorry for asking the 100th time. So if you are bothered then please just don't reply.

The setup is below. I will prob just go with soft corals since I am gathering they need less light. I am told that hard need much more than I can prob get in there. Heat is a factor as you can see in the pics, so I am prob going to need retrofit lights. I have seen a couple (sunpaq and coralife) 48 inch 4X65W for under $200. What do you think?

 

I do not want to come off like a smart a$$ but where is you filtration? I do not see any LR or a skimmer or a refugium. Is it below your floor? If the LFS started you off in this manner I would find a different LFS. JMHO It is a very pretty set up tank/stand! but is that particle board and does the center brace run all the way through the middle, or is it just in front? If it is just in front you will sag if it is particle board and have many problems down the road. The only reason I ask is that it seems to be a commercial finish and usually commercial pre-built cabinets are made of cheap particle board. Again JMHO. If you built it yourself-kudos to you, because it looks great! Good luck and we are all here to help you out. You might want to also consider different fish because those will be way too much for what appears to be a 55-75gl tank-without filtration. Have you cycled yet?? just curious and JMHO

 

I just re-read that you had the Urchin pro. I would still invest in about 100-150lbs of LR. good luck!

 

go geox

geoxman hit it on the head. how long have you had this up? and what is your total filtration system? Best to catch problems now before livestock has to pay the ultimate price.

 

Those pics were after I was rearranging the tank and cleaning. I built the setup into the wall myself...no partical board. Fully secure and in place so no worries. Even did the doors and shelves myself.

Up to this point I have been using the prefilter, bioballs and water changes in the seaclear system II. I just purchased an Urchin Pro that is now in the rear chamber where the bio balls used to be so no more bio balls. Sort of a sump in tha bcak now. My plan is to stock it with live rock and maybe slowly turn it into a reef. I have had this tank for about 10 years now as a fish only tank. Never planned on turning it into a reef so didn't built it with that in mind.

That puffer that is in there was about a 1/2 of the size it is now when I bought. I have had it for just over a year or so. Will I have to get rid of him and the trigger in order to have live rock?

So I guess new lighting is a must then. Do you guys think the Urchin Pro, Prefilter and live rock will suffice? Don't have room for anything else!