Do I need T5 lighting or not?

Discussion in 'T5 Aquarium Lighting' started by pinky4289, Jun 16, 2011.

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  1. pinky4289

    pinky4289 Plankton

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    St.Louis, MO
    I'm setting up my first saltwater tank. This tank is going to be a trial run for 5-9months to make sure I can run a saltwater tank without problems. Then I'm upgrading to a 90gal and getting the fish I REALLY want(triggers and groupers oh my!)

    This is going to be my stock in my first tank:
    -Coral beauty Angelfish
    -Lemonpeel Angelfish
    -3 stripe damsel
    -Jewel Damsel
    -Leather Toadstool coral
    -Yellow Fiji leather coral

    What lighting is a must?
    Is T5 needed? Could CF do the job of getting the corals what they need?(I might add a few other hardy corals later.)
    I don't want to spend a ton on T5 lighting if I don't NEED it since it will be less than a year before I upgrade and my new tank will be marine only so no need for T5 at all.

    Opinions?
     
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  3. ghut300zx

    ghut300zx Skunk Shrimp

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    yes i would get t5's what are the tank dimentions
     
  4. pinky4289

    pinky4289 Plankton

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    Location:
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    I have a 29gal tank it's 30"L
     
  5. saints fan 420

    saints fan 420 Expensive Colorful Sticks

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    def not a must for a fish only tank..but i will say that even with a fish only tank, if you get t5s with some purple and blue and white lights, your fish are gonna look cooler in your tank..they will glow some different colors, or have different colors stand out more.. so if you have the money i would suggest you get a 4bulb t5 fixture.. and i would go with 2 white bulbs and a blue and a purple
     
  6. ghut300zx

    ghut300zx Skunk Shrimp

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    so probably only 2 t5 bulbs?
     
  7. pinky4289

    pinky4289 Plankton

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    I was gonna go with 2 daylight bulbs and 1 actinic and maybe an led for fun. Trying to find a decent priced one of ebay or amazon that can ship to me by next wednesday as that is when my fish arrive from freshmarine.com! If worst comes to worst I'll buy a light at the petstore until mine gets here then return it *shrugs*
     
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  9. ghut300zx

    ghut300zx Skunk Shrimp

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    did you let your tank cycle?
     
  10. pinky4289

    pinky4289 Plankton

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    It will be 12days by the time the fish get here and I also bought some chemicals that help even more with the nitrate levels.

    Thanks for the replies
     
  11. ghut300zx

    ghut300zx Skunk Shrimp

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    ok... i hope it is done when the fish get here :/ umm for lighting i looked on ebay nothing really jumps out at me. lighting is very important though so might as well buy somthing of high quality
     
  12. pinky4289

    pinky4289 Plankton

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    Location:
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    How does this one look?
    30'' T5 HO Aquarium hood MOONS, SPLASH GUARD & LEGS | eBay