Lighting crossroads!

This is my first post on the forum. I know there are a lot of post out there about lighting, but I didnt know what direction to go.

I am struggling to decide what type of system I want. I have a 75g thats been running for aprx 2 months. Previously (3 years ago) I had it running as a FOWLER with a single tube light. It did the job at the time, but now that I'm up and running again I want to do it right and also have some corals.

I was at one of my LFS the other day and they had a Coralife 48" Aqualight Pro NIB for 237.00. I couldnt pass it up. It has 2 CFL's and 2 150W MH lights. I've set it up and am happy with it (other than the mounting legs), but I have some concerns. I didnt really want to get into MH for multiple reasons, but the deal was so good that I figured I could sell it and make some cash to buy what I want.

Has anyone had any experience with this light? Should I keep it or go to t5's or LED? I would like LED, but dont know that I have the money for it right now. The additional energy costs and heat exchange from the MH also concerns me.

I also dont like the fact that I can not open my glass tops when this light is on it. I may suspend it from the ceiling, but my wife doesnt really like that idea!

I know the basic pros/cons of each type of lighting but just cant make any final decisions. Each person that thinks one light is good for one reason has 2 other people that think the opposite.

Thanks for the help!

 

Welcome to 3Reef!

There are several, good, inexspensive LED's available- new, if you wanted to go that route.

 

What brands?

My LFS has a brand (that I cant remember at the moment) that are strips. You can buy multiple different ones in different color temps to customize it. They run about 80/per 48" roll and the controle module is around 100.

 

LED "strips" are more for enhancing the visual aspect of your existing light and don't normally produce much (if any) PAR for coral growth.

Check out Reef Breeders. From what I've seen, they're one of the most reasonably priced LED reef light vendors in the market. You can search 3Reef forums for reviews from members that have one of their models.

 

even though I"m seriously considering going to LED, I do love the MH. The light you have would work fine. If you went with a couple of phoenix bulbs, you wouldn't even have a need for the CFL's. just run MH and you are using about the same amount of power you would with LED.

 

honestly id keep the fixture you have, get two 14000K Pheonix bulbs, they have them on Marine Depot for 38 each. look how my 75 gallon looks with just the 150W MH on, that isnt with my supplemental T5 on.

 

The more I look around and shop the more I think I will just keep this fixture. For the price of 239.00 I just can't beat it. It has the moon lights as well. Only issue with those is that they are pretty bright for a moon light.

What are the differences between the 10k and 14k bulbs. I mean I understand the color temp difference, but what if any benefit will I see? Is it just personal preference or will I see improvements with the 14k. I'm very new to this whole lighting thing! Previously it didn't really matter as my tank was thriving as a FOWLR, but I never could successfully grow any corals.

This may be for a different post, but what corals would you guys suggest I start with? Currently I have a green zoa and a green star polyp. I also have 2 damsels, a sleeper banded goby, feather duster, emerald crab, and some various snails/hermits. Most of the inverts came with the rock.

Thanks again!

 

Well theoretically 10K is what the corals would see naturally in the ocean and puts out more PAR, however, that being said it also gives more opportunity for algae growth. 10K is more white and generally I think that corals look much better under lighting with a blue hue to it. So if you do to with the 10K I'd definitely supplement with some actinic or blue plus bulbs. As for corals I would start with Zoas and mushrooms because they're fairly easy to care for, then move into lps and finally let the sps bug bite you!

 

hello and welcome to 3reef, the fixture you have seems more than legit i would stick with that as well, clearly as you know leave it open canopy so air can easily breeze through

where did you get this info iv been looking for a good article to read about light intensities in coral reefs any tips...anyone?

 

Although it's older technology, your current fixture is also "tried and true". No doubt it will work quite well for you for anything you want to grow, and I don't see it being discontinued anytime soon.

FTR, wattage (relative to the type lighting) determines light intensity. The Kelvin rating relates to the color temperature of the bulb. 6500K is natural sunlight, and 10000K is white. From there up is just more blue. 20000K looks like a deep ocean scene (blue has the deepest penetration as water filters out the rest. UV, red, yellow, etc are lost fairly quickly, then white begins to fade to blue).