new lights

Discussion in 'Reef Lighting' started by butchbabie17, Jul 11, 2004.

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  1. butchbabie17

    butchbabie17 Plankton

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    i'm looking to upgrade my lights for my 55 gallon tank i was wondering what would be the best to put in there i'm going the diy way and have heard mh is the best lighting for reef. but how many fixures do i need and what watts? i'm also looking to put in pc as well into my setup and whats the best watts for them?
     
    butchbabie17, Jul 11, 2004
    butchbabie17, Jul 11, 2004
    #1

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  2. Jason McKenzie

    Jason McKenzie Super Moderator

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    I guess the first Q is what kind of Corals do you want to keep?
    48½ X 13½ X 21 is that the dimentions of your tank?
    I would suspect to keep anything including SPS and Clams you could go with 2 175 HQI MH with 2 PCs for actinics. This would be more than enough IMO. If HQI is too much $$$ then I would go with 250W MH

    J
     
    Jason McKenzie, Jul 11, 2004
    Jason McKenzie, Jul 11, 2004
    #2
  3. hottielover14

    hottielover14 Torch Coral

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    but if you just want soft corals or LPS you could just buy a 4x65 watt PC (260 watts)
     
    hottielover14, Jul 12, 2004
    hottielover14, Jul 12, 2004
    #3
  4. shawnz28

    shawnz28 3reef Sponsor

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    If you have a conopy already I would look into a VHO retrofit for it. You could get a ballast such as a Icecap660 or a URI A4 and run four 4 foot bulbs over the tank (440 watts)
     
    shawnz28, Jul 13, 2004
    shawnz28, Jul 13, 2004
    #4