which way do I go?

Getting back into the reef hobby again. Got a 90 gal with one old original 48" dual bulb strip light and one single 48" strip light. The dual bulb fixture I think has two power-glo bulbs, the single has a marine-glo bulb. Figure I have a few weeks to decide on what type of lighting to upgrade to. Tank is in our small home office and I don't want to hang anything from the ceiling. Have read so many articles on VHO, CF's, T5's and MH's that my head is spinning! Goal would be to have some soft and some stony corals. Also looking to keep lighting upgrade below $400. Any recommendations?

 

well, you'll hear very mixed opinions on what kind of lighting...

you'll hear people swear by T5's and people swear by MH..i'm one of those that swear by T5's. They're efficient and don't expel a lot of heat..

i'm sure you'll hear otherwise!! But that's just my opinion!!

 

is your tank set up and cycling? one opt. would be a custom hood built to stand on the tank aprox. 3" or so above it. then you could add lighting as your budget allows and as your lighting needs progress with your corals need your lighting will increase with them. then it won't hit your wallet all at once. I am a custom aquarium and custom hood builder also. i can work with any budget and it adds a very rich look to any setup.

WOODWORKING A-Z

i am in the process of starting a new site my old site got very messy and confusing so now i delete each post if not needed or if its off the topic. please feel free to post any ?'s and mesurments for a free quote.

 

The tank is up and cycling already. If you were to start a new tank today, what lighting setup would you do?