Crunch time? What do I get?

[Fatman]

Just wondering what lights and if someone can point me the way (like a website) that has good prices and has a good reputation. Im looking to not be limited on what I can have by my lights so I want the best in the sense of color for corals and invertebrates (even clams) please let me know I have a 55gallon, I heard I should have between 175 to 275 wattz.

[Fatman]

Oh forgot to add my tanks measurements
48 Long 13 Wide and 20 deep.

[Fatman]

Btw will 10,000K be enough for what I want? Or should I go to 15,000 or 20,000?

[davejnz]

If you want MH,you'll need a dual MH setup(2x250w).You have a narrow tank,your gonna find that your gonna have to hack the MH spider/parabolic reflectors in order to get them to fit.Personally,in a narrow tank such as yours,I'd go with a 4x54w T5 setup driven off of an Icecap660 ballast.

[Fatman]

If you want MH,you'll need a dual MH setup(2x250w).You have a narrow tank,your gonna find that your gonna have to hack the MH spider/parabolic reflectors in order to get them to fit.Personally,in a narrow tank such as yours,I'd go with a 4x54w T5 setup driven off of an Icecap660 ballast.'

http://www.petsolutions.com/Nova+Extreme+HO+T5+Fixtures-I-42901121-I-C-40001722-C-.aspx

Item #42901123 is that the one? 10,000K enough?

[davejnz]

That seems to be a decent price.Thats not the setup i was reffering to although i'm sure it will be effective.For comparison,an IceCap660 ballast is $160,4 bulbs are $60,4 reflectors are $90,and 4 pairs of endcaps/standoffs are $50.

[Fatman]

That seems to be a decent price.Thats not the setup i was reffering to although i'm sure it will be effective.For comparison,an IceCap660 ballast is $160,4 bulbs are $60,4 reflectors are $90,and 4 pairs of endcaps/standoffs are $50.

Whats the difference between T5s and Metal Halides?

The T5 set up is the link I showed you
http://www.petsolutions.com/Nova+Extreme+HO+T5+Fixtures-I-42901121-I-C-40001722-C-.aspx

Here are some metal Halides I found
http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/Aqualight_Elite.htm
http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/metal_halide_Ham175_Hood.html

Is there a massive difference between the two in the sense of what Im limited to in choices later on? (Choice of corals and invertebrates that is) Also will the difference between 10k and 15, and 20k limit my choices too?

[maxfischer]

look on ebay, you will find great prices and tons of different setups. just look at the feedback. i picked up a coralife MH with 2 96 vho's for a great price. look at the ebay stores and you will see tons of stuff

[ReefNeck]

I would highly recommend the "Current USA Outer Orbit 48" fixture!

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=12779&cm_mmc=Shopping%20Portal-_-PriceGrabber-_-Fish-_-Outer%20Orbit%20(48)&ref=3475&subref=AA&GCID=C12188x004&ctt=61

[davejnz]

There is a difference,metal halide is a point source light,very intense.T5's and all flourescents disperse the light over the length of the bulb.Flourescents allow for a more evenly lit tank.With a 4x54T5 setup,there aren't too many corals you wont be able to keep.As for spectrum,I would go with 10k or lower

[Fatman]

Thanks for all the great info, I'll let you know what I get.

[Fatman]

Ok after looking around (locally as well) I decided on the T5s that I mentioned, now my only question is do I buy the 8 bulb one or 4 bulb one? 4 = 216watts 8= 532 watts

http://www.petsolutions.com/Nova+Extreme+HO+T5+Fixtures-I-42901121-I-C-40001722-C-.aspx

[jerryc]

If it was me id check to see if the 8 lamp can be run separately if so id get it and set up on 2 deferent timers run 1/2 for 10 to 12 hours and all for 6 hours
A lot of the 8 lamps come with 2 power cords

[maxfischer]

http://home.search.ebay.com/HO-T5_Fish_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypa geZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfclZ1QQfromZR2QQfsooZ2QQfs opZ3QQfstypeZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsacatZ20754QQsascs Z2QQsbrbinZtQQssPageNameZRC0021


try that

[maxfischer]

the link i gave you i was signed in my ebay account. you will have to do a search on ebay for the t5

[davejnz]

Personally,I dont care for fixtures.The one in the above link looks to have non-waterproof endcaps,and it doesn't have individual parabolic reflectors for the T5's.
If your gonna drop 4 bills on some lights then go with an IceCapp660.The IC660 has the ability to fire any type of flourescent(VHO,NO,T5,PC),it also overdrives your T5's.A 54w T5 on an IC660 is driven at close to 84w.I have a 4 bulb setup on my IC660 and can grow high-light corals like Acropora with it.I also use a Workhorse5 ballast to drive a pair of T5's on my other tank.There is a definate noticeable increase in brightness of the T5's when driven off of an IC660 compared to the WH5.

[Fatman]

Personally,I dont care for fixtures.The one in the above link looks to have non-waterproof endcaps,and it doesn't have individual parabolic reflectors for the T5's.
If your gonna drop 4 bills on some lights then go with an IceCapp660.The IC660 has the ability to fire any type of flourescent(VHO,NO,T5,PC),it also overdrives your T5's.A 54w T5 on an IC660 is driven at close to 84w.I have a 4 bulb setup on my IC660 and can grow high-light corals like Acropora with it.I also use a Workhorse5 ballast to drive a pair of T5's on my other tank.There is a definate noticeable increase in brightness of the T5's when driven off of an IC660 compared to the WH5.

I found the IC660 your talking about I just dont understand how I would set this up, I honestly prefer a plug and play sorta thing, could you please explain how to do this or a walkthrough site?

[jerryc]

Personally,I dont care for fixtures.The one in the above link looks to have non-waterproof endcaps,and it doesn't have individual parabolic reflectors for the T5's.
If your gonna drop 4 bills on some lights then go with an IceCapp660.The IC660 has the ability to fire any type of flourescent(VHO,NO,T5,PC),it also overdrives your T5's.A 54w T5 on an IC660 is driven at close to 84w.I have a 4 bulb setup on my IC660 and can grow high-light corals like Acropora with it.I also use a Workhorse5 ballast to drive a pair of T5's on my other tank.There is a definate noticeable increase in brightness of the T5's when driven off of an IC660 compared to the WH5.


If you are handy with doing DIY projects Dave has the right way to go i haven't
run T5 iv always had VHO but i no its a good lighting setup

[Fatman]

If you are handy with doing DIY projects Dave has the right way to go i haven't run T5 iv always had VHO but i no its a good lighting setup

My friend and I built the stand for the tank (and its holding up =P) so Im guessing Im not bad, I would just need a basic walkthrough or explanation.

[jerryc]

It will be Farlee simple to do you will find diagrams on the Icecap site
not hard to do


http://www.icecapinc.com/

[davejnz]

Fatman,drop me a PM or meet me in the chatroom sometime(I'm often there between 9-11:30PM Eastern time.It really is not to complicated,another thing thats great about not buying a fixture is that you have the individual lighting components.If you ever decide to upgrade to a larger or smaller tank,your all set.
BTW,I'm pretty sure there are some online retailers that sell an IceCap660 T5 retro(retro comes with all the components)

[Fatman]

Well I went to the fish store to scope for some deals, and I see a 90 gallon with a really nice set up, and I ask what he was running and he pointed me in this direction.
http://www.petsolutions.com/Aqualight+Pro+HQI+Fixture-I-96353502-I-C-40001736-C-.aspx

I got the 48" ones, so I had seen this insane price at petsolutions , and I ask how much he says $675, and I pull 630$ cash and he bites =P Got them and hooked them up, AMAZING!!

Pics coming soon!

(btw I only had the cash, cause my B day is coming up and my friends/family paid for half).

[Fatman]

Here are some pics of the tank with the new lights!

This is with the moonlights.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/55ca4708.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/a6b025cb.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/c3575723.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/f353423a.jpg

This is with the Halides + Acetic Blue Bulbs
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/c7b2175b.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/67c2c31c.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/da620934.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/5ec35ac9.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/Picture010.jpg

[jerryc]

Looks good

[Fatman]

I plan to add more live rock, just dont have the $$$$ to just go and buy 300$ worth of it.

[jerryc]

I no the felling iv been upgrading something or other for years

[Fatman]

Yea, well I just started but this hobby has a heck of a start up cost =P
BTW my friends came by to check it out and their so jealous!!! Lol hehe they love the lights.

[Fatman]

More PICS AND ROCKS!!

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/dbd768d4.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/f0a23e00.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/e7289e52.jpg

[dakar]

As a side note, looks like that powerhead doesn't have a screen at the intake... prime fish eater.

[Fatman]

As a side note, looks like that powerhead doesn't have a screen at the intake... prime fish eater.

Yea I placed one, it ate 2 of my chromies and even with the screen one damsle got stuck. I'll be pulling it out soon, a bit to powerful, I'll probably get two smaller ones.