I was setting up a FOWLR 55 gal tank. I have gotten hooked on the interesting life on the live rock. I plan to stay away from sps and high light inverts. and plan to upgrade my lighting to PC 4 X 65 or a 3 or 4 tube VHO rig to supplement the 3 nova 28 watt t5's I have, any thoughts on VHO vs PC light would be appreciated. What mix of atinic to 10,000 k should i aim for? Cost and heat in my 55 gal tank are my hold backs on MH lights.
Set up is 55 gal 48 X 13 X 20
CPR back pack protien skimmer
Fluval 404 running foam, carbon, and ceramic bio media 300 gph
1 170 gph powerhead for circulation
3" coral sand bed
28 pounds of very nice porius live rock, plan to add some more as $$ permits I have a good LFS with great cured live rock have interesting zoanithids on rock. System is 3 weeks old with 5 damsels have never seen Amonia, or Nitrite, or Nitrate just changed 20 gal for safety.
Any thoughts on my system are welcome. I am back to aquariums after a long break.
VHO's or PC's.They both have there advantages.PC's housed in a parabolic reflector from http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm
are brighter than VHO's and can penetrate the water column better.VHO's have probably the best true(420nm) actinic bulb,the URI super actinic.Here's a link for a VHO retro http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_...it.asp?CartId=
Both VHO's and PC's don't have a great bulb life,expect 9 months.The use of a fan in your canopy/hood will help you get the longest life out of your bulbs.Heat is probably the number one factor that shortens bulb life in flourescents.