MH + ??? for my 55 Gallon

[Aristarchus]

I just bought a 55 gallon tank with a canopy, it has a 175 watt MH light mounted in the center of it. I am looking to add some more lighting for the sides because they are still a little bit dark. So far I have been kicking around the idea of adding in a couple of T5's that run the length of the canopy, OR buying two smaller fluorescent fixtures I could mount on both ends. Any advice would be great, thanks!

Kyle

[nanogurl]

It's really up to you. I would just buy another 175Mh and put one on each end. Or sell your MH and get a T5 setup. If you just want a FO or FOWLR the NO flourescents will be fine. It's really all in what setup you want and what you like. I personally love the shimmer effect from MH.

[Loverotties]

I'd get one more 175 and space them out.

[ckusnierek]

You can pick up a 175 retro for a little over $100 right now.
Look at premium aquatics clearance section

[Aristarchus]

Thanks for all the replies. I will pick up another 175 MH retro kit soon I think. But for now I ended up ordering a Sunlight supply 48" T5 retro kit w/ 2 single bulb ballasts. Thanks for the website recommendation to Premium Aquatics also.

Kyle

[aquawolf]

It would not hurt anything to run the 2 metal halides, and then use the T5's as actinic supplementation as well. That should give you a very nice lighting configuration in the long run.

[Aristarchus]

aquawolf- That is exactly what I was thinking of doing. I Just need to convince my wife I need another MH retro kit! That's going to be the hard part.

Kyle

[aquawolf]

I totally understand where you are coming from, and am sure many of the other addicts on this forum do as well.