up next ; lights ... need help once again

[jph]

so i ordered my tanks (90 gallon + sump)
i ordered my skimmer (Aquac EV-180)

up next, is lights...
i'll be doing a DIY canopy and ligts, so i'm open to any options/suggestions to make this work

what do i want living in my tank ? eventually... a little bit of everything i know this is very vague, but i want this to be an all-round setup that will work for *almost* everything, except for things that need very specific conditions)
you never know what i may decide to put into it

i like the T5 bulbs, nice and slim, and fairly efficient.

then there's the MH debate... good/bad or mix with fuorescent ?

the tank will be 48" long, do i need 48" long lights, or will 36" work ?

if i go for 100% fluoreschent T5 lights, how many watts do i need ?

if i throw in two 175MH 10k lights, will i just need some T5's to get *me* the color i like, or does my tank need some of them for a reason oter than looks ?


i've been reading up on this subject over the weekend, but it seems that every source i find seems to be contradicting the previous one that i just read


J.

[Fly Guy]

FWIW, dont get 175's. Get 250's. There is nothing you cant keep happy under 250's. 2-250's and a couple of vho flourescents will cover your corals and your needs all the way around regardless of ehat you want to keep.

[motorslave]

I have to agree with Fly Guy. The color can be dictated by the k value of the MH bulbs. The higher the K the bluer the light. Coral in nature are exposed to a K somewhere around 6500 I believe. In our tanks 10000K is generally a white color and the higher the bluer. Think to consider is growth is usually faster around the lower end but the colors really pop in the higher end. If you ran 6500K bulbs your tank would look yellow. Generally the higher the K the slower the growth, BUT, that isnt so much an issue overall in the tanks we get good with and learn how to balance all the needs of the coral.
Two 250 watters would be your best choice for a tank with that depth and depending on the actinic supplimentation (T-5, VHO, or PC) you can get the colors you want with proper water quality and cleaning habits. If cost is a concern, take a look at our sponsors as many have "retro" kits that have all you need and come in kit form that need some assembly by you. The cost difference can be pretty big too.
If you go with the MH ( Best idea as you want a bit of everything in the tank) also consider that the water temp can and likely will be an issue. MH bulbs throw alot of heat. This can be dealt with in a couple of ways. First is a fan blowing on the water surface in the sump or the surface of the tank. This cools by evaporation and can make a difference of several degrees fairly cheaply. Your best bet would be a chiller. It will help to add an element of stability to the system temp and stability is extremely important with a reef sysytem! The Pacif Coast 1/10 hp chiller works great and is pretty cost effective compared to what it does vs. the cost ( around $400 or so) It would be a great investment when you consider the time, money and labor we put into these systems (always more than we thought in the beginning!)

HTH!

Robert

[Geoff]

due to the depth of the 90 i would also suggest 250w MH's. i am not sure what the penetrating power of T5's are. if you are interested in clams on the bottom of the tank than i would stick with the 250's. you can not beat a MH for its penetrating power. you may end up using more wattages of T5's to get the PAR needed to keep high light critters on the bottom of the tank.

i have not played with T5's so i am going by my experiences with other flourescents. you are able to nearly double the amount of bulbs per area so they have the potential to be usefull, but you may end up using less electricity with the MH's.

G~

[jph]

thanks for all the help guys! really appreciate it.

i just ordered 50% of my light setup

two 250W Iwasaki 6500K MH bulbs
two Icecap 250 MH ballasts
two sunlight supply reef optix reflectors

and the hardware needed to connect and mount everything (brackets, end-caps, power chords)

tomorrow i'll research my options for some blue-ish T5 lights.

would two T5 54Watt actinic+ lights be a nice supplement for the two 6500K MH's ?


J.

[Geoff]

i would think they would be, but not sure if the T5's would whiten the look enough for you. i love the Iwasaki's for thier growth rate, but they can be a bit yellow for most people. i do think the best colour i have ever seen on a tank was from 2 250w Iwasaki's and 2 110w VHO actinics. this was on a 120 so there was a bit more room width wise for the VHO's.

G~

[jph]

well, i ordered two T5's

one Geisemann pure actinic 54W.
one Geisemann actinic+ 54W
two tek T5 reflectors
one Icecap 430 ballast

and hardware to mount everything.

does it show that this newbie is pretty excited about all of this ?


J.

[coralcat]

Why did you go with 6500K?? just asking, i only use them for growing, that's bout all there good for color wise. 10k is what i would move my corals after growing out for a bit, and to have them better acculamated to a higher K when they went to new homes, the majority are now using 15 to 20 k on display tanks, better colors on coral, a little slower groth rate (Please don't depate me on thisI did experiment) I like the XM bulbs

[jph]

Originally Posted by coralcat

Why did you go with 6500K?? just asking, i only use them for growing, that's bout all there good for color wise. 10k is what i would move my corals after growing out for a bit, and to have them better acculamated to a higher K when they went to new homes, the majority are now using 15 to 20 k on display tanks, better colors on coral, a little slower groth rate (Please don't depate me on thisI did experiment) I like the XM bulbs

why 6500k ?
well, 6500k full spectrum seems to be pretty close to natural sunlight, which is what these reef critters get in the wild, so IMHO, this would be the best bet for me to start out with.

i'll be supplementing with some blue fluorescent, for my viewing pleasure

i just have to wait and see how this will work out for me, however, i'm sure whatever i put in the tank will be happy with fake sunlight

over time, i may decide to change (i need to replce bulbs every now and then anyway) depending on how things work out.



J.

[Geoff]

only in the aquarium industry is natural sunlight not 5.5k.

it is only for our eyes that we do not stick with these sunlight bulbs. this goes back to the whole debate on whether we are doing what is best for the corals or what is best for our eyes.

G~

[jph]

Originally Posted by Geoff

only in the aquarium industry is natural sunlight not 5.5k.

heh
well, i said "pretty close"

up next is the heater/chiller/controller
but i seem to be finding alot of good info onthat subject, so i may not have to post a "help me" question this time


J.