Advice needed

[Jimmer]

Well, its been a looooooong while since I've posted here. Anyhoo...I'm wondering if anyone can offer a bit of advice to me. I'm looking to upgrade to PC lighting very soon. My current NO lights and ballast are croaking in a hurry. I'm a bit confused as I'm not sure which PC set-up to purchase. I have a 55gal tank (All Glass) Roughly 80lbs of LR Shrooms, Polyps, 1 open brain coral. I'd like to graduate up into some hard corals and expand the soft corals I have now.

If anyone can advise as to which set up of PC lights I should get into I'd REALLY appreciate it!!

Oh, one other thing...anyone from WI floating around here?

Thanks!!

[Minnreefer]

I would suggest going with VHO instead of PC. That is my favorite and I feel more bang for the buck.

HTH

Jon

[beach bum]

It's so hard to squeeze enough light over a 55 - four VHO bulbs will take up every millimeter of space you have, and that is what you would need for many stonier corals and clams. So when you are looking at fixtures figure your space first since that is the most limiting factor (assuming money isn't a factor). 2 x 250w MH bulbs would kick serious butt if you can swing the dinero.

bb

[ziggy]

If you don't mind a little work hello is'nt a bad place to start, and they have 3 pack vho's as well if room is a consideration.

good luck surf around

scott

[Gecko_]

watt for watt pc's give more but the difference between the 2 lighting veries very little here are some things that may help with your selection G.L. on your search eventually i settled down with pc's to save electricity

http://www.achievecomputers.com/reef/light/#f

http://www.rockymountainreefclub.com/article1.html
http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/ltg_qa.htm

[Jimmer]

Aaack...OK the main reason I am looking to do PC is because it is smaller and as we all know a standard 55gal All Glass tank is quite thin. ( I should have gotten a 75!!)

Guess I'll go with one that is roughly the same length as my tank and has as many lights in it as possible. Anyone have a mfg preferance?

I decided to not go VHO as I am finding that they are available either as retro kits OR they are in a hood arrangement that is just too big for my tank and existing canopy.

[grazzit]

hehe I don't have any advice for you but I'm in exactly the same position you are, with a 55 in need of better lights. Just wanted to ask you to post the lights that you decide on.

[cyberchef]

I have a 55 main tank and until a month ago I ran only PC... I had 520W pc over the 55 and everything did great, including clams and SPS corals. I used 8 65W bulbs, they will fit inside of a 48" canopy (inside dimension) end to end, it is tight but they do fit. My canopy only allowed for 10" of useable space for mounting lights. If you have a canopy that will allow you all 12" or even maybe 13", if the canopy is a bit deeper than the tank, you could add another 130W for a total of 650W... Just be careful and lay it all out before you screw anything down.

I bought the ballasts and all of the parts seperately from Hello Lights and did a custom retrofit inside of my canopy with the ballast in the bottom of the bookcase next to the main tank.

[Jimmer]

Originally posted by cyberchef
I have a 55 main tank and until a month ago I ran only PC... I had 520W pc over the 55 and everything did great, including clams and SPS corals. I used 8 65W bulbs, they will fit inside of a 48" canopy (inside dimension) end to end, it is tight but they do fit. My canopy only allowed for 10" of useable space for mounting lights. If you have a canopy that will allow you all 12" or even maybe 13", if the canopy is a bit deeper than the tank, you could add another 130W for a total of 650W... Just be careful and lay it all out before you screw anything down.

I bought the ballasts and all of the parts seperately from Hello Lights and did a custom retrofit inside of my canopy with the ballast in the bottom of the bookcase next to the main tank.

Thats kind of what I'm trying to avoid. I'm a bit skeptical as to how well any retro fit will mount to the underneath of my canopy. Hence I'm looking for a PC "hood". Is that gonna really reduce the amount of light I can throw into the tank?

[jg24]

Jimmer,
I don't know what your going to spend on PC lights? I used to have a 55. I DIY'd my setup. I spent about $350-400. What I got for that was 2-250W 6500K Halides and 2-110 VHO. I did the $100 diy halide systems and a vho retro($135.00) from hellolights. Its tight but it fits over a 55. I used the 46.5" VHO bulbs. I am now using the same setup over a 75. The only thing I changed was I added reflectors for the MH.

[cyberchef]

Here's a pic of my canopy with the PC lights still in it. One of it closed and one of it open.

[cyberchef]

Here's a pic of the canopy open while it still had the 520W of PC lighting.

[Jimmer]

WOW! I never thought you'd take the time to snap a pic or two as you have done! Thanks. I'm gonna snap a couple this weekend so you can see the canopy I'm dealing with...Uh-Oh, that means I'm gonna have to get rid of all that algae on my glass.

Thanks again to everyone for lending me their 2 cents!!

[Jimmer]

OK, heres the canopy I have

[Jimmer]

Side view