Lighting Choice Help Please

[Bubbaboy]

Ok so at the moment on my 40 gallon fish and semi-reef tank i have 2x96 watt power compacts. The canopy size is 36"x11"(its bigger but that is only the space i can use). I want to start doing hard corals and more challenging corals. So to upgrade my lighting which setup should i try, im open too ideas. my ideas were these.

1) 8x39 watt T5 Retrofits 36".
2) A combination between pc's and t5's...like 2x96 watt 10k pc's and 4x39watt 460mn actinic t5

I would like to hear other ideas and what you thinks.
Thanks

 

[bella aqua]

what is your budget?do you have proper ventilation for something like halides?

 

[kingrb]

SPS go with MH lighting, a 250 watt or two 175 watts. I have a 400 watt on my 50 gallon.
hit vodka tank on my signature if you want to check it out.

 

[TheBluefish]

If you go with MH take a look at this link.

http://www.socalireefs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16429

 

[iReefer]

i think the t5 will fix your tank best as described.
8x39= 312w where as MH let say two 175x2=350 plus less heat since it gona be sitting in the canope , no need of actinic supplement. more colors combination to play around with

 

[shapermike]

it really depends what you what to keep in your system. I have t-5, MH and I am trying LEDS. I have corals the prefer one light to another. so what do you want to keep and what is your price range?

 

[Bubbaboy]

Ok thanks everyone for response, but trust me if i could i would go metal halide. Only problems are that I don't wanna throw down $ 200+ for chiller and 200+ for lighting. I was thinking something cheaper but still great enough to supply sps and others with enough light. So if I do go with 8x39watt t5's should I do half bulbs white and half the bulbs blue or what combination? And would this be adequate for sps and other light hungry corals?

 

[Clifford]

My vote is for one white two purple and five blue.

 

[iReefer]

head up.. there was a guy selling 3footer tek 8 bulb for a pretty good price on rc

 

[Drew Shark]

But one thing to take into account is that to replace 8 bulbs (8x$20=$160 every 9-12 months) it is going to be more expensive than to replace 1 250 watt Metal Halide bulb every 8 months. But for a chiller you are going to need a 1/10HP or 1/5HP. And the chiller is going to be expensive to buy and depending on how many times it turns on it could possibly cost you a lot for electricity.

 

[kingrb]

with enough ventilation in your canopy and depending on the temp in your house you might not need a chiller. I have an open canopy on my big tank with two 400 watt MH's, and i don't need a chiller.
Just installed the MH on my 50 gallon and have a small fan in the canopy to push the heat out the back of the canopy, no chiller needed, BUT will have to see when the summer comes, if i need more ventilation or possibly a chiller.

 

[mikedege]

for that size tank a 6x39w t5 setup will be very bright, no need for an 8 bulb in my opinion.

good luck, Mike

 

[Bubbaboy]

thanks guys, and reefer i checked it out on rc, its nice but not amount of bulbs im looking for but thanks. And any other ideas on bulb config.?
i will have 8x39watt t5 bulb slots. How much of each kind of bulb should i use?

also mike, or anyone else. Is 8 bulbs overkill even for sps? will 6 suffice?

 

[mikedege]

You said you only have 11" to work with, 8 bulb retro would definitely not fit in that. And most 6 bulbs retro wont fit either. I think that is your biggest problem. I had an 4 bulb retro on my 60G and I could house SPS, altho I wished I had more light, just make sure to go with high par bulbs like (2x blue plus + 1 KX fiji purple + 1 GE day or ATI aquablue), it was still pretty good. My old 120G had an 8 bulb retro and it was VERY bright. On my latest tank (100G) I have a 6x39w ATI sunpower, and it is extremely bright. Plenty of light for SPS. I think your just gonna have to figure out what would fit first. As far as bulb combo, I have tried them all over the last 17 years of reefing, and it really is personal preference. Here is what I personally like the best for 6 bulb.

Front
ATI Blue plus
KZ Fiji purple
ATI Blue plus
GE Day(or ATI aquablue, I personally find the aquablue washes the colors out a little too much for my taste, but that would be my 2nd choice)
ATI Blue plus
ATI Blue plus
Back

I find blue plus's make the color pop and have way more par that a Actinic, so if you can fit an 8 bulb, I'd drop in 1 Actinic, and 1 KZ new generation, but you really will need to play with combos to fit your taste.

hope this helps,
good luck, Mike

btw, heres a pik of my old 60G(36x20x20) with 4x39w Tek retros and Icecap reflectors.(notice how deep the light penetrates into the 3" sandbed)

 

[Bubbaboy]

Wow that's outstanding, also I ordered the lighting today through a craigslist post, but it's a company not like household vendor I don't think. I got 4 blue and 4 white bulbs to start, and 8 t5 36" 39 watt retrofit kits with reflectors holding 2 bulbs at a time. And the person I ordered from made sure it would fit in my canopy, so if you guys want I will post video or pictures on here to show what I got and how it mounts. It should be here wednsday the guy said since they ship from San Franscisco I think!

By the way thanks for info