I am on my way to starting a 220 gal reef tank. I have a 6ft mh fixture with ballast that is quite old that i bought used. I don't want to use this because it runs the electric bill way too high and it needs to be fixed due to a loose wire that zaps me on occasion. I am thinking of using T5 lighting. Does anybody have a suggestion on a specific brand or style I should use to house corals? I am thinking two 3 foot fixtures. Are the 2-bulb fixtures sufficient or should I try to find the 4bulb fixtures? Should I stick with the MH and eat the extra $50/month to run it? Thanks for your input guys and gals.
lighting a 220
- Thread starter downset21
- Start date
Is this a standard 220? ie 24x31x72?
It really depends on the types of corals you are going to have in the tank. Some need more light that others. I would suggest checking out Garf.org for more info on corals. They are a non-profit group that specialize in artificial reefs, and not harvesting the few remaining wild reefs we have left. There is tons of info on reefkeeping and great DIY projects to help you save cash.
As far as cost goes, I know that when I was planning on setting up my 220 for a reef, the overall cost of the electric to run everything was calculated up at around 130-140 a month. That is when I decided to convert my 75 Loach tank into a 220 and will then be setting up the 75 as a reef sometime later next year.
If you are a DIYer then I would suggest building an LED setup for your tank. The upfront cost is quite a bit, but the long term savings are well worth the benefits. The LED setups are fine for corals, and bring out some of the more beautiful colors that you normally wouldn't see under a T5.
Good luck....
It really depends on the types of corals you are going to have in the tank. Some need more light that others. I would suggest checking out Garf.org for more info on corals. They are a non-profit group that specialize in artificial reefs, and not harvesting the few remaining wild reefs we have left. There is tons of info on reefkeeping and great DIY projects to help you save cash.
As far as cost goes, I know that when I was planning on setting up my 220 for a reef, the overall cost of the electric to run everything was calculated up at around 130-140 a month. That is when I decided to convert my 75 Loach tank into a 220 and will then be setting up the 75 as a reef sometime later next year.
If you are a DIYer then I would suggest building an LED setup for your tank. The upfront cost is quite a bit, but the long term savings are well worth the benefits. The LED setups are fine for corals, and bring out some of the more beautiful colors that you normally wouldn't see under a T5.
Good luck....
very helpful. I was considering waiting for the LED's to become more mainstream and available. You say it depends on what kind of corals I want... are there some corals that would not do well with stronger light? Am I better off with the strongest lighting I could get? My question still remains, do any of you have any specific brands that you would suggest based on experience or word of mouth?
metal halide double ended bulbs at least 250 watts on the 220 if you are going to start fresh and want to get the best go with 400watt double ended you will not be limited in growing any corals hard or soft but watt= j/s = energy. higher wattage lighting more money. then you supplement your grow lights with t-5 actinics your tank is too deep to really grow corals with t-5, pc, or vho. (in my opinion)
Oh the depth was not a factor that I considered. Thanks for pointing that out. Would I need 3 pendants like that?
The LED path is intriguing to me for long term usage. Does anybody have any experience with these? How do they compare to MH?
So far all of my info is based on the research that I have been doing over the past six months. As far as I have been able to find, the only downside to LED's is the intial cost. However, the benefits are that the bulbs have a life expectancy of 10-12 years, and the usage is less than half of standard lighting systems. As far as the depth goes, there are lenses that will focus the beam width down for greater penetration for the aeas that might require more light. The other option is to place the corals that need more light at a shallower depth in your tank.
whatever u have zapping you I would throw away no reason to get killed trying to save something with bad wiring. As far as lighting your tank before I suggest let me ask what type of corals you planning to house and how deep is the tank in inches? then I can give you the best advice I can to guide you to the best investment
mr.reef24
mr.reef24