I have 130 wat lgihts on my tank right now. witch i dont believe is a enought light for my 55 gallon tank. its got the 10K bulbs. my friend offered me a good deal for 260watt the double compact lights from coral life its got 2 10k bulbs i belive and i was wondering if this would be ideal for what i want.
Lighting for leathers and some beginner corals
- Thread starter SaltwaterNoob
- Start date
It depends on what the 130 watts of lighting you already have is....Yes, the other lighting unit on offer would be fine for starter shrooms, zoas and some leathers..
Is there any info on the bulbs you already have to identify what make / type they are? roughly what is the diameter of the bulb??
Is there any info on the bulbs you already have to identify what make / type they are? roughly what is the diameter of the bulb??
same brand just the 130 wat version with only one 10k bulb the deal he was making with me is trade and i would give him some money.. i dont know how much its realy worth... both coral life lights... or should i jsut wait and get like t5's or seomthing or will his lights be the cheeper alternitive
t5s can be the cheaper alternative down the road with bulb replacement and power consumption. Getting t5s with individual reflectors will be more beneficial to low, medium and high light corals then PCs will.
So how many bulbs at how many watts would i need im thinking about just making the fixture my self..sweeTang21;2473148; said:
Heres what id do. Icecap makes a 4 bulb retro Fit kit, that comes with IC660-09 ballast and 4 bulb end caps and individual reflectors. each bulb will produce around 80ish watts after its overdriven. With T-5 HOs and V-HO's it doesn't really matter what the wattage is, more the spectrum. With the individual reflectors on the bulb, you will get 360 degrees of lighting, so there is much more beneficial light in the tank, rather then deflecting through the glass walls of the tank.
The cost is a bit more up front but with T-5s lasting significantly longer then PC bulbs, you will change them less often, and you also get a better grip of the color of light being emitted. Basically means you have more options on Kelvin ratings then with PCs and you can adjust to get, white, blue or even a pinkish look if you want. You will also use 40% less electricity to drive the same "wattage" per bulb, so you save money in that aspect as well.
with 4 T-5 HO bulbs and reflectors you will be able to keep all low light corals and LPS corals for sure. You may need a bit more lighting for SPS but you could try it and see if it works. I know this is more then you asked for, but explaining everything upfront so you have better knowledge going into it.
Heres a link of the retro kit id recommend getting. Keep in mind you will need to purchase bulbs seperatly, and Id recommend D-D Geismann bulbs, top notch and a very crisp color to them.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...w~idProduct~IC1535~idCategory~FILTRTRFT5.html
for the lighting unit
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquar...eisemann_powerchrome_t5_high_output_lamp.html
for the bulbs
Hope this helps and if you have any other questions, just let me know.
The cost is a bit more up front but with T-5s lasting significantly longer then PC bulbs, you will change them less often, and you also get a better grip of the color of light being emitted. Basically means you have more options on Kelvin ratings then with PCs and you can adjust to get, white, blue or even a pinkish look if you want. You will also use 40% less electricity to drive the same "wattage" per bulb, so you save money in that aspect as well.
with 4 T-5 HO bulbs and reflectors you will be able to keep all low light corals and LPS corals for sure. You may need a bit more lighting for SPS but you could try it and see if it works. I know this is more then you asked for, but explaining everything upfront so you have better knowledge going into it.
Heres a link of the retro kit id recommend getting. Keep in mind you will need to purchase bulbs seperatly, and Id recommend D-D Geismann bulbs, top notch and a very crisp color to them.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...w~idProduct~IC1535~idCategory~FILTRTRFT5.html
for the lighting unit
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquar...eisemann_powerchrome_t5_high_output_lamp.html
for the bulbs
Hope this helps and if you have any other questions, just let me know.