Total salt water n00b, so bear with me.
So, the misses is making the switch to salt water in her 55. We will be happy with some polyps, mushrooms, soft corals and maybe an anemone or two.
Just a forewarning, I'm on the super budget, and can't afford Halide.
I built my own hood for the tank, and can easily fit 2 double bulb shop light ballasts under the hood, that can hold either T-8 or T-12s. So, meandering around my local major hardware store, I found their ballasts pretty cheap, at about $26 per set. So, after calling the local aquatic store, I found that the coral lights are usually T-8's, which I can fit 4, maybe 6 in my home-made hood.
Anyway, after all that setup, my question is, do you think the generic ballasts you find at the big 2 when it comes to home improvement stores, would be enough to push coral bulbs? The box they come in says, requires 2 38watt, T-8 bulbs. I was thinking if I get 40watt bulbs x4, that would be about 2.9 watts per gallon, which should be plenty for soft corals.
Any ideas? Suggestions?
So, the misses is making the switch to salt water in her 55. We will be happy with some polyps, mushrooms, soft corals and maybe an anemone or two.
Just a forewarning, I'm on the super budget, and can't afford Halide.
I built my own hood for the tank, and can easily fit 2 double bulb shop light ballasts under the hood, that can hold either T-8 or T-12s. So, meandering around my local major hardware store, I found their ballasts pretty cheap, at about $26 per set. So, after calling the local aquatic store, I found that the coral lights are usually T-8's, which I can fit 4, maybe 6 in my home-made hood.
Anyway, after all that setup, my question is, do you think the generic ballasts you find at the big 2 when it comes to home improvement stores, would be enough to push coral bulbs? The box they come in says, requires 2 38watt, T-8 bulbs. I was thinking if I get 40watt bulbs x4, that would be about 2.9 watts per gallon, which should be plenty for soft corals.
Any ideas? Suggestions?
