Question On Lighting

[andyclaus26]

I have been reading through posts here for a while, and have decided to finally post, so please forgive me if I make any newb mistakes! I have recently purchased an entire 125g marine set up. The light fixtures are kinda old (T-8's I was told). I am looking to upgrade, cuz I would like to keep corals as well. Do i need to get bulbs that span the entire 72"? how many actinics, or whatever should i get? And what are/do I need to run moon lights also? If you don't want to take the time for a full reply or suggestions, could you guide me to a link to get some ideas? I want do do it right the first time, instead of having to upgrade later and spend more money to correct any mistakes I could have prevented. Thanks! richmond, VA, USA!!!!

 

[rabbut]

Welcome

What type of corals do you wish to keep? This has a bid bearing on the amount of light you will require... Also, how deep is your tank? where will you be placing the corals in the tank? If they are going to the edges, you may well want light going all the way over to said edges

Moon lights and Actinics are optional items. Actinics make the colours of corals "pop" better, and Moonlights are soley for night time viewing of your tank and aesthetic

All the best
Rabbut

 

[xxBarneyxx]

As Rabbut said the types of corals you want to keep and the depth of the tank make a big difference on what lighting you will need.

I have 4ft T5's over my 5ft tank. If you have multiple tubes you can stagger them so that some over going from the left edge and others from the right to get more overall coverage. I just have all mine in the middle and use the edges of the tank for low light or non-photosynthetic corals.

You could keep the T8's for the actinic tubes and get some T5 tubes to go on there.

Personally though I would go for some Metal Halide units. gives you more stocking options and despite the electric costs they will work out cheaper then a load of T5 tubes (which have to be replaced more often).

 

[andyclaus26]

haven't really researched the corals yet, prolly just start with some basic hardy ones at first, and if that works out, i'll get some exotics. the tank is 71X24X18. i'd like to be able to keep whatever i like down the road... up front cost really isn't an issue. Thanks for taking the time to post!

 

[rabbut]

Right, long and not too deep. You'd be OK for most stuff with a unit with three 150W Metal Halides, and four T5 actinic tubes along side them, or twin 250W halides and 4 T5 actinic, depending on your tank's bracing... If you have a single centre brace (unusual on a tank that size) then it will have to be twin 250W halides, similarly if you have a centre and two side braces (usual for this type of tank). If you have two braces, with neither in the centre, the three 150W halide option will give you better light coverage, and the unit can be lower to the water level to minimise light spill, light that escapes over the top of the tank, rather than going into it...

All the best
Rabbut