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I currently have a 75 gallon fowlr and want to venture into corals, etc. and was looking at this light. Seems reasonable in price and was told at the lfs that it would be great for corals, etc. What do all of you experts think?

http://www.coralreefsupply.com/detail.php?table=lighting_t5_cu&item=CU_NE_T5_48_4_54W

It's a powerful setup, for sure. That fixture would be enough light for any of the photosynthetic soft corals I can think of, and I think for stonies too. However, a second opinion on the stony corals would do you well. I'm not too big on them, so I haven't been all over their lighting requirements.

By the way, your link doesn't seem to work. This is the light you're talking about, correct?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I used Coralife fixtures with my SW nanos. They're cheaper, and they really work quite well, especially if you use the mounting brackets to keep them cooler. For my 10 gal nano, I had 96-watt quad tube 50/50, and I had corals growing on a piece of live rock that I didn't even know had corals. Here's a link for a 48 inch Coralife 50/50 with more wpg than the one you linked.

http://www.esuweb.com/cardfile.asp?ItemNumber=53106&IDProductRelationship=36

Yes sirbooks, that is the link. Not sure why mine wouldn't take, I just copied and pasted. I'll be starting with soft corals, and maybe an anemone for my clown.

AggieMarine, are the brackets sold seperately? I didn't see them in the lfs, or are you speaking of the brackets (that look like legs) in the picture?

Thanks for your input folks!

The Coralife fixture I have (thirty inches) did not come with the legs. There's a chance that the larger models do, but I'm not so sure. I do know that most stores which sell PC lighting should have the brackets/legs, they are sold at my lfs. If you do go with PC lighting (which is sometimes not enough for stony corals on larger tanks), I recommend Coralife over Current USA. I've got one fixture from each company, and I'm happier with the Coralife one.

I don't think an anemone would thrive under power compacts though, they're very demanding in regards to lighting. The vast majority don't live long in captivity.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

uhmmm that light doesn't have any MH bulbs though, in a tank as deep as a 75 you're going to need MH to get you through SPS, LPS and clams, and zoas and rics too most likely...if you're looking for a strip fixture with both colors you might want to look into some of the AquaMedic lamps, they're awesome

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

To be fair, I'm sure LPS and zoanthids could be grown in the top half of the tank with either of those lights. Especially some of the lower light needy LPS. I definitely wouldn't recomend trying SPS or clams though. And Aggiemarine, theough the PC light uses more watts, the lighting output will probably be similar or brighter from the T5s.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Are there specific models anyone reccomends? Keep in mind, I'm trying to keep costs down, but not so far as to spend $200-300 on lighting that isn't sufficient. I'm sure that in time, I'll want to venture beyond simple soft corals and don't want to have to replace the lighting again to do that.

For LPS, and softies you would be able to get away with that fixture. I fyou wanted to keep sps or clams them I would go with MH. On my old 75g I only ran VHO and kept even some low light demanding SPS on the very top of the rock work. LPS and softies will do fine I believe under that lighting

Thanks DRO. Any suggested model light fixtures for someone on a budget? I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks again.