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	lighting
chris1017 Fish Addict Posts: 610 Kudos: 421 Votes: 70 Registered: 09-Sep-2003	ok, i am thinking about turning my 29usg into a nano reef and figure the most important thing is the lighting. only problem is that there are many routes to go. mh, pc, vho, t5. the list goes on and that does not even touch the different color spectrums. all i want is a little help here. i don't know which types of corals i will keep but i don't think i want to go the MH route so between pc and t5's or any other lighting i could use some direction in. chris
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:28
nano reefer Fish Addict Posts: 716 Kudos: 570 Votes: 3 Registered: 29-Feb-2004	PC's def used them and i realy liked them but now have a MH and like tht!
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:28
DarkRealm Overlord Moderator metal-R-us Posts: 5962 Kudos: 2166 Registered: 23-Sep-2002	If im not going to use MH on a tank I would go with VHO. VHO will last longer than PC and IMO have a better look to them color wise. A lot of people are big fans of T-5's now, but if you do some research we (the US) is behind times. The Germans tried and tested T-5's quite awhile ago because of their lower energy use. Most of them went back to MH because they werent satisfied with the results. If you only plan on keeping softies and LPS then they would probably be fine.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:28
chris1017 Fish Addict Posts: 610 Kudos: 421 Votes: 70 Registered: 09-Sep-2003	so i should really just put out the money and buy mh then. that may be what i have to do. if i do use metal halide should i use an actinic fluroescent bulb as well. chris
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:28
DarkRealm Overlord Moderator metal-R-us Posts: 5962 Kudos: 2166 Registered: 23-Sep-2002	MH is the easiest way to buy lighting....you wont have to worry about upgrading again. The upfront cost is a bit more, but think of the money you will save if you dont have to buy an upgrade to MH from VHO, PC, or T-5's. As for actinic supplementation, that depends on what kelvin rating you go with on the MH bulb. 6,500k will be yellow, give great growth and less desirable color. 10K and 14K (more of a crisp white) will give good growth, good color......and 20K (blue)will give excellent color and slower growth.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:28
GuessWho Hobbyist Posts: 149 Votes: 0 Registered: 16-Sep-2003	Hi, I added 6 x T5's (55W each), for a 325l tank. As DRO said MH is better, but the cost is quite a bit more. I have found the T5's to be quite good in my tank, I have 4X white and 2X blue and I use timers to create sun rise and sun set effect. Looks great to see the color changes of the fish and coral, and how the fish behavior changes. This I could not do with MH. plus the price tag was a bit mutch..
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:28
chris1017 Fish Addict Posts: 610 Kudos: 421 Votes: 70 Registered: 09-Sep-2003	well then, besides mh what is the best type of lighting to use. i have seen many people suggest pc but now more are leaning back to t5 and what about vho's so confusing. chris
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:28
GuessWho Hobbyist Posts: 149 Votes: 0 Registered: 16-Sep-2003	I had 4X pc's in my 30gal tank, and it did ok, but the globes was 25cm from the water, and the tank was not that deep (40cm). What I have picked-up the people complaining with PC globes are mainly those with deep tanks or the globes are high above the tank, T5's seems to have a better result in deep tanks.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:28


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