Lighting virgin-I need your help!
 

I am considering switching my 33g to salt water reef. I want to be able to keep anything I want in there; coral, clams, whatever. Problem is I don't really know what lighting to buy, what brands are good, etc. I want metal halide lighting that puts out a nice crisp white/blue light (don't want yellow) with 2 bars of actinic at least. I do not know what kind of bulb does that, what k rating I would need, or anything really.

If you have a pic/link to a certain light brand/bar, etc, that you recommend please post it along with why you like this lighting.

Please post your opinions and experiences on lighting that you own as well.

T5 lighting will allow you to house anything you want as well and allows you to custimize the lighting look(more blue more white more yellow) by adding different bulbs and putting them in different orders. there is a huge thread on RC about T5's and Grimreefer is a great help on there. There are alslo alot of experts on here to help you out.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...&pagenumber=34

here are some tank pics with T5's

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9125

one of the things about MH that people love is the shimmer effect and shadows around the reef... this is something to consider as well.

I recomend looking at the most tanks as possible and seeing what you like, this will help save you money in the long run by not wanting to upgrade frequently like me....

If your set on metal halides you be looking for a bulb more in the range of 14-15K depending on the brand. 20k is more blue, and 10k while sometimes white, can also move to yellow over time.

I can't really recommend much, but I use an XM 15K bulb supplimented with two actinic bulbs. You can look at my lighting, but ignore the horrid algae outbreat at www.marineatomica.com under Journal.

Well, me being relatively a noobie at sw, I thought MH was the best, but by all means if something out there is better, please tell me!

How about I just explain the differences, as I understand them between T5 and MH. Then anyone else can chime in, especially if they know better, or have more information to provide.

MH - Pros
-Heat - May use your heater less
- Lots of Bulb choices and ballasts to choose from, each giving you a different result in color.
- Cheaper then T5s on initial set up in most cases.

MH - Cons
- Heat - May heat your tank up too much.
- Bulb replacement, bulbs must be replaced at least once a year.
- Bulb color, eventually bulb color can shift and your light won't be the same initial color.

T5 Pros
- Bulbs don't change color (so I've heard)
- Replacement cost of bulbs is considerably cheaper (again this may change with each setup)
- Can get the same or equal type of growth as you would get from a MH.
- Less power draw
- May not heat up your tank as much as MHs, although again it depends on how many bulbs and how close to the water they are.
- Bulbs only need replacing about every two years (again, something I heard)

T5 Cons
- Initial set up cost, is up there...
- Need individual reflectors for best light output, so there is more cleaning/maintenance required then just one MH reflector.

Thats about all I've got for you so far...

you forgot the cool shimmering effect as a pro for MH's :lol:

Ah the shimmerine effect, I have to say, that is one of my favorite things!

Oh and the gloriously odd shaped burns they leave when you touch them by accident!

Good summary Catherine
You also can get MH bulbs from none tradition sources. Unlike PC and T5's which you pretty much have to get from the aquarium industry. I am not sure if the longevity of T5 or PC is any better than MH. You forget the more esoteric properties of MH. The water shimmers..okay that sounds goofy but you all know what I mean. I think cost is about the same when you look for package lighting systems. MH ballasts can get very bulky as opposed to PC or T5. Some you can fry eggs on. My money is on using MH, although I am using PC right now. My MH were 6500k but I am switching to 10000k. My PC are 14000k...a little to blue for me. One thing I have to say get a set of moon lights...there nice to look at, although I am not sure if they have any effect on corals. Heat and power consumption are the considerations you should be thinking about.

Yeah, I hate that about my Halides..... 2 heavy bricks......

We have T5's on our 120g tank downstairs and trust me after a year the bulbs need to be replaced, however the nice thing about the T5's is that it's cheaper to replace the bulbs. We have a 250w HQI MH Hamilton on the 30g tank upstairs and one bulb for it is the same price :sad: as the 5 bulbs for the much larger T5 fixture. I have noticed a bit of a difference in coral growth between the two tanks (although all our lps and softies and aneomone are growing quite well with T5 lights) I think the MH provide a bit better growth rate then the T5's and sps and zoos do much better under the MH. On a personal note I love the overall look of the MH way better then the T5's. You wont notice much of a difference (other then the shimmer) between the two lights until you have one of each in your house to compare to, at least that's what I found.