lighting question...

[cathyg_99]

90gallon i will be starting off with just live rock, fish, invert, and a few corals (mushrooms frogspawn to start)

i dont want to buy new lighting just yet so i was wondering if my

hagen glo
with a 10000k bulb and the marine glow (actinic 420nm to 460 nm,) would be enough light?

altogether its only 108 w....


edit::

any suggestions for what i should upgrade to?

[BlueTang<3]

On a 90 gallon i highly doubt that this would be enough light for much, higher up in the tank you could probably get away with for a bit.

[reefwars]

remember to keep in mind whatever you plan to keep in the end is how you should budget your new fixture so dont cheap out here alot of times people upgrade lights more than anything else so buy one youll know youll be happy with and is good enough to keep anything in your plans

[cathyg_99]

Originally Posted by reefwars

remember to keep in mind whatever you plan to keep in the end is how you should budget your new fixture so dont cheap out here alot of times people upgrade lights more than anything else so buy one youll know youll be happy with and is good enough to keep anything in your plans

im at a loss for what kind of lights to buy i bought the hagens when i had a 120 gallon shallow set up and i was told THESE WILL BE GREAT FOR A REEF...

i dont want to drop $700 but if they will last and i will NEVER have to upgrade then thats fine with me

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by cathyg_99

im at a loss for what kind of lights to buy i bought the hagens when i had a 120 gallon shallow set up and i was told THESE WILL BE GREAT FOR A REEF...

i dont want to drop $700 but if they will last and i will NEVER have to upgrade then thats fine with me

you need not drop 700 a 6bulb or an 8bulb tek light would be great for your tank you could grow pretty much most stuff out there with a good t5ho or metal halide......leds someone else can chime in on

with t5's the powerbill is a bit beter and it creates less heat they do have alot of bulbs to choose one so trial and error is a bit pricey. 4,6, or 8 bulb would work great in your tank but id lean towards 6 or 8. research the bulbs you buy

halides are more power to run and alot more heat but they are strong enough to grow most any corals and create a nice shimmer in the water that you cant get with t5's.........personally im a halide fan. halides are better ran with supplemental lighting like t5's so your not running them 12 hrs a day.

leds also give you that shimmer and dont create the heat that halides do they are pricey to buy as complete fixtures but you can make a diy kit to cut down cost's



i deally you want to replicate its natural enviroment as much as possible so low light in the morning resembling sunrise......strong light mid day as the sun is at its highest......low light at evening to resemble dusk......moonlights through out the night

they have combo kits you can buy that have all three and they sell here alot second hand for alot cheaper then they are purchased

[fencer]

On 90 Gal
SPS dominant 2x 250w MH or 6 T5 HO......color around 15k
LPS 2x 150w MH or above......color around 10k to 15k
Fish 4x T5 HO or above......10k or above

Your mileage will vary

[daniella3d]

check out the www.fishneedit.com. Very affordable ligths and people seem very happy with them. I would get the metal halide and T5HO combinaison.

Those lights look great as well.