80W NO T12 reef?...I must be crazy.

[Stab_Master_Arson]

That's right. I am going for the easy and cheap way out on my second reef and I am going the way of the good old T12 coralife bulbs. Powering these lights will be a 18 dollar balast and set-up from Canadian Tire simply labeled "work light". Now why do you think that this ridiculous idea will work? Well simple, because one of my close friends pulled it off a while back...but he put the cheapness to shame when he upgraded to hard corals and scraped his budget masterpiece. No ice caps for this tank. No 150 dollar VHO ballasts. No 40 million dollar metal halide contraptions that put the temperature of the Sun to shame. I plan on putting the debate to rest, once and for all.

If you guys want to comment on my obvious insanity then please do.
If you want to place wagers that my soft corals will die a horrible horrible death then be my guess. I doubt they will though.

I plan on recording their growth and colour. I am conviced that certain polyps, mushrooms and fingers will thrive under these lighting conditions.

I am well aware that the suggested lighting is between 1W and 1000000000W and then back again.

The NO bulb needs to be returned to the glory it once had. The T12 desearves greater respect.

BTW, This is my first post and I am glad to find a Canadian reef community.... Much more local then Aquaria central.