Which fish first

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Prariecanuck

Yeah I'm looking for a cheaper alternative since there will be no corals as of right now in this tank.

In that case, just use any fluorescent fixture you can find to cover the tank
A basic 8' 'garage/work area' fixture will do you just fine
The only drawback may be some algae issues due to the poor quality of light from 'basic' T8 bulbs
I prefer the 'daylight' bulbs for a bright/blueish-white light
Cool white, I think, are closer to 4100K
The 'warm' bulbs tend to be closer to yellow and have a much lower K value

Look into the Kelvin ratings of whatever bulbs you choose, if you decide on cheapos
4100K is not bad
For my office, I prefer 5000-6500K for their brightness, but my wife doesn't like the same as she finds them too 'stark' ?

Anything I've used in my office below 4100K is too yellow for me

Hope this helps you decide on what to use ...

The good news is, if you use a basic fixture, you can use hardware store bulbs, so you're not paying $25-35 each for T5s
And you can try a bunch for that kind of money

Also, you can get a diffuser to protect the fixture from spray
Man, I wish I had your dilemma
My used $1000 fixture still cost me $450 and I go through about $300/yr in bulbs