Blog Comments

8 x 54w bulbs for a 55g? Seems like a lot of light to me.

I fixed your link so it is clickable, temperhead.

i run a sun blaze 48" 4 bulb t5 suspended with geissmen bulbs-3 actinic + and 1 aqua blue + the colors great and its perfect for most corals mid to high tank position. i paid 150.00 new for this fixture its bare bones, no fans and only 1 switch-all on or all off, but it does the job and suspending it is a plus. here is a link:

http://www.sunlightsupply.com/aqua/p...g&type=product

i will put some pics up of the setup soon.

It's surprisingly cheap to build a canopy if you have basic woodworking skills. Just take my advice: DO NOT use edge-glued plywood! The boards are made of smaller pieces of wood glued together to make a large board, and they look nice for the lower price. What I didn't think about was that the heat generated by MH bulbs kills the glue! I had to do some emergency repairs when I noticed my lights slowly sinking toward the water. Any other wood will do fine.

Originally Posted by cdmorrison01

Marc,
I don't have a canopy. I have considered building one b/c it might be cheaper. Thanks for the info on the 150w. The other set up I saw was 2x250w with 2x54w actinics. I am going to have to start saving my pennies....for a long time!

I hear you. Those commercial-built light fixtures are expensive. I've always gone the retro kit way, because it saves money.

Marc,
I don't have a canopy. I have considered building one b/c it might be cheaper. Thanks for the info on the 150w. The other set up I saw was 2x250w with 2x54w actinics. I am going to have to start saving my pennies....for a long time!

What kind of canopy do you have right now? Can you install a retro kit instead of a finished fixture? That will save money. 2 x 175w MH with 2 VHO actinics or T5s will give you a nice combination of color, light and the livestock you want will do well, assuming you keep up with the rest of the tank's husbandry.

150w are too week for a 55g. I have one over my 20g, and it is barely enough.

I have found a couple of options as far as MH goes. Coralife has a couple of models. The specific model I am looking at has 2x150wMH and 2x65w actinic. It will be a while before I get it though....it's a little $$$. Thanks for the input!

I have a 55g with 2 250w metal halides running and I can put anything in there. It may be a bit much actually, I have to keep them like 10-12 inches over the water so they don't overheat the water or burn corals. I also run a couple VHO actinics, but I'm thinking I'll switch it over to a new blue LED tube that I can pre-order at premium aquatics. I think any future tank I put together will run LED if the costs come down.

Thanks for the post. How many watts for the metal halides?

+1 Metal Halides
I don't have any expererience with T5's but I can tell you that Metal Halides will do. My favorate mix was Metal Halides with VHO bulbs for the extra glow.