Lighting

[marinereef]

Hi.....

I am going to setup a 50G FOWLR tank..so what type of lighting is recommended and do I need a chiller?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, and welcome to reefs.org!
You may want to check out the New Reefkeepers Forum, if this is your first marine tank. I would go with the cheapest lighting available: Normal output flourescent lighting. As for a chiller, it all depends on how much you run your AC, how much evaporation you have, how many pumps/light you have, etc. Basically it's impossible to know until you turn it all on and see what the temp is. Typically, chillers are only needed when high intensity lighting is placed over a reef and water temps get above 84 or so. If your apt/house/mansion stays cooler than about 80 degrees, you should be fine. Monitor your temp while your tank is cycling, and then you'll know for sure if you need one. I prefer to use a digtal thermometer with a waterproof probe from RadioShack for reading temperature. I always calibrate mine with icewater to make sure it's accurate.

 

[Len]

For a FOWLR, you can get away with any type of lighting really. But chances are, you'll go full-blown reef sooner or later In that case, I highly recommend halides. Powercompacts and T-5 fluorescent systems are also good alternatives if you don't need that much light.

 

[fungia]

if you go with flourscent bulbs you probably dont need a chiller unless you live in a desert area. for fish only you can just use floursecnets.