Appropriate Lighting for a 75G

[suntzu]

I need some advice. Right now I have a 75G tank (48 x 18 x 20) with FOWLR setup. While my Coralife 36" 96W Aqualight power compact is sufficient for the my setup, I can't help be feel my lighting is in inadequate. I am thinking about getting rid of my sea urchin and getting some corals. What kind of light should I get? Also, is there a solution that won't kill my electric bill?

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[Reef Guy]

I have 2 x 96 PCs running and my tank seems to be doing fine. I have mostly softies but a few sps on top. My tank is also a 75 gal

 

[inkblue]

Kai, on my 72, the oNe yoU saw, I aim'd for at least 4 wattS/gallon... so I now have a Tek T5 6x54W... :bigeyes2: BUT, i did have a 240W PC light, which KuyaMark bought, and my Sea Fan and soft coraLs thriv'd under it you decide :scratchch

 

[jhale]

hey Kai,

it depends on what coral you would like to keep.

sps needs some bright light$, but like ink said softies like lower light, lps is more MH and vho type stuff.


PS, we don't have the monkey fetish here like RC nice pic in the avatar though, hehe.

 

[cali_reef]

Also, is there a solution that won't kill my electric bill?

Move to Southern California and put your tank outdoor.

Each additional watt of light over your tank will become more kilowatts on your electric bill at the end of the month, the type of lighting it is will not change this much.

Decide what you want to keep in your tank before you go out and waste more money on lights that won't work for you in the future. Ask people that have gone thru this for their opinion, not someone without the experience.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

if your going to keep softies def. i would go with 3-4 watts per gallon minimum. i have 195 watts on my 29gallon so that comes out to be 6.7 watts per gallon which i think is great. do what you prefer. in the end its ur tank..

 

[jackson6745]

Tony, watts per gallon is not a good measurment because different lighting has different intensity.
Suntzu if you plan on keeping SPS corals I would go with 2x250w halides + VHO actinics. If you plan on keeping a mixed reef I would go with the T5 lighting

 

[herman]

What I have seen more and more lately is that people create light zones within your tank. Since the electric bill is an obvious concern maybe this could apply to you also.

When people create these zones the obvious thought is high intensity areas for sps and lower intensity for lps and some shade regions for say a suncoral. The way the guys do this is to first work on their aquascaping. "High rise" plateaus with halides over it for the sps which slope down.

Place the light lovin sps on the top of the arch withe the halide pendant directly above , suncoral under the arch and you can scatter softies everywhere else.

Because we are trying to save electricity by using a lower intensity bulb, light penetration through the water has to be good. Run a good skimmer and perhaps run ozone in conjunction with carbon to get that pristine clarity. For the rest of the tank you can use the pc but preferably T5.

The next topic to consider is the choice of reflector. The undisputed top reflector are the diamond lumenarc III. This might be overkill for the 75 and look awkward. Look at the different brands from hamilton, pfo and others. A good place to start is www.hellolights.com They are quite reasonably priced.

I believe that deepwater is selling a light here on MR.

HTH
Herman

 

[Reefer420]

I love my Orbit PC light for my 16g- easy solution to have Daylights, Actinics, and moonlights. You might want to look at the 36" MH/PC combo- they are a really good value IMO. 150w MH, 2X 65w actinic.

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium...usa_outer_orbit_hqi_actinic_lunar.asp?CartId=

With this type of light you could probably keep some SPS near the top and have no problem w/ LPS and softies in most other places in the tank.

 

[Reefer420]

oops- meant 2X 96 w pcs!

 

[alrha]

Suntzu if you plan on keeping SPS corals I would go with 2x250w halides + VHO actinics. If you plan on keeping a mixed reef I would go with the T5 lighting

FYI, i got for $500
Aqua Spacelight 48in 2x250W MH + 1x150W MH Silver
(see the bottom of my web page for more details)

That would be 650 watts / 75 gallons = 8.66 watts / gallon.

(for comparison I currently have 1500 watts on 187 gallons = 8.02 watts / gallon)

 

[alrha]

Also, is there a solution that won't kill my electric bill?

I am on the Time of Use plan and run my lights mainly during off-peak hours.

 

[suntzu]

Thanks guys for weighing in on this issue. Your advice is greatly appreciate it. I am at a crossroad: I can either continue to run a FOWLR or pursue to include corals, which is more advance and interesting. I am thinking about doing the latter, but the thought of additional lighting and a chiller to cool it frightens me.

Alrha, you are selling your lights at a very nice discount. I will figure out what I want to do and get back to you. Thanks!

 

[suntzu]

hey Kai,

it depends on what coral you would like to keep.

sps needs some bright light$, but like ink said softies like lower light, lps is more MH and vho type stuff.


PS, we don't have the monkey fetish here like RC nice pic in the avatar though, hehe.

Thanks, I was looking for a fish related avatar but could resist the look on the monkey's face. =)

 

[Reefer420]

I honestly dont think running a FOSW tank is too much less difficult than keeping a simple reef tank. A reef is certainly more expensive in terms of equipment- but unless you go the SPS route and need parameters to be perfect at all times it isnt too bad (especially w/ places like MR for support). I'd say go for the softie/easy LPS tank- and have a few reefsafe fish, but thats just me Then again, you can't keep those awesome non-reef safe fish then...

Before I really started my research (and found nano-reef.com)- everything i was reading said stay away from nano tanks b/c they are too hard to keep! My 16g is easy to care for- doesn't need an excessive amount of care, and I even kept it simple w/ no sump! What I'm getting at is that it might seem hard at 1st- but keeping a reef tank really isn't so tough :smoker:

 

[suntzu]

Btw, here is a picture of my tank...

 

[alrha]

Alrha, you are selling your lights at a very nice discount. I will figure out what I want to do and get back to you. Thanks!

sure thing - i just always like to give preference to local manhattan reefers.
i didnt have a chiller, so you may not need one either (depends on how cool your room is). If you prefer you can paypal me a deposit ($100?) and i can hold it for you till you get the money together.

 

[inkblue]

Kai, i knoW you are on a budget for tHese ligHts, but check these out:

Finnex

...do not have experieNce with thiS brand BUT, they are definitely cheap :yo:

 

[suntzu]

WOW that is cheap! I will call them later to get more info. Thanks again, Don! :scratchch :yeah:

 

[Chris5]

Kai, on my 72, the oNe yoU saw, I aim'd for at least 4 wattS/gallon... so I now have a Tek T5 6x54W... :bigeyes2: BUT, i did have a 240W PC light, which KuyaMark bought, and my Sea Fan and soft coraLs thriv'd under it you decide :scratchch

This is funny bc now i have the 240 pc light i guess that was yours that mark bought that i own now lol and my tank needs more light, i cant house corals bc the light is not sufficent enough , also can that light have 65w? am using 55w now and would love to upgrade bulbs....