Lighting

[ferrybongo13]

Well I am ready for a lighting upgrade.
FOWLR a few mushrooms and a small group of polyps.....
Want to get growth on my 300lbs of rock and will start on soft corals.
Any suggestions on what to buy?
I think 2 36 " fixtures rather than a 72" for my 180gal
want moon lights too.
where to buy ...best price and best brand to suit my needs?
thanks

 

[ferrybongo13]

mod please move to general discusion...thanks

 

[Dre]

My advice to you is to see for yourself what other members use and visit your LFS.The best place to look for lighting would be here on MF.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Moved

 

[ferrybongo13]

72 " odyssea power compact.
384 watts.....2 96 w 12000K daylight
2 96 w actinic
12 lunar lights
189.99 on e bay...sounds like a great deal...

 

[reefs4life]

72 " odyssea power compact.
384 watts.....2 96 w 12000K daylight
2 96 w actinic
12 lunar lights
189.99 on e bay...sounds like a great deal...

Yeah it's a great deal IMO as well but to make it a good fixture I would swap out the MH ballast and bulb because the ones that it comes with aren't good at all. I have the 48" fixture and I swapped out the ballast for an icecap ballast which is one of the best ballasts out there and a 14k phoenix bulb. I'll be getting a 24" fixture soon for my other tank. In the end you're paying about half of what you would pay for a Coralife fixture and you'll have better lighting as well due to the better ballast and bulb. You can order the light from their direct site and they have free shipping, www.aquatraders.com. You're welcome to come and see my setup so you get an idea of what to do with it. It's very simple and people are most likely going to steer you away from this option on here but if you really want to use it to your advantage then that's what I would do to the fixture. Good luck.

Fortunato

 

[Awibrandy]

Ferrybong, check out the For Sale forum here on MR. There are always great deals to be had.
That ebay deal doesn't seem to have MH from what you posted.
Although you may not be interested in sps corals at the moment, things change. If I were you I'd go for MH with T5's or PC's just because. You don't want to be updating again in a year or even less.
I bought an Odyssea light fixture here with 3 X 250 MH and 4 X 24 PC, and moved my old 3 X 175 with T12 VHO to my fowlr. I didn't use the MH on the fowlr for about a year, then I added anemonies so now I'm running the MH as well. You just never know.
BTW, I like my Odyssea. Only problem is that it is extremely heavy because the ballast are built in.

 

[Keith P]

72X24X24?

Do you prefer MH or T5? I think thats a good place to start...
What's the preliminary budget? (I'm sure we will find ways to break it. LOL.)

 

[ferrybongo13]

yes 72x24x24....not sure which is better T5 HO or MH....my budget is classified at this time...lol

 

[Keith P]

So like an 8X39W T5 or 2X 250W MH. If the budget allows, maybe LED??