Good Lighting

[muz]

I am very new to reef tanks but I would like to install lighting to satisfy my future needs.. as I am not sure what the tank will stock with regards to corals etc I am going to set up the following now..

1 x Degenbao 14k 150W MH
2 x Sylvania 39W Actinic T5
1 x Sylvania 18W Aquastar

My thinking was to have the 18W as a startup simulating sunrise / sunset and the rest as the daylight.. Good enough or will I need more in a 1m 88gal reef setup.

Muz

 

[Deanos]

First decide what corals you will ultimately like to keep. Then the advice given will be more focused.

 

[nyumpa]

this sunrise to sunset nonsense is overrated. full power on then off

 

[Harif87]

this sunrise to sunset nonsense is overrated. full power on then off

keep in mind that thats your opinion

IMHO i think sunrise sunset is best way to set up your lighting.

 

[SaltWaterN00b]

this sunrise to sunset nonsense is overrated. full power on then off

I found this works for me too but again its an opinion. Do what works for you.

 

[alfani]

the sunrise to sunset thing is just some fancy setting, imo, i don't think it matters.

you might need more watts for your 88gal, the 150 mh, 78 t5, 18 pc might not be good for most things besides softies, would recommend 2X150 MH plus your t5 and pc

 

[DevIouS]

:bump:

 

[noodleman]

what's the dimensions to the 88gal tank?? And what kind of corals you want to keep? personally i would go for 2x 250mh and actinics if you like the sunraise/set thing, but thats just me:flower:

 

[Tonyscoots84]

in the ocean does the light from the sun come on full blast right away or is there a sunrise, sunset that comes into play?... :duh:

Before anymore recc. on lighting, we need to find out what he plans to keep as previously stated by deanos and noodleman..

 

[Quang]

Muz, how deep is your tank?
you might need a higher wattage MH bulb to penetrate the water, but as Dean said, what corals you plan to keep is important.

One of my all time favorite threads. Very informative and sarcastic, just my type of learning.
You can skip to the part about lighting.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=1838479#post1838479

 

[NYreefNoob]

light's

i guess ill find out if you can keep sps under other than mh and get good result's, 3 36" tek t5 combo's 39w. 2 11k's 2 antic { soon to be antic plus } and 2 6k's for growth about 23" sand to bulb height

 

[PalmTree]

Nice