T5 or PC for 65gal reef.....
- Thread starter taat2d
- Start date
- Location
- poughquag, ny
lights
ill be running 6 t5's on my 65
ill be running 6 t5's on my 65
2actinic and 4 daylight? Where are you getting it? Price?
- Location
- poughquag, ny
lights
ill be running 2 antic's 2 65k's and 2 10k's eventually the 11k's for a more bluish color. bulb's are about $20 apiece, and i bought the tek t5 retro kit's on here, they run about a $100 apiece online. less energy, less heat and great light
ill be running 2 antic's 2 65k's and 2 10k's eventually the 11k's for a more bluish color. bulb's are about $20 apiece, and i bought the tek t5 retro kit's on here, they run about a $100 apiece online. less energy, less heat and great light
- Location
- Marine Park
PC are for freshwater IMO and don't have a place in a reef. Yes MANY people use CF (PC) bulbs with success but the same could be done with T5s which have far better penetration. Plus if you decide to change the type or coral you keep to something other than softies you can keep your T5s.
- Location
- Long Island, NY
I have T5's on my 29, and I love them. If you're handy, look into DIY'ing them with ballasts from Fullham (Workhorse ballasts) and IceCap endcaps--WAY less expensive. I bought two ballasts for 6 bulbs and I think I spent <$45 for the pair.
Christine
Christine
bad coffee
Inept at life.
- Location
- Location: Location:
just go MH now. you won't regret it later when you see an SPS you like!
But like christine said, a Little DIY and t5's are quite cheap. Plus you can get the individual Ice Cap reflectors. Best thing for the t5 out there.
B
But like christine said, a Little DIY and t5's are quite cheap. Plus you can get the individual Ice Cap reflectors. Best thing for the t5 out there.
B
scarf_ace1981
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- San Juan, PR
t5s w/ individual reflectors all the way
- Location
- Howell, NJ
i think before anyone recc. anything we should see what he plans on keeping in his reef... so what you plan on keeping?
WOW how bad is this going to sound. Actually I have no idea. And even less of an idea about the difference between hard and soft corals. I'd like to have something fairly easy and pretty at the same time. And I'm not sure what kind of corals they are but I ike the long flowy finger types. LOL Pretty vague? Please help
- Location
- Howell, NJ
taat2d i recc. you research alot more... it really sucks when someone jumps in the hobby not knowing what he wants to keep or wat he wants to do.. research LPS, SPS, zoanthids, leather corals.... just some examples..
by doing ur research 1st then coming back to us when no what u want to keep we can give you a better answer... telling you metal halides when you just wanna keep softies is something ridiculous... do your research and we will be here to guide ya the rest of the way
...
:google:<----- a good choice for searching...
good luck..
by doing ur research 1st then coming back to us when no what u want to keep we can give you a better answer... telling you metal halides when you just wanna keep softies is something ridiculous... do your research and we will be here to guide ya the rest of the way
...:google:<----- a good choice for searching...
good luck..
- Location
- Howell, NJ
ur gonna need it to cycle before you add any corals to the tank anyways just get yourself the right lighting from the start up so u dont have to spend more money on lighting afterwards... if you see urself with just softies such as lps and leathers and such 4-6 t5's would be sufficient on ur tank... but if your like the rest of us ur gonna get some sps in there because they are more of a challenge :biggrin:.... do ur research and let us know....
So far from looking on Google I know one thing. I am leaning WAY more towards leathers and lps corals. Maybe down the road I would look into SPS corals but from what I can see they just sit there and have no movement. I want a flowy tank with the corals waving in the current.
- Location
- Franklin Lakes, NJ
I really liked this book to get started:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1890087025/?tag=reefs04-20
SPS don't really move much, but the bug will likely get you eventually and you'll want to try SPS. Once this happens, T5 or MH would be the way to go. PC lights can be used for now, but you will likely end up wanting to upgrade at some point. I started this hobby after a year of research and learned more in a month once my tank was set up than I did in the year. It also cost me a pretty penny in upgrades. Do your research, ask some questions and you should be in good shape. Also, take a look at some other tanks and see what you want to keep first hand.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1890087025/?tag=reefs04-20
SPS don't really move much, but the bug will likely get you eventually and you'll want to try SPS. Once this happens, T5 or MH would be the way to go. PC lights can be used for now, but you will likely end up wanting to upgrade at some point. I started this hobby after a year of research and learned more in a month once my tank was set up than I did in the year. It also cost me a pretty penny in upgrades. Do your research, ask some questions and you should be in good shape. Also, take a look at some other tanks and see what you want to keep first hand.
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