neely Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 i have been thinking about going to salt water in my 90 gallon. 1 think i am not sure on is lighting requirements. What kind of lighting setup do i need and how much do they cost? I have seen those hoods going for $500 and then i have seen single bulbs for $40... What do you need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlkWolfe Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 (edited) It all depends on what you want to keep. Mushrooms and most LPS (brains, bubbles, hammer corals etc) would be fine under VHO's or power compact lighting (somewhere around 220w), although i like the look of VHO actinics better. Even a pair of 175w metal halides If your into clams, sps (acros and montis), then its dual 250's, or maybe even dual 400's if you like to dive into things. Dual 250w metal halides would probably be a good balance, its not as bright as 400's that can bleach out softies and some LPS, but its enough you could keep almost anything in the top half or third of the rockwork up close to the lights. I had a 90g with dual 175w halides on it until recently (softies and LPS only), and i wish i had gotten 250's to begin with. Even if you dont get caught up in sps corals, starting out with halides tends to save upgrading. Dual 175w retro kits (everything to put INTO the hood) can be around $300-400 including bulbs. Higher wattages are a little more. Even 440w VHO's would allow you to keep just about anything short of the more demanding sps's and clams, but there isnt much of a price difference between that and a couple 250's. your paying for the ballast, sockets, cords, reflectors, and bulbs Edited February 10, 2005 by BlkWolfe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtac Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 As BW mentioned...it all depends on what you plan on keeping. If the cost of hydro is an issue, HO-T5's and PC's will do the trick for soft coral and LPS. SPS will do fine but it's bright colors will become drab looking. Don't let the cost of MH bulbs fool you. I got burned on "cheap" 10,000K SE (single end) and HQI/DE (double end) bulbs. The cheapest reliable SE bulbs I have found for $100CDN. Then it comes to matching MH bulbs to the ballast if you're going to DIY. I have a client that has SPS in his 90 bow under 2x175watt SE 10,000K of lighting and it looks fabulous. Also, when it comes to SPS, keep Ca @400-425mg/L and alk @3 meqv/L (kH 10-14dKH) and lots of water movement. You can go up to 400watt on the MH but becareful introducing new coral and they can get "burned" or bleach. Suffice to say, 250watt is the max I would go per bulb if you don't want to bother with the lighting acclimatization. Also, when you get that high in wattage, be prepared to fight algae blooms. The easiest way is to keep a short photo period. Once you get that under control and the corals are filling in nicely, keep an eye on Ca and alk and they tend to deplete quickly. Depending on how quickly Ca and alk get below optimal range, budget and time constraints, a Ca reactor would eleviate that problem. JM2C Wilson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neely Posted February 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 :well: .... i forgot to mention i dont know anything about salt water so LPS, SPS, MH, PC's, HQI/DE,VHO are all french to me. Anyone care to explain before i have a chance to sit down and dive into SW/lighting forum? if i were to start with a 25 or 33 gallon SW tank what would i be looking at for fish i can keep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 :well: .... i forgot to mention i dont know anything about salt water so LPS, SPS, MH, PC's, HQI/DE,VHO are all french to me. Anyone care to explain before i have a chance to sit down and dive into SW/lighting forum? if i were to start with a 25 or 33 gallon SW tank what would i be looking at for fish i can keep? LPS = Large Polyp Stony (coral) SPS = Small Polyp Stony (coral) MH = Metal Halide (Lighting) PC = Power Compact (Lighting) HQI/DE = high quality illumination / Double Ended (Lighting) VHO = Very High Output (Lighting) Hope this helps. :beer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neely Posted February 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2005 thanks much muck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarleyBeautiful Posted February 13, 2005 Report Share Posted February 13, 2005 as far as fish for a 25 or 33 gallon a great starter is the damsel. It is one of the cheapest sw fish and is very hardy. They also have lots of personality and color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted February 13, 2005 Report Share Posted February 13, 2005 as far as fish for a 25 or 33 gallon a great starter is the damsel. It is one of the cheapest sw fish and is very hardy. They also have lots of personality and color. and most become real mean SOB's when they mature... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtac Posted February 13, 2005 Report Share Posted February 13, 2005 Another cheapy is green chromis...it doesn't get territorial/aggressive like damsels. For a smallish aquarium, you'll regret getting damsels down the road. If you want an idea of what you can do with a 35 here's the post with all the doodads of my 35. wtac's 35 reef HTH Wilson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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