Larsen611 Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 I plan on making my 40 gallon into a reef tank. What is the preferable lighting of choice, mind you im not the richest person, but im not super poor either. my tank is 39 inches long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 You could go any where from DIY GU10 LEDs to those super fancy AquaIllumination SOLs. What corals are you planning to keep? Do you have a budget in mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 look at canreef the lighting options are almost endless either you pay $100's or you need to build it yourself from parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen611 Posted August 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 I have a set of 2 short coralife ones that came with my fish, I might try to fix em to make em long enough for my tank, apparently they cost $200, but who knows...might try to tade?????? thoughts? My budget on lights would be roughly 2-3 hundred. Not sure on my corals right now, I have button corals and polyps and mushrooms at the moment(staying at a friends till my tank is ready) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 check out some of the lights from http://finnex.ca/ . They seem to be a good bang for the buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen611 Posted August 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 thanks, will check it out!!! Was also wondering if you knew about water hardness and if it will really affect my corals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMAX Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 It all depends on what kind of corals you want to keep. Same goes for your KH. If you only want to keep mushrooms and other softies, then PCs are fine. Start stepping up into LPS and SPS and clams then you'll need T5s, MH or high end LEDs. If your plans include keeping SPS and clams, then you'll need a reliable way of delivering alk (which determines your KH or hardness), calcium and magnesium into your water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocd Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Totally agree with MMAX I've kept a reef for 14 years and went through halide which are great for everything BUT they can overheat your tank causing evaporation and sometimes making a chiller needed also bulbs need replace every 8 to 10 months. T5 I would recommend not as hot price point good still have to replace bulb every 8 to 10 months. LED if you don't want the replacement bulb fee and many are programmable to colour spectrum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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