lighting question for 29g tank
 

I have read the consenses on this site that T5 are much better than power compacts. I have one main concern I have a 29 g, it is 30 in ches long. The pnly place i know that carries T5 for this size tank is that poet place and at most is 4 24 watts bulbs. Whereas a power compacft would offer much more lighting 130 watts compared to 96 watts. plus alot cheaper the t5 is almost 250 bucks compaed to 175 for poweer compact. What do ppl suggest. And no i do want to buy a retrofit kit and istall in canopy i want a ready built fixture.

light
 

I have a 150 14k viper k2 hqi clamp on on the same tank http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/y...0218102122.jpgreal bright kinda blue

It's my understanding that with T5s you have abandon the old watts per gallon way of thinking. Yes, the PCs have higher watts but they are not very efficiant. Much of their energy is lost in heat rather than usable radiation. That is where the T5s really shine, the T5s put out much more PAR for less watts.

so would 96 watts of light be enough for my 29g tank for some soft corals and maybe a few sps and lps corals or should i just stick to soft with this amount of lighting

With a good setup you will be able to keep whatever you want. A cheap fixture with cheap bulbs and cheap reflectors will limit what you can keep. With a decent fixture and good bulbs, you should be set for just about anything.

thanks
 

now i know what lights im getting at least

i am looking inot light fixtures and have found a 48 watt fixture for 90 dollars would two fof this fixtures back to back be ok for my tanki o rshould i just buy pone fixture that house 96 watts it is much cheaetr for me to buy two fictures at 90 bucks a piece then one for 300

i am nixing the seahorse tank do to the high cost of seahorses and their fragility. Instead im going with a larger 29 gallon tank and would like to make it a soft coral tank with some mushrooms xenia and zoanthids and few other things. As for lighting and filtration im abit confused. Every tells me t5 are better could u have soft corals in tank with 48 watts of t5 lighting or some units have 62 watts because there 2 31 wwatt bulbs. I really dont wantr to spend 250 on lighting. As for filtration i was gointg to go with a reef octopus hnag on skimmer rated for 90 galloins from salty critter. And maybe use a n aguaclear power filter to run carbon purigien or poly filters. I am transporting 10 punds of live rock from my current tank and plan on buying about 25 pounds more and adding more sand. I am as i said coinfuse don lighitng and filtration.

Skip the skimmer and spend it on the lighting. water changes will be more efficient on that tank.

The cheap 90 dollar fixtures are cheap. Bad reflectors and crappy bulbs. I am also pretty sure that the 31 watt bulbs you were talking about are made by Coralife. If that is true then stay away from those. They are garbage. I had the chance to deal with one the other day and I was totally unimpressed. A normal power compact bulb that you use in your home was brighter than those bulbs.

For a softies tank you don't need anything crazy but I would still invest in a decent fixture and just change the bulbs later down the road. A Current USA or Aquatic Life fixture would be great.