What lighting should I get????

[IShark]

I have a 95 gal tank. 60x18x20. So its about 20" high. I am going to have a reef tank and mostly have torch, frogspawn, brain, clam, and some anemones(long tip and bubble), So i was wondering what lights to get. I almost got 2 250W MH(I heard MH were the best) and then some1 told me to just to T5's with like 4 bulbs and i could always add more and the 250 MH would be overkill. Could someone shead some light on me and point me in the right directions on what lights i should get?

[Mavrk]

T5 vs MH in that case is a personal choice. Either will work. With the T5s, 4 bulbs with a good ballast and quality individual reflectors would work. You might want 6 bulbs depending on the clam you want. But at that height you should be fine with 4. Six will allow you to play with colors more too (i.e. bulb choice).

[IShark]

I live in texas so it can get pretty hot and i know those MH give off heat. I thought T5's produced less heat and used less energy as well?

[Mavrk]

Originally Posted by IShark

I live in texas so it can get pretty hot and i know those MH give off heat. I thought T5's produced less heat and used less energy as well?

They do. That is part of the appeal. MH have a shimmer that is pretty cool though. I have a 90 (not long... basically a tall 75). I have 4 T5 retro fits and my open brain does great at the bottom, my frogspawn was great at mid level (I never tried it lower) until I removed it, and my RBTA has its foot at the bottom and is not reaching up a lot to get more light. I never had a torch. With proper placement you can keep just about anything. Since you have a 20 inch and will most likely have sand, you should get even more par than I do. Choose the right bulbs and you will be happy with the T5s. Four or six bulbs is debatable as either will work.

[thegrun]

I think you will need to use a 6 bulb fixture if you plan on keeping a clam with T-5's. 60" is a difficult width for MH, as 24" centers works best for them. If you only use two MH lights, it will be slightly darker in the middle and sides of the tank if you space them evenly, I would center them at 24" and let the sides be darker. LED lights are a big investment upfront, but the bulbs last for years and in the long run will save you money on electricty and replacement bulbs (and run cooler).

[IShark]

Im leaning more toward the T5's. What bulbs do u use MavrK?

[Mavrk]

Originally Posted by IShark

Im leaning more toward the T5's. What bulbs do u use MavrK?

Do you have a canopy? There are some nice retrofits.

For bulbs, I like ATI Blue+, ATI Aquablue Special, GE 6500k, UVL Actinic White, Fiji Purple (although ATI just came out with a Pro Purple that doesn't cost as much and is about the same thing... I like ATI bulbs), 75/25 (I forget the manufacturer right now for some reason).

Of course then you have to choose which ones to run.

I am currently running 2 blue+, 1 Aquablue Special, and 1 Fiji Purple (the ATI Pro Purple hadn't been brought to the US when I ordered my last bulbs).

I got the fiji because I wanted to bring out the red/pink in my RBTA. I was running 3 blue+ and 1 Actinic White. That was a nice color too. Those are the two that I have liked out of my choices thus far. There are more combinations I will try out eventually.

What do you want from your lights? More blue? White? Yellow? Red? A straight actinic does not give a lot of par, so on a 4 bulb I would skip it and just use a combo bulb.

[IShark]

I dont have canopy, but i have plans on making one. I like the blue and white.