wtb good lighting for a 55

[todrick]

i have 3 florecent bulbs right now and they are heating up my tank need better light

[gasman]

Hi, We need more info to tell you like what is in your tank now?what are you wanting to keep in your tank? Do you have a canopy? Do you have fans to pull the heat out? Please let us know.

[todrick]

right now ive got just rish and about 65 lb of live rock but i want to put coral in it and i built it in a wall so i have room and yes i have fans

[gasman]

there is a lot that add heat like pumps light power heads. The more light the more heat. you might want to look at a chiller. Alot of articles say watts per gallon. I have 6 to 7 watts per gallon on my tank with pc's. I feel that is a high amount and can put any thing in it. I have a heat problem myself. I live in South Fl. I took my heater out and it droped some. Just some things to look at.

[todrick]

what is the next best thing to metal halidi

[Bifferwine]

Probably T-5. They are cheaper than metal halide and don't get as hot, but they are less powerful.

[ReefWannabe]

right now, next thing to haildes would be t5. t5's with individual reflectors can be stronger. they still put off a bit of heat from what ive seen. then vhos and pcs.

but unless your keeping sps or clams, you wont likely need t5 or halide. One of my local reef friends has a 75 gallon with 4 vhos. 2 actinic and 2 10k i think. he has softies and a ton of zoanthids.