Light I'm considering....have questions

fanmankc

Reefing newb
I am new to the saltwater world, and am in the process of setting up my first SW tank. I have read through many posts on this site and have realized how important having the right light is. I am looking to have no limits on what I can grow in this tank in the future, so..... would this light be sufficient for a 29 gal?

http://cgi.ebay.com/24-Metal-Halide...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50

I would like to keep the cost of my light somewhat reasonable, but am willing to pay extra to avoid future roadblocks. I seem to be having a hard time locating a selection of T5 lights that fit the 4 watt rule that fit a 29 gal. Any suggestions and comments are welcome and much appreciated.
 
I am new to the saltwater world, and am in the process of setting up my first SW tank. I have read through many posts on this site and have realized how important having the right light is. I am looking to have no limits on what I can grow in this tank in the future, so..... would this light be sufficient for a 29 gal?

http://cgi.ebay.com/24-Metal-Halide...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50

I would like to keep the cost of my light somewhat reasonable, but am willing to pay extra to avoid future roadblocks. I seem to be having a hard time locating a selection of T5 lights that fit the 4 watt rule that fit a 29 gal. Any suggestions and comments are welcome and much appreciated.

Make sure to ask the seller about the fixture and its ballasts. Many of these fixtures use cheap chinese made ballasts, and you can tell a huge difference in output. If it uses cheap bulbs, you're going to have to replace them much sooner than a fixture with better bulbs. Cheap ballasts also help that out. While a higher quality fixture costs more money, it'll pay for itself in the long run in not having to replace it or parts of it, and will have a higher resale when you go to upgrade.

And the watts per gallon rule does not apply in saltwater. It's all about the type of coral, depth of the tank, and type of light. If you are trying to get a setup that will put out some great light, work for what you have, and go with you no matter how big your future tanks get, then look into an IceCap 660 T5 ballast. For the same price as that setup, you can do a nice 4 bulb setup. And the 660 will overdrive all the bulbs, it's pretty sweet.
 
+1 ndepratt

I've known a couple people who have bought "inexpensive fixtures" from ebay..... and it's usually a case of...... you get what you pay for! be careful......
 
T5s don't really follow the watts per gallon rule either, because you get better output from them. You should be able to keep whatever you want with T5s, and for a tank that size, I'd recommend them over metal halides because of the heat issues. A small tank is likely to overheat very quickly if it has hot halides over it, vs. T5s.
 
I want to echo the other post about being careful about what you get from E-bay. I tried buying equipment this way and got burnt a couple of times.
The light however looks good for what you want. Let us know what you decide!
 
Thank you for all of your responses so far. I really appreciate it!! I emailed the seller about the ballasts, and to give me some more info about the construction of it. I appreciate the heads up about ebay. I was thinking in the back of my mind, to be careful, as I too have been burnt on ebay with other products.

Bifferwine...I find it interesting that you say the T5 fixtures don't necessarily follow the watt per gal. rule. I have always stuck with freshweater and never grew anything to speak of in my tanks. I assumed that this pertained to all of the fixtures for SW lighting. So, going off of what you have said, would you think that this light would be sufficient for what I am trying to achieve?

http://www.petsolutions.com/Nova-Extreme-X2-T5HO-Fixtures+I42901124+C40001722.aspx

I was basically shying away from these type fixtures because they didn't seem to supply enough power to do what I want to do. This is good news if I were wrong about this!! Thanks for the heads up about the halides heating up the water....I hadn't really considered that.

If anyone has had any success with a certain type of fixture on a 29 gal, or something close to that in size, please let me know. I would like to make this purchase asap, but also want to make a good and educated choice. I am far more interested in the corals, than I am the fish at this point.

Again, thank you for all of your advice everyone.....it has helped me tremendously so far!!!
 
The Nova Extreme Pro or the Sunlight Supply Tek lights would be my bottom choices if you are looking to never have to worry about upgrading your lights.

The reason Biff says the watt/gallon rule doesn't apply is because apparently a T5 fluorescent puts out more lumen/watt that a comparable MH or compact fluorescent fixture. Therefore, you can achieve the same brightness with less watts.
 
Hey man,

I'm in the same situation, looking for a good light fixture. I've been trying to track down a 30" Nova Sundial for a decent price. Reason being: T5s produce HO lighting with less heat and reasonable watt usage, 4X24 lamps (which are each individually reflected!!), built in timers and lunar lights. Its pretty pricey but just as everyone has said and what I've learned from "You get what you pay for." Best of luck to you and if anyone has some feedback on the Sundial I'd LOVE to hear about it. Thanks guys. Hope I helped.
 
Thanks for the ideas and suggestions on the light fixture!!! I really like the looks of the link that Melonbob sent, but would it be ok that it is 10" shorter than my tank? I also really like the looks of the light that yote posted, but cosmetically, I don't want my light to be longer than my tank. I wish that light was made in 24" or 30". Thanks again everyone....you've been a great help!!
 
Thats just 5" on each side of tank.Which you could use for things like mushrooms and other lower light corals.But you'll have to figure out a way to hang the fixture since the legs are made to sit on the ends of the tank.
Another option would be to build a canopy with a set of retro-fit T-5s.That way you can stagger the bulbs to cover the entire tank.

Welcome to the site Mr Sniffles.
 
The fixture MelonBob posted you'd have to suspend by wire above your tank. (Great deal for that kinda power! Kinda changing my mind towards this!!) However, you could try using this kind of mounting bracket.

http://www.opentip.com/Home-Garden/Aqualight-Adjustable-Mounting-Legs-p-515442.html

There are some other styles out there, but from that example I'm sure you get the idea of it. :)

I'm a stiffler for clean lines as well so the 2.5" overlap would drive me INSANE!!

Here's the lighting that I recommended. It's only 98Watts so I don't think you could do stonies, but it's 30" with all the bells and whistles.

http://reef-smart.com/cuusanosut5a1.html

And remember that those other Pro models don't have lunar lights, night viewing/spawing, so you'd be investing some more $$ in those. They're not pricey but still.... Although it's nice to be able to choose w/e lunar fixture you'd like.

Sorry if any info is wrong. I'M A NOOB! (kinda) All you can do is research and READ, READ, READ!

Thanks Yote!
 
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