Lighting question

[Civicdemon]

Hi i have a 125gl tank and im thinking of doing corals now. I came acros a deal for a 6 foot fixture that holds 4 36inch inch 96 watt PC bulbs. Would this be good for my tank to keep corals? ? He said the brand name on it is seaworld? ?? Im confused if he meant sealife. But yeah just wondering if this would work im thinking of getting some soft corals but i like hard corals better. Anyways just let me know what you think i can pick it up tomorrow for 150$the new. Or 100$ used

 

[bjohanson1234]

I would pass on that fixture. PC lighting is less intense than t5 so you need more. Plus they tend to need changing every 6 months or so.

 

[Bifferwine]

I don't think that is going to be strong enough to keep corals in a 125.

 

[Civicdemon]

Would i be better of just getting a couple 120 watt set of LED's ?

 

[Civicdemon]

So WHat if i got with 4 T5 bulbs ??? would that be plenty for my tank to grow both lps and sps corals ??

 

[Civicdemon]

Zoo Med AquaSun T-5 HO Double Light Linear Fluorescent Hood at PETCO

would these work with one on each side ??? maybe 2 on each side ??

 

[Bifferwine]

You need more than 4 T5 bulbs. 4 T5 bulbs are sufficient for a 55 gallon tank -- and even that's pushing it for SPS corals. You will need a lot more light for a 125. That's probably the biggest challenge for having a large reef tank -- lighting gets so much more expensive in larger tanks.

For T5s, you want to have at least 4 watts per gallon. The biggest T5 bulb you can get is 4' long, and 54 watts. For a 125 gallon tank, you want at least 500 watts of light (T5). This rule of thumb doesn't hold true for other types of lighting, but for T5s, that's like 10 bulbs over your tank. 4 bulbs isn't anywhere near that.

You may be better off looking into metal halide. Metal halide is much better for larger tanks. LEDs work too, but they are so much more expensive.

Also, don't shop for stuff like lighting at Petco. They don't carry saltwater stuff. That light you linked to is for freshwater. You'd need like 8 of those fixtures for your tank if you want reef lighting.

Start browsing saltwater specialty places for equipment:

ReefGeek > Aquarium Supplies for Marine, Reef, and Saltwater Aquariums
Aquarium Supplies, Fish Aquarium Tanks, Fish Supplies, Aquarium Lighting and more!
Pet Supplies | Dog & Cat Supplies, Pet Meds | DrsFosterSmith.com Pet Products

etc.

What is the length of your tank?

 

[Civicdemon]

well they do have this one.

Aqua Medic Ocean Light Plus Aquarium Light Fixture at PETCO

but ill provably have to wait till next month to get this one. i would get the 72 inch with 3 MH at 150w and 2 t5s at 80w.