Now i really feel like a Noob

[HeavyHittah]

As you all know by now, im going for a 75 gallon mixed reef setup. And at first i was thinking about retrofitting t5's to my canopy(6 bulbs, maybe 8)?? But now im thinking about just buying the fixture. The thing is that, when i open my canopy i want to be able to have room to aquascape or whatever else i need to do. I thought some fixtures came with little wheels on them but i think im wrong now because i havent seen any.

If it were you, would you retrofit the t5's or just buy the fixture??

 

[Bifferwine]

I'm not a DIY person at all, so I'd just buy them. I know it's often much cheaper to retrofit and a lot of people get satisfaction out of accomplishing it themselves and like being able to customize, but I don't have the ability to do so. If you do, I'd say go with the retrofit, I think you'd be much happier in the long run.

 

[HeavyHittah]

thanx biff.

 

[reeffreak]

If you want to use the wood canopy than you may have no choice but to go with retros unless you want to modify it.

 

[Doc]

Dominick brings up a good point. You very well may have no choice in the matter if your canopy will not allow for the space needed for a fixture. I am not a fan of canopies myself and I will not own one. For me, it seems as if they heat up the water too much and are a pain in the ass for me to get my hands in the tank. Up to you and your plans.

-Doc

 

[fatman]

THe cheapest easiest way to have working ability with your tank is to use a lamp fixture suspension kit. Your light basically is just hung from the ceiling. Just push it or pull it out of the way. Cheap ones normally seen are not adjustable. To get an adjustable one you would probably need to go to a lighting store for regular house lighting. They have lights with chains as in the days of swag lamps and retractable cable ceiling mounts which are fully adjustable.

 

[HeavyHittah]

do you still have a dusk/dawn effect with retro's?

 

[NewbReefer]

I would think you could wire the retros so that different bulbs and ballasts are on different timers giving you a dusk dawn effect. might want to ask someone that has done retros before, i have not.

 

[RyanG]

Heavy Newb has it right you can wire the bulbs in any fashion you like. The more power cables you have the more dusk/dawn ability you will be able to maintain. Two bulbs per power cord is what I would use. Actinics-Daylights-Actinics is what I would use and do it all through a controller or timers.