Lighting questions for a 50-g reef

[onehawksfan]

I'm very excited to start my new 50 gallon tank! I need help on deciding what type of lighting I should use. I would like to build a hood (not a pendant or hang-down style) to keep the lights in.

I am debating between (2) 175W halides, or (1) 250W halide plus (2) 65W CF, or (6) 39W T-5 lights. I am probably making my own hood, so I would be getting retrofit kits, or something. I am looking for the biggest bang for my buck! I would like to be able to keep just about anything in my tank (LPS, SPS, clams).

My friend has a 46g bowfront with (2) 175W halides and it looks great! He does seem to have heat issues though (85+ degrees in a 69 degree house). Would a single 250W halide with two 65W CF be cooler?

I've heard that T-5s can get hot too, any comments or suggestions? How do they compare to halides? I heard you can "over-drive" them to 80plus watts a bulb? Is this safe? If so, I could probably need only 4.

Thanks everyone! Any wisdom you can offer is greatly appreciated!

 

[Krish]

What are the actual dimensions of the tank? "They say" one halide bulb for every 2 feet of tank space, but depending on the dimensions of the tank and on what you plan to keep will determine what to go with.

 

[Scooterman]

Yup how deep & how long? Depending on what you want to keep, T5's do run cooler than MH, & you can grow lots with just them.

 

[onehawksfan]

The tank is 36" long, and 20" tall and 15" wide. Sounds too long for a single halide then?

What about "overdriving" T-5s? Anybody heard about this?

 

[prbhasson]

Yeah, use an Icecap 660 ballast and you can overdrive the t5 bulbs to 80 watts each. Use the individual reflectors and you will be able to grow anything you want under them... Good Luck

 

[onehawksfan]

so ... use a icecap 660 ballast and hookup 2 bulbs only? Will it support 3 bulbs? Does this shorten the life of the bulbs? I'm assuming it cancels any warranties on the ballast, right? Anyone else done this before?

 

[LakeEd]

The 660 will run 4-110W VHO bulbs... so I would guess it would also push 4 of the T-5's... at 80W???

I found a 4-light wiring diagram for their 660, but nothing about the T-5's.
http://www.icecapinc.com/660-4.htm

 

[onehawksfan]

Thank you Ed. I'm gonna research t-5s some more and I'm still considering the halides. Anyone else have something to add?

 

[Scooterman]

When IC660 was first being used to drive the T5's, Andy told me to only drive two but now I think they do drive 4 & 48" T5's produce 55 watts each, the 72" lamps drive 80W, the length of the lamp determines the listed rating, along with a ballast that will or can overdrive them. Unless you plan on keeping Clams, & the light loving sps your fine with T5's, the only down fall they claim you can use them up to 2 years, I think If your trying to grow sps people found that 6 months was about time needed to replace them. I've found lots of mixed information on that part, but It will sustain most everything else for some time, the key to these lights Is using good reflectors.

 

[morgan]

i have a 50gl, i have 1 400watt mh 14000k bulb soon to be a 20,000k bulb
i have no complaints about 1 bulb and neaither do my corals they are all healthy and growning like stupid i keep goniopras, acro lps and softies with no trouble at all temp might be a little concern but mine sits between 24.7 to 26.1
if u want a pick ill post one

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Why not run VHOs?

 

[onehawksfan]

Regarding VHOs - I thought T-5s would be more compact so I could easily fit more lamps inside my hood. My tank is only 36" long, so even with the T-5s, I have to buy the smaller ones (I think they're 35W each). And halides have a reputation as being the lamp of choice for corals (I've been told). I'm interested in what your setup looks like Morgan! (aka "I want a pic") That might be an interesting option. Do you run it in a hood or a pendant?

 

[onehawksfan]

I've decided on a single 250w halide (10k) with spider reflector for my 36" long tank. The base of the light/reflector will be mounted 12" above the water. Any thoughts on if this is adequate? I would eventually like to try a couple sps corals and maxima clams and add some actinic lighting. My rock will be built like an island away from all sides of the glass with plenty of random flow. Will this single lamp be adequate? Has anybody used something similar?