Lights again

[returnofsid]

Bulb recommendation depends on what types of corals you want to keep and what kind of a look you want. Do you like a crisp white look or do you prefer more of a blue look to the lighting? Some blue can bring out the colors of your corals more, but some people prefer the white lighting more.

My bulb configuration is as follows, and is slightly too blue for me, but most like it:
Front to Back
ATI 54W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent
UV Lighting 54W Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent
ATI 54W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO Fluorescent
GE 54W 3000K Daylight T5 HO Fluorescent
UV Lighting 54W 10000K AquaSun T5 HO Fluorescent
ATI 54W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent

 

[gotfish]

Alot of people run the same bulbs as what Sid just listed. In fact I have pretty much the same setup except instead of having the aquasun, I have another aquablue. It gives a little more blue to the tank which I like myself. Another nice one people are suggesting now would be replacing the UVL super actinic with a fiji purple made by korallen zucht. Much higher par level, but also has the same properties as the actinic in bringing out fluorescence in corals.

As far as going with any particular fixture, Tek makes nice fixtures. The issue most have with them is salt creep and staining of the reflectors. Basically you have to make sure you keep them clean. If you're on a budget and it seems like you are, check out the nova extreme pro's. http://www.petmountain.com/product/aquariuim-light-fixtures/514049/48-inch-6-x-54-watt-1081-.html That is the cheapest place to buy them. In actual testing, the par level between this and a Tek fixture are very close. The tek does have better reflectors, but it doesn't have active cooling which hurts the par level. Add in the fact that if you run an acrylic shield with the Tek to not have to worry about salt creep, which makes the Nova Extreme pro pretty much even on par levels and the price difference, this is the reason I went with the nova extreme pro.

 

[marlinmero]

right now i have a clam sum mushrroms a hairy mushroom and a montipora and a goniopora and a green ricordia and a few zooanthids. wouldnt mind gettin some gorgonias or this one coo coral i saw its bright red with lil white flowers on it. and just sum more colorful corals

 

[gotfish]

If you wondering if the Nova would be able to be enough light for a clam on the sand, it should be. I've seen pictures people have posted in the Nova extreme pro owners thread over on reefcentral.com that have pretty amazing tanks with the fixture. I know I've seen ones with clams on the sand bed.

 

[marlinmero]

return of sid was asking what kind of corals i plan on keeping thats why the list. but i would like to keep my clam low to prevent him from jumping off the rocks again

 

[returnofsid]

That will also be dependent on the species of clam you have. Some clams are naturally sand dwellers and some clams are naturally rock dwellers.

 

[marlinmero]

a crocea i do believe is what it is

 

[returnofsid]

T. croceas are one of the highest light demanding of all the clams. They naturally live on the sand bed, but they can be put in the rock work, to get them closer to the light. I have 2 that are both in the rocks. I started them in the sand, with a small rock buried beneath them. Once they attached to that rock, I moved them up higher. I have had them in the sand bed before, for longer periods of time, and they did just fine with my lighting.

 

[marlinmero]

ok i had it up on the top of the rocks for like two weeks then came home for lunch and it had let go and fell to the bottom. but now that it is in the sand its opening up a lot farther to. cant wait till i get my new light. i supplied a pic of where she was and where she is now

 

[marlinmero]

so what do you guys think is better? a a tek 5 from sunlight supply or a nova extreme from petmountain?

 

[gotfish]

so what do you guys think is better? a a tek 5 from sunlight supply or a nova extreme from petmountain?

First off, make sure you're looking at the Nova extreme pro, not just a normal nova extreme. The pro only comes in a 6 bulb configuration.

It depends on how much you want to spend. You'll have to do maintenance on the Tek in order to keep salt creep down. If you use the acrylic shield on the Tek, the unit gets hot and the performance drops. The output from the extreme pro isn't quite as good because the reflectors aren't as good, but even with that, the par levels are very close to each other. Either fixture will work fine.

 

[marlinmero]

i think im going to go with the pro. because its a hundred dollars cheaper and it has built in fans