the good the bad and the ugly of power compacts

[carl8232]

I’m thinking about adding power compacts to my 46 bow front but I’m not sure how to go. there seems to be a wide range in price between different brands. I was wondering what the advantages and disadvantages of some of these different brads are. are there any i should stay away from?? any help would be great
Thanks in advance


Scott

 

[MikeS]

What kind of corals do you plan on keeping? Are the PC's going to be your main light source? IMO, you may want to look at T5's or VHO's before you get PC's....

MikeS

 

[carl8232]

to start of I was just planning on doing some soft corals. the thought was to start off with the compact fluorescents and when/if I decide I want to try some of the corals with the higher light needs I could move the compact fluorescents to my freshwater planted tank and up grade the lights on my salt water tank. I haven’t really looked into the t5's the people i have been talking to have said that the cf would work fine for the softies and that they where the best bet for the money, but any other suggestions would be great. with the t5's would i need the same wattage. how do they compare?

Thanks for the help

Scott

 

[edwing206]

I agree with Mike. Eventually you'll want to get into corals and PC's won't be enough for sps and most lps and "nicer" corals.

 

[Scooterman]

Your not talking much bang for your money, PC's produce the crappiest results there is for lighting, spend a few more dollars & be done with it, besides I bet the cost difference isn't that much more, get a good reflector which would be the difference in price & your set.

 

[91YOTA]

agree on the t5s... do you hve a canopy or are you looking for a "hood" with legs etc? if you have a canopy, i would suggest a t5 retrofit from hellolights.com or another site of your choosing... be sure if you get t5 to get good individual reflectors... 2x39w should be enough and later on when you want to keep higher light corals you can just add more t5s or add a mh and use the t5s as actinic supplements... if you are looking for a hood, i reccomend tek fixtures

 

[ret25yo]

cheapest t-5's here
http://www.reeftanksupply.com/index.php?cPath=34_56_112

and here:

http://www.oceanreeflections.com/headings.aspx?prodcat=Lighting&heading=Current USA&page=1

 

[MikeS]

to start of I was just planning on doing some soft corals. the thought was to start off with the compact fluorescents and when/if I decide I want to try some of the corals with the higher light needs I could move the compact fluorescents to my freshwater planted tank and up grade the lights on my salt water tank. I haven’t really looked into the t5's the people i have been talking to have said that the cf would work fine for the softies and that they where the best bet for the money, but any other suggestions would be great. with the t5's would i need the same wattage. how do they compare?

Thanks for the help

Scott

PC's will work ok for softies, but like the others have stated, later down the road you are likely going to have to upgrade to T5's, VHO's or MH's (or a combo). Even if you plan on just softies, they will generally do better under T5's ect than PC's. Also there is an astetic issue...most don't like the way the light from PC's alone looks to the human eye. T5's really are not that much more expensive, and they give you a good foundation to expand on as your lighting needs change. As for your question about the wattage...that all depends on what your initial plan for your tank is. Also the dimensions of your tank will determine how many T5's and what lenghts you can fit over it...

MikeS

 

[91YOTA]

PC's will work ok for softies, but like the others have stated, later down the road you are likely going to have to upgrade to T5's, VHO's or MH's (or a combo). Even if you plan on just softies, they will generally do better under T5's ect than PC's. Also there is an astetic issue...most don't like the way the light from PC's alone looks to the human eye. T5's really are not that much more expensive, and they give you a good foundation to expand on as your lighting needs change. As for your question about the wattage...that all depends on what your initial plan for your tank is. Also the dimensions of your tank will determine how many T5's and what lenghts you can fit over it...

MikeS

46bow is a 36" tank

 

[RockyHeap]

Don't get caught up in nuclear lighting as a "must have you'll regret it later unless you don't buy twin 400 watt halides now" schpeel from these other people..........

Plan your tank to YOUR requirements, not other people dreams.

I happen to run 4 x 96 watt PC's and love them, low heat output, I have a plexiglass tank, and only a 6" high hood so a halide would melt the 135 gallon tank.

Yes I keep mostly softies, but many montiporas and even some acros grow fine under it.

www.ahsupply.com has some of the best prices for electronic ballasts, retrofit kits and nice reflectors, www.marinedepot.com has some nice 10K and 7100K spectrum bulbs.

I run a mix of both over the tank.

Buy bulbs for YOUR needs.

 

[MikeS]

Don't get caught up in nuclear lighting as a "must have you'll regret it later unless you don't buy twin 400 watt halides now" schpeel from these other people...........

Hmmmm...I really don't see anybody telling him to do anything like that in this thread...I do see people presenting T5's as a better alternative than PC's for a starter light setup, and giving some good reasons for it. Given the comparitive price of both setups, and the basic superiority of T5's over PC's, it's hard to make a good case for PC's over T5's IMO.

MikeS