Help With Lighting on 90gal tank

ctdragonpr

ctdragonpr

Medium Fish
#1
Apr 12, 2006
68
0
0
Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
#1
hi i was thinking of changing my lights for a less heat producing light wich one are the best. i currently have a 4 65w power compacts fixture wiht 4 moon lights 2 10k bulbs and 2 true actinic bulbs and i heard that t5 bulbs tend to heat less than power compacts and normal florecesent but are they better than the current lights that i am using cause i dont wanna go and buy an expensive metal halide fixture i just want something better than power compacts some help would be nice
 

ctdragonpr

ctdragonpr

Medium Fish
#4
Apr 12, 2006
68
0
0
Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
#4
ok good so they are better but not like the mh but im selling my old fixture at a good price here in pr and i could get two quad t5 fixtures for the price of mine and the produce less heat and that good cause i dont have a chiller .
but i was asking cause a friend of mine told me that t5 are not very good in coral tanks that they are not proven as a good lighting source for corals but i only have soft corals and a few i dont think i need a big mh fixture that will put my tanks temp in the sky and plus here in pr the temp is high on summer
 

TRe

TRe

Elite Fish
#5
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#5
are you really having heat issues with pc's?? i had 4 x 65w pc's over my 55g for a while with no heat issues what so ever..... t5's are actually proven to be way better than pc's for corals ;) .....if you can upgrade to t5's for little or no $ than go for it yur corals will thank you :D btw ive heard of people even keeping clams under t5's so if all u keep are softies than youll be fine
 

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Panther28

Panther28

Superstar Fish
#6
Jun 7, 2006
1,024
0
0
Fremont, CA 94536
#6
I have a 90 gallon. With 2x 250 watts MH and 2 x 55 watts T5 lighting. And I have been able to keep the temp under control in between 79 F - 81 F. I have 2 x 4" fans in the canopy plus 2 more 6" fans on the side of the canopy and 1 x 6" fan on my sump. The only problem is evaporation. I loose about 2.5 gallons everyday which is toped off by my ATO from a 5 gallon reservoir tank. Oh and if the temp goes higher then I just switch on my room AC I got for $89. Much cheaper then a chiller($600+ for a 90 G). I don't think you can post pics that big in your signature. Anyways WOW for the Caroline algae growth..
 

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ctdragonpr

ctdragonpr

Medium Fish
#8
Apr 12, 2006
68
0
0
Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
#8
well im not really having heat issues is that here there are hot days and cool days and the temp keeps fluctuating so i dont wanna be running the metal halides that will make my tank hotter and them at night the temp will go down a lot since the light will be off u now the those rises and drops on temp are risky so like to keep the temp on check at all time since i dont have a chiller but that my next move a 1/4 chiller to hook up and never think of temp changes again

and those rock if u dont belive me were white a year ago 100 percent white dead rock and look at them now and thats thanks to my purple up bottle the only additive i really put in there monthly
 

Brack-Man

Brack-Man

Large Fish
#12
Jan 18, 2006
267
3
0
52
In the cardboard box my fish tank came in
#12
Like TRe said, T-5 fixtures are excellent for corals, and with the right fixture, and the right bulbs they can easily penetrate to the bottom of a 90 gal tank and you would be able to keep pretty much any type of coral you wanted. T-5's are by far better than PC's. If you can get T-5's for what you can sell your PC's for, then do it. Now, if your having a temp fluctuation problem, warmer in the day with lights on, cooling down too much at night with lights off, why not change your lighting schedule and run your lights more in the evenings or at night and leave them off during the day, that might help nwith the fluctuations some .
 

Lotus

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#14
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#14
From what I understand, you need to get a T5 fixture that has individual reflectors on each bulb for the best results.

Due to the heat we have where we live, we're probably going to spend $$$$ on a Solaris LED system. We figure the longer life of the bulbs and the lowered costs of keeping the house/tank cold will make it worth it.... eventually. With 100+ days with temps over 100 each year, those $600 electricity bills in summer get pretty tiresome (and that's without a reef tank).
 

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