What kind of lighting system is best for a 20 gallon reef system??
- Thread starter saltwater84
- Start date
A twin T5 fisxture will allow you to keep most anything you want over that size of tank assuming it isn't ridiculously deep. They are slightly more efficient than PC's. PC's are a decent alternative. PC's need new bulbs every 6 months, T5's last better
Ifthe tank is very deep and you do want to keep 'anything' and high light like clams you might consider a single 150 watt MH though it will give you heat issues. They're not much more than a PC fixture, but you will invariably need an autotopup as well as the evap will be heavy.
Ifthe tank is very deep and you do want to keep 'anything' and high light like clams you might consider a single 150 watt MH though it will give you heat issues. They're not much more than a PC fixture, but you will invariably need an autotopup as well as the evap will be heavy.
Well how big is the tank (dimensions not gallons) and what do you want to keep?
Assuming it is a 30 inch long tank I would be really , really torn between a twin T5 fixture and a single 150 watt MH. I think what I wanted to keep would be the crunch for me, and where the tank would be - air conditioned, min max air temps. Also do you have enough cash to spring for an autottopup?
I used T5's for a while, and had a twin HO fixture from Deltec over a 30 with 16 inches of water. This was 2*24 watts, so was only 48 watts, in theory 1.5 watts per gallon (so everything should die). However I was able to grow some sps, stony corals , polyps and softies quite nicely with this HOWEVER you need to really be on the ball with water clarity and yellowing (principally water changes and using carbon to fix that). So 2 of these fixtures would have been a great help and allow some slack.
However a rig for 4 times T5 would cost me MORE than a single 150 watt MH pendant from aquamedic, arcadia or geisemann. The advantages the T5's had for me was you can get them in a standard hood (tho' in my case it took a bit of 'selfhelp')- the disadvantage was MORE wiring to look after.
After a while I woshed I'd got the MH - I really like simple wiring, and I wanted the glitter lines. I can live with the evaporation, and you know, overheating isn't a big deal in Norway.
IF you go for T5's , make sure you get good bulbs, preferably from a german maker - some of the chinese ones aren't very good. Also make sure each bulb has a separate 'gullwing' reflector. Part of the advantage these things have is optimised reflectors that reflect all the light into the tank rather than beaming some back into the bulb. If you see 2 or 4 sharing a reflector, that's not happening, and I tihnk that's about a 15% loss of light. I really am loathe to recommend brands as I livei neurope, so my stuff is from Deltec, aqua-Medic et al.
Assuming it is a 30 inch long tank I would be really , really torn between a twin T5 fixture and a single 150 watt MH. I think what I wanted to keep would be the crunch for me, and where the tank would be - air conditioned, min max air temps. Also do you have enough cash to spring for an autottopup?
I used T5's for a while, and had a twin HO fixture from Deltec over a 30 with 16 inches of water. This was 2*24 watts, so was only 48 watts, in theory 1.5 watts per gallon (so everything should die). However I was able to grow some sps, stony corals , polyps and softies quite nicely with this HOWEVER you need to really be on the ball with water clarity and yellowing (principally water changes and using carbon to fix that). So 2 of these fixtures would have been a great help and allow some slack.
However a rig for 4 times T5 would cost me MORE than a single 150 watt MH pendant from aquamedic, arcadia or geisemann. The advantages the T5's had for me was you can get them in a standard hood (tho' in my case it took a bit of 'selfhelp')- the disadvantage was MORE wiring to look after.
After a while I woshed I'd got the MH - I really like simple wiring, and I wanted the glitter lines. I can live with the evaporation, and you know, overheating isn't a big deal in Norway.
IF you go for T5's , make sure you get good bulbs, preferably from a german maker - some of the chinese ones aren't very good. Also make sure each bulb has a separate 'gullwing' reflector. Part of the advantage these things have is optimised reflectors that reflect all the light into the tank rather than beaming some back into the bulb. If you see 2 or 4 sharing a reflector, that's not happening, and I tihnk that's about a 15% loss of light. I really am loathe to recommend brands as I livei neurope, so my stuff is from Deltec, aqua-Medic et al.
I just got this one (arrived this morning actually) and so far am very happy with it:
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=243
yes, there are better light systems, but you just cant beat the price.
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=243
yes, there are better light systems, but you just cant beat the price.
