Lighting for a new tank

S

Stan K

Joined
11 Jan 2008
Posts
2
Reaction score
0
Location
PE
Hi All

I am about 49% thru building a 1.5m x .6 x .6 marine tank. got a 100l sump.
Sump will incorporate a Trickle filter, DSB (10cm sea sand), then to a protein skimmer, Fluidised sand bed, UV steriliser and then return.

Spent some time researching what to put in etc but I am pretty vague on lighting.
I am intending to keep mainly fish with a few anemonies for now maybe a coral in the future. I need help on lighting, what's a T5, Metal halide etc? and how much lights do i need for this size tank.

Also I am in PE so if anyone knows suppliers in the area.

All help appreciated
 
Howzit and welcome Stan!
Firstly anemones need high lighting besides sand anemones but research your needs as most corals do well under t5(thin flourescents basically) but even better once adapted to MH.
 
Hi Stan - Welcome to MASA!

First of all - thank you for introducing yourself.

Look - for FO (Fish Only) tanks - WITHOUT anemone's, you do not require MUCH lighting - you could have gone ONLY T8's (the normal 'standard' fluorescent you usually get for fresh water systems). BUT, seeing that you are looking at ANEMONE's, and later on CORALS, I would suggest the best possible lighting that you can financially get away with....

That said - you can definitely perhaps look at the following:
- either 8 x 54 HO T5's
- OR: 2 x 150 Watt Metal Halides (you can go higher to e.g. 250watt, but my personaly opinion is that you do not need to - you get increased prices for the globes, increased electricity bills, and increased heat - together with increased light)....
AND: 2 x 54watt Actinic T5's

IF you reallty want to go FULL out and later on keep SPS corals, you can do like our esteemed coral guru, Irie Ivan does: have 5 x 150 watt Metal Halides (he has now changed to 2 x 250 watt's + 3 x 150 watts), and 6 x 54 watt HO T5's
He has a 1.5 metre tank....

The choice is all yours - AND what do you want to keep?
- Fish only - don't need ANY special lighting
- Fish + anemone's - you need decent lighting
- Fish + soft-corals (most) you need 'OK' lighting (could get away with either 4 or 6 54watt T5's) - NO anemone's
- Soft-corals, hard-corals and fish - the BEST type of lighting (strongest - not necessarily the most expensive) you can afford - eg. the highest number and wattage of T5's, Metal Halides

T5's are a specialized type of fluorescent, while Metal Halide a different, and much stronger (much higher output of light) type of spotlight (sort of comparable to halogen spotlights that you use in shop-windows, or perhaps outside your house to light the yard if someone walks past - BUT different - globes are usually FAR more expensive than halogen globes.....

Then - there's different "white colors" - e.g. different Kelvin ratings - the lower the Kelvin rating, the more "yellow" tint a light has, the higher the Kelvin rating the more "blue tint" a light/globe has.... e.g. "normal globes" (tungsten globes/bulbs) are around 3000 to 4000K, "cool white" globes are usually around 5000 to 6500K, the globes we usually use for aquarium usage, are either 10000K or 14000K (some T5's you can get in 13000K) and the "blue/actinic" lights are usually in the range of 20000K...

Hope that this has helped?

Cheers mate.
 
Stan K said:
Hi All

I am about 49% thru building a 1.5m x .6 x .6 marine tank. got a 100l sump.
Sump will incorporate a Trickle filter, DSB (10cm sea sand), then to a protein skimmer, Fluidised sand bed, UV steriliser and then return.

Spent some time researching what to put in etc but I am pretty vague on lighting.
I am intending to keep mainly fish with a few anemonies for now maybe a coral in the future. I need help on lighting, what's a T5, Metal halide etc? and how much lights do i need for this size tank.

Also I am in PE so if anyone knows suppliers in the area.

All help appreciated
Click to expand...




Hi Stan, welcome to MASA,

Your tank sounds pretty good, you have done your homework too:thumbup:

As above, anemonies need advanced lighting and care, they are not for the new reefer, but once your tank has settled down and you can keep the parameters stable, look at nems' in your tank probably you would probably only keep one - they can get to quite a size. Look at softies and lps for starter corals.
 
Welcome!i see the boys taking good care of you.keep it up boys :p
 
Hi Stan, welcome to the brady bunch :lol:

the deal palmerc is talking about is very good and will give you all the lighting you would need for now and the future expansions of your system.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom