[admann]

hi all, new to salt water (reef tanks) and i am looking for opinions on the tek light brand of t5 lighting??? also this will be for a 120 gal tank, 48x24x24, the fixture i am looking at is a 4ft 8 lamp fixture with the individual reflectors for each lamp. bulbs are only 54 watts, is this enough for sps corals? thanks ahead of time for all help. still new and all of the lighting stuff is up in the air for me. thanks agin for all help. PEACE

[glampka]

TEK is a very good brand. Individual reflectors are THE way to go with T-5.

[Six-line Wrasse]

Yes, 54W per bulb is fine. The individual reflectors increase each bulb's light output by 300%. Honestly, that's a great amount of light for an SPS tank. Even corals with high light requirements will be fine with that.

[Krazy]

Both of the Gent's above say it well

[lynnvangsnes]

Ditto what they said. I'm glad 'cause I have the same lighting set up.

[jimw369]

Yes, 54 watts, but high output. I have the tek light. HeHe. 3-14k bulbs and 3-true actinic bulbs. Im letting my tank sit for a while and Im working on a few things for the next couple months then I will post some more pics. Based on what Ive seen so far The T5 ho is hard to beat. Cheap to run also. Runs cool. The light fixture is wide so figure a way to get in your tank when you need to!

These corals are growing like crazy. I need another tank for this stuff.

[Six-line Wrasse]

Get into propagating. I propagated Xenia sp. when I had my tanks and I sold it to the LFS for $2.50 a frag in store credit. Also, my blood red Ricordia florida sold for about $50 a frag. It was crimson.

So, if you're getting great growth and you're worried about some corals outgrowing your tank, cut them up.

[admann]

Thanks for all the advice, I appreciate all the info from all posts. Looks like I get to start building my stand this week and I will order the tank next week. I will start a thread in step by step when I start and include lots of pics so I can share the experience and hopefully get some do's and dont's along the way. PEACE

[e_baer]

Is it alright to run only actinics and not 12k or 10k? I have 12k and actinic but im just curious.

[Earthboy17]

what is "LFS"?

[RyanG]

LFS=Local Fish Store

[e_baer]

so is it OK to run only actinics?

[Six-line Wrasse]

I wouldn't run only actinics. It wouldn't hurt low-light needing corals, but your high-demand corals will most likely suffer.

I would keep the ratio at 1:1 or 1:2 (actinic : 6,500 - 20,000°K)

[e_baer]

Thats what i though, but wasnt sure....I wasnt planning on swithcing to all actinic, but was just curious because others have asked me and i diidnt know the answer.

[Cela Vie]

I assume a tek lt5 light with 6 54W bulbs would be okay for 90 gallon tank (48x18x24)? Same watt per gallon as the fixture discussed above.

[admann]

Originally Posted by admann

hi all, new to salt water (reef tanks) and i am looking for opinions on the tek light brand of t5 lighting??? also this will be for a 120 gal tank, 48x24x24, the fixture i am looking at is a 4ft 8 lamp fixture with the individual reflectors for each lamp. bulbs are only 54 watts, is this enough for sps corals? thanks ahead of time for all help. still new and all of the lighting stuff is up in the air for me. thanks agin for all help. PEACE

Well I have gone to a 180 gal tank, 72x24x24, so what is my best option now? t5's only go to 48" long. Thought about 2 36" fixtures, but I can only find them in 6 bulb fixtures and the bulb's are only 39 watt. Any and all suggestions and opinions are appreciated. PEACE