Lighting for me?

[Gametrade]

im not finding anything on google. what kinda metal halide system would you recommend for a 48"x30"x36" tank? :roll:

[Zack]

Hey
I would get if you plan to keep corals, four 400watt MH and 4 VHO actincs. This will cost ya a good amount and all depnds on budget for you.

[Condiman]

There will be many opinions on this but zack has come close. I see no problems with that lighting setup

[Zack]

There will be many opinions on this


thats for dang sure ;)

[Condiman]

With the setup that zack gave ya you should be able to keep most corals alive and well.

[Charles Poole]

I think that 4 x 400W MH and 4 x 110W (48in.) VHO's is a bit on the extreme....

Was that a typo Zack?

Thats like 2040 Watts of lighting.

I think you could get away with 2 x 400W MH's and 2 - 4 VHO's, this may make temperature management a bit easier...

MH's are best used to cover a 24" x 24" area of tank surface. With only 6 inches left over out of the original 30". This will likely just be the back area of the tank where not much is using light anyway. No sense in my opinion of adding 2 more lights to fill in that extra 6". :wink:

[Gametrade]

FIGHT FIGHT!!!! j/k....yah im hoping it wont cost too much for a decent lighting system. :lol:

[Condiman]

If ya look around on this and other forums For Sale Items you may be able to find what you are looking for unless you want to buy new.

[Gametrade]

Do they make any special type of lighting systems for like low wattage or something like those floresent bulbs, or some kind of system that somewhat is like an amp so it doesnt actually use as much energy?

[Charles Poole]

As you will see, lighting is probably one of the single most debated topics in this hobby.

You could use the setup that Zack mentioned. This would without a doubt cover all possible lighting scenarios. Just moving the lights up and down to fine tune things. It's just not really cost effective to buy and operate IMHO. :)

I have heard that the new T-5 style fluorsecents are cheap to run, and pack a decent amount of light. I have not had the chance to test them myself yet, so I have no realy input about them.

[Gametrade]

ok...ill check out that those lights.....are they just lower wattage? or some kinda new technology light?

[Charles Poole]

New lights really. They are stonger than NO fluorescents, and have what are reported to be excellent intensities for there size and power consumption. :)