lighting hel?

[jerl77]

i have a 120 gallon tank looking toi keep acans and zoos in it its 72 inches long will 3 vho 72 inch bulbs work?

 

[jerl77]

or shoud i save my lunch money and get the current nova with 12 39 watt t5s

 

[Saltysteele]

on a 72" tank, i'd probably go with 60" T'5s. don't spend money on vho's, only to decide they're not what you want. t5ho's are the best bang for your buck.

i don't know much about fixtures, or how much they cost, though; i've got a retro fit in a canopy.

what are the dimensions of your tank. i know it's 72" long, but how bout width and height?

 

[jerl77]

i can get the current nova fixure for 650.00 its not to bad comes with 12 39 watt t5s

 

[Saltysteele]

not sure what that fixture looks like, or how well they hold up; i've only dealt with retro's

so, is it two rows of 6 36" lights? to me, that sounds like it would work well if you don't have a canopy. if you do have a canopy, be sure to measure, because by the time you get two pairs of endcaps, two 36" lights and the fixture added up, you'll be well over 72"

keep us updated, i'd like to see how it works

maybe someone with some fixture knowledge can jump in here

 

[pjr]

Sounds like a nice fixture --- BUT --- if you plan is acans and zoas, it's probably too much light. I like Salty's suggestion of 60" T5 bulbs. That will give you pretty good end to end coverage, and since they don't overdrive as well as the 3 foot or 4 foot bulbs, you can probably use 4 to 6 bulbs and not scald those expensive acans!

 

[Saltysteele]

good point, pat. that is something i meant to say, but forgot.

i've got vho's now, and will be switching to T5ho's here shortly. the vho's only last about 6 months (i'm on month 7, and everything is starting to brown out ). i was going to say, vho's are plenty light for zoa's and acans, and pretty much all lps and softies, but they don't last that long. t5's, i've read, can last up to a year. plus, many more color options with T5's now, and they're cheaper bulbs than vho's. my 60" vho's were about 30-35 a bulb, depending on actinic vs actinic whites.

 

[jerl77]

so 12 bulbs too much? ok i can go with 4 bulbs and if i need add more i think.

 

[TROYREEFER]

I run 6' Vho's in my 180gal and they are good for a year. I change them every christmas. have not had a problem yet.

 

[Dace]

if your just going with one type of bulb, i would go with t5' s because of all the color temperture bulb selection out there, if your going with mh then i would supplement with 6' vho bulbs. I know mh was not an option, just this is the way i would go with my lighting

 

[TROYREEFER]

Oppps. I should have mentioned that with my 6' VHO's i have three 175 MHL.

 

[jerl77]

ok going with t5 set up just save some cash frist

 

[thincat]

One point you did not explain is how deep is your tank. I say this because a 39 watt t-5 does not have the same penitration as a 54 watt or a 60watt t-5. that is why I think it was mentioned to go with the 5' t-5 unit...

 

[JK777]

hello,i was wondering what the distance between the water surface from the light bulb,if using 2 mh 250 watts 20 000 k .i'm planning for my polpy,montipora,acans,zooas and dandrophyllia.I have 180 gallons tank.Thanks for the input