Lighting for a 55g mixed reef

[Aximiate]

Hello all, I've been looking into upgrading my lights on my 55g which currently hosts lps/softies. Duncan, xenia, kenyan tree, zoas etc. I'm wanting to try my hand at growing sps and have 2 T5s over it now and am debating on going to a 4 or 6 bulb T5 fixture. My concern is 6 bulbs being too much for the tank and 4 bulbs not being enough to keep sps in the lower-mid regions of my tank. Also, if i were to go the 6 bulb route would it be detrimental to any of my pre existing coral i want to leave in there? Im looking at the Aquatic life 48” fixtures with the 4 lunar lights if any of you have experience with them! Thank you!

 

[nereefpat]

I think a 6 bulb fixture will be wide enough that the outside bulbs will just be spilling over the edges of the 12" wide 55 gallon. I would go with a 4' long 4 bulb unit.

 

[Aximiate]

I think a 6 bulb fixture will be wide enough that the outside bulbs will just be spilling over the edges of the 12" wide 55 gallon. I would go with a 4' long 4 bulb unit.

I think a 6 bulb fixture will be wide enough that the outside bulbs will just be spilling over the edges of the 12" wide 55 gallon. I would go with a 4' long 4 bulb unit.

Think i could get away with having sps in the lower to mid regions of my tank running off 4 bulbs? Im unsure of the PAR id be getting but the tank is 13” deep and 19.5” tall. Thanks for the reply!

 

[dedragon]

probably not great color or growth if the sps lived lower in the tank with the 4 bulb. I have around a tank that is 36x 20x24 using a 6 bulb giesemann matrixx good sps growth, not great color. Personally looking to add more light with orphek or3 led bars. I think for your tank you can either keep the 2 bulb and add leds like kessil or orphek or reefbrites to add par and color pop or shimmer. Or add a 4 bulb plus 1 or 2 led bars. 6 bulb will definitely work and have great growth too. Depends on what you want the lighting to look like as well (color spectrum ie 20k 14k 10k etc)
Also ATI sunpower is 20% off right now so if you want to buy a new t5 fixture i highly suggest getting one soon to take advantage of this deal, never seen new ones more than 15% off before. They are the best t5 on the market

 

[dedragon]

should also add by sps i meant acropora. Some montipora and anacropora and even a few acropora (usually deep water and very finicky acros) can live in lower light. Example, my beach bum and wwc kungpao do much better in around 100 par than 300 par in my tank.

 

[Aximiate]

probably not great color or growth if the sps lived lower in the tank with the 4 bulb. I have around a tank that is 36x 20x24 using a 6 bulb giesemann matrixx good sps growth, not great color. Personally looking to add more light with orphek or3 led bars. I think for your tank you can either keep the 2 bulb and add leds like kessil or orphek or reefbrites to add par and color pop or shimmer. Or add a 4 bulb plus 1 or 2 led bars. 6 bulb will definitely work and have great growth too. Depends on what you want the lighting to look like as well (color spectrum ie 20k 14k 10k etc)
Also ATI sunpower is 20% off right now so if you want to buy a new t5 fixture i highly suggest getting one soon to take advantage of this deal, never seen new ones more than 15% off before. They are the best t5 on the market

Thank you thats very helpful! Im new to sps so i could be wrong but to my understanding the higher the lighting spectrum the more coloration ill get but in turn the growth rate will decrease? I am leaning towards getting a 6 bulb fixture but could that have the potential of being too much for some lower par requiring sps or lps? I have also looked at the ATI sunpower but its a little more than id like to spend if you have any others you’d recommend? Although if you think its head and shoulders above others id definitely consider it. Thanks again for the help!

 

[dedragon]

most of the crazy colored sps are grown under led lights now, people have had some better growth using the ge white t5 bulbs before but i usually stick to a combo of blue plus, coral plus and aquablue special. I want to personally get leds because it is impossible for me to get amazing color pop out of some of my corals (Jf homemaker and asd rainbow) without leds
for lower light corals its best to make overhangs in your aquascape so that they can be a bit more shaded. Umm cant really find many great 6 bulb ones for too cheap. IDK how much the aquaticlife is going to be as it is a very old fixture that they dont produce anymore so hard to gauge

 

[dedragon]

cheapest i found is this similarly old current usa nova extreme but it is 36 inch 6 bulb. It will definitely work for a 48 inch tank though and at 200 is extremely cheap if you wanted to add more light in the future it wouldnt be hard to put kessils on either side of the fixture angled in towards the center of the tank, or to bolt on led bars. Just the cheapest solution i could find fast

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[nereefpat]

Think i could get away with having sps in the lower to mid regions of my tank running off 4 bulbs? Im unsure of the PAR id be getting but the tank is 13” deep and 19.5” tall. Thanks for the reply!

I think so , yes, as far as mid region. Growing sticks in the sand is a different challenge. Acros on top, and montis and Euphyllia in the middle and zoas/acans/lobos closer to the bottom would be no problem with a 4 bulb fixture, for example.