jakdasnack Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 So i'm new here, i've been taking care of freshwater fish for many years and in april i decided to switch to saltwater, i have a 55 gallon acrylic tank. 25 lbs of live rock 25 lbs of dry rock 2 inch sand bed. 60 gallon whisper 700 gph powerhead 1 orange butterfly 1 coral beauty 1 nemo fish 1 firefish 1 starry blenny 1 engineer goby 1 cleaner shrimp 4 nassarius snails i'm not sure how many hermit crabs I was suggested to wait around 6 months before adding corals, which it's been so now i'm looking for good lighting, i'm more interested in T5's or the new LED's than i am the MH's but i'm on a budget and I was wondering what you guys suggested, i'm looking into turning my 20 gallon glass aquarium into a sump, looking for help in doing that as well. I've had a lot of people tell me different things about whether i need a protein skimmer or not. So right now my priority is getting a sump and some good lighting. Any help is appreciated:D:D:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalMicSkills Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Your lighting needs will depend on what you want and how tight your "budget" is. If you don't want SPS than T5 should be fine. Why no MH??? They are good for the budget reefer, other than on the power bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakdasnack Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 I'm looking more into lps, and i've heard mh give off a lot of heat, as well as the power bill being kinda high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 You've got a couple fish there that may nibble at corals...especially sorties, Fyi (butterfly and coral beautiful). I have a cheap Skimmer (I think it was $85 on sale) on my 55 and its great, pulls lots of slime so my water stays clearer and low nitrates because it pulls proteins and fats out before they totally decay. Just based on my exp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 You actually can get sps to grow quite well with t-5s it just depends on the t-5s you get. t-5s are a good start as there are so many bulb combinations available and you can always add mhs later if you want. A lot of people are also going the LED route too. You're very patient. I don't know who told you to wait 6 months before adding corals as many will do fine once the cycling process is over. MHS do give out a lot of heat which is why I went with T-5s. Be careful with the Butterfly and the Coral beauty as they can be coral nippers but many people never have a problem. Welcome to the forum. It's nice to see so many freshwater people converting to the dark side! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Assuming you have standard 55 dimensions, I've been told by numerous people that most doings will do fine under 4x48" t5's...that's what I've been told for my 55 (12" x 48" base) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalMicSkills Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 If you are just going with LPS I would start with T5 like "Emerald525" said, you can always upgrade later, to MH or LED. I really like what I've seen with regards to some of the new LEDs out there, such as Ecotech's Radion. This one is built so that when new technology comes out you can easily swap out the bulbs. Just stay away from Marineland LEDs, in my opinion they are garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakdasnack Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Thanks for the help everyone:) So i've been looking at ebay and craigslist, and on ebay i see this item come up a lot http://www.sunslighting.com/Suns-48-compact-fluorescent-dual-lighting-54W-4-p/t5-z-48.htm does anyone know anything about this product? It's pretty cheap which is why i'm cautious about purchasing this product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Welcome to the world of salt!!! Eugene has some wonderful saltwater enthusiests!!! I haven't heard of the company myself. I tend to try and go with quality built lighting from a reputable source. The reason being is that almost ever single lighting option that I have purchased based on price has been less than desirable in the long run. i.e. crappy ballasts that go out or run too hot or are simply not efficient, cheap reflectors that pit or simply tear over time, components that tend to not hold up well in a saltwater environment, etc. There are many reasons to spend a bit more and get quality in this hobby but that especially applies to things like lighting, skimming, flow, and quality temerature control. I think most of us have purchased items that we wish we would have just spent a few more bucks on and gone with the better option. That being said, this could be an awesome unit but given that they don't list the type of reflective material used, the type of ballasts used, warranty information(including where it is serviced, who pays for transit, etc), and it doesn't come with any instructions or information, I would bet it is just a budget unit that you may want to stear clear from. Let me know if I can help with anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakdasnack Posted October 15, 2011 Author Share Posted October 15, 2011 Thanks Garrett i went with some high output t5's from marine depot, just 2 bulbs, i added in a couple frags of polyps, mushrooms and i tried a small frag of a candy cane coral, i know that coral beauty's tend to go after lps, but i know that some don't.....mine is not one of those lol. anyways, i'm looking to add more frags of polyps and mushrooms, do you know of anyone that would give me some really good deals on them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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