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Help needed to start corals in 75G FOWLR tank
- Thread starter nar_luvsu
- Start date
What kind of corals do you want to keep? That is really going to dictate the type of lights you get. Depending on your budget, I would recommend looking at T5 fixtures as you can do almost anything under them. You can look at metal halides if you want light demanding corals or clams or if you want to spend a lot of money you can look at LEDs.
Hi there, nice to meet you! Good to know you are in the right track asking questions first, moving second! You are already on track for a succesful tank!
Many more experienced people than me will post replies here for you, my 2 cents...I had Metal Halides over my 75gal tank for many years with no issues and decent growth. I recently switched to T-5 and was very happy untill I had some issues with my tank.
As far as corals go...try the easy softies like xenia and some mushrooms first. A friend told me a long time ago "...mushrooms will tell you a lot about your water." and I still agree with him to this day. In any case good luck!
Lastly...take it slow..don't go nuts with too much change at once, give your tank a chance to adapt.
Rod
Many more experienced people than me will post replies here for you, my 2 cents...I had Metal Halides over my 75gal tank for many years with no issues and decent growth. I recently switched to T-5 and was very happy untill I had some issues with my tank.
As far as corals go...try the easy softies like xenia and some mushrooms first. A friend told me a long time ago "...mushrooms will tell you a lot about your water." and I still agree with him to this day. In any case good luck!
Lastly...take it slow..don't go nuts with too much change at once, give your tank a chance to adapt.
Rod
In my opinion I would go with T5 lighting. You can keep anything under them provided you have the right number of bulbs. T5 lighting has less heat issues compared to metal halide and the bulbs are cheaper. I also had halides on my 75 and it looked great. I went through several gallons of water daily because of evaporation and the temp would rise high. I swicthed to T5 4bulb 3ft fixture, wish I went with 6 bulbs. I can't fit the 4ft fixture in my canopy. I agrre with Rod asking questions and research is a great start. Good luck.
You can look at Current's line of fixtures, although there are better quality fixtures available. Tek, ATI, Aquactinics are a few good names. Reefgeek.com carries them all. Go as good as you can afford, I saw decent results with a current sundial I had, but I def saw a difference when I bought an ATI.
Look here at T5 fixtures.
www.premiumaquatics.com
We often do group buys with them, and their normal prices are pretty low.
I have lights from Catalina, couple of us do. Made in California not bad price, stock bulbs are soso but ok to start.
http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/product_info.php?cPath=71_190&products_id=1421
Jim is the manager there you can call direct, nice guy, good customer service.
I would say you would need 6x54W bulbs on a 75G tank.
LED are going to be economical over time but upfront cost these days is still high.
MH is it for some people.
FYI I have two clams on the bottom of a 120 4x2x2 tank...well I have deep sand bed so prob like 18-19 inches below lights 8x54W T5 lighting.
www.premiumaquatics.com
We often do group buys with them, and their normal prices are pretty low.
I have lights from Catalina, couple of us do. Made in California not bad price, stock bulbs are soso but ok to start.
http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/product_info.php?cPath=71_190&products_id=1421
Jim is the manager there you can call direct, nice guy, good customer service.
I would say you would need 6x54W bulbs on a 75G tank.
LED are going to be economical over time but upfront cost these days is still high.
MH is it for some people.
FYI I have two clams on the bottom of a 120 4x2x2 tank...well I have deep sand bed so prob like 18-19 inches below lights 8x54W T5 lighting.
You may benefit more with flourescents such as t5s to begin with. Vho lamps are a good second choice and is dependent on what you want to keep. If you go the halide route, you will need two sets since there is a plastic brace above the 75, which ups your costs a bit and in addition to the heat expended by the halides, you may need to spend a bit more for cooling equipment.
I personally use halides but it does cost me a bit to keep the whole place cooled since I have central air especially in the summer months
I personally use halides but it does cost me a bit to keep the whole place cooled since I have central air especially in the summer months
I just put a tek 6-54 watt fixture over my 75 great light. reef to reptiles in ocean twp. can get you a good price