lighting help

[krayzie]

hey, how is every1...

just wondering about lightitng

i have a 3ft nearly ready

im now considering lighting...

i dont plan to get any corals just yet untill i get more info about how to keep them etc..

in my tank i am wanting to keep a pair of nemo and maybe dory

but what im really interested in is the invertibrates.. like shrimp and yabbies...

so what kinda lighting would i need.. would florecent ligthing be good enough since i dont plant to get corals yet?

and i dont have enough for MH just yet

[The Wow Factor]

Hey Mate, I'm Good

By saying you don't plan to get corals yet, I am assuming that you will almost certainly want to get some later on. But if you buy lighting that would suffice most corls e.g. (MH ofcourse, or perhaps T5 which are less expensive and reeping some good results with many reefers(.

Seeing that you would be interested in keeping "Nemo's" you could show them off better if they lived in an anemone, also make them look and feel more like beeing on the reef. And a place to hide, in dangerous or scary times.

Fish or invertabrates don't need lighting to grow, but only so that you can see them. So a florecent bulb evfen would be god enough.

TWF

[JENnKerry]

I agree. But I disagree about putting a regal tang in a 3 ft long tank. They need lots of swimming room.
As far as the lighting goes, see what corals you like and research on their needs. That will help you out tremendously with choosing lights.

[krayzie]

The Wow Factor do you have msn/icq? maybe we can chat??

ok so bottom line is i will need MH? btw.. sorry for stupid question

what is T5?

btw.... i only plan to have LR + inverts for now... cos i like shrimp

[horkn]

well, you wouldnt need MH, you can keep a bubble tip anemoone under vhos, and t5 ho.


a 3 foot tank really isnt enough room for a regal tang. you realize the "dory" fish gets to ten inches i hope...

t5 is a new type of flourescent lights that are arguably as good as some MH lights... until the tank gets really deep, like over 2 foot down, the mh (250 watt models) is better at tanks over 24 inches...


nice thing about t5 ho lights is that they use less energy than a comparable Mh, and dont create the heat a mh bulb does...


but mh has their pluses, and when i get my big tank when i have my own house and stop renting, i will go with at least 3 250 watt mh lights.....