which one of these light fixtures should i buy?

[njp14333]

well i was originally going to go with a 150w mh pendant over my 10g, but i soon realized that was kind of a waste of money since i never had plans to keep sps. anyway im stuck between these two fixtures

Coralife

Orbit (the 20" one)

also, just to make sure, this will be plenty of light for lps, right?

[surfnvb7]

any links to the price on them? agreed, the 150w pendants are a bit (ok alot) expensive, and a bit overkill for a 10g for the price.

i understand why people say theres no point in getting MH's unless you do sps or clams...but what I don't understand is why they don't consider VHO or T5's instead?

MH's, VHO's, T5's are hands down better than PC's.

and even though you don't plan on keeping sps, if it comes down to cost, why not spend the same amount of money on a MH like this: http://www.hellolights.com/arocu17rekit.html

get a 15 or 20g then. a 20k metal halide bulb, or VHO super actinic URI's will make LPS "pop" with color! a whooooooooole lot better than PC's. :smokin:

might as well get something that can keep a larger assortment of corals for the same price. JMO though.

[blacksh33p]

if your going with a 10 gallon and just softies and lps then i think the coralife 96 watt powerquad is your best option. i would say get some t5's or vho's but i dont think they make them small enough to fit over a ten gallon. if you do plan to go to a larger tank then i agree with surfnvb7, ditch the pc's and look at mh or VHO's

[mdt178]

IMO the Orbit is by far the superior unit compared to the Coralife. The Orbit has separate controls for the daylight, actinic and moonlight. The Coralife just has one bulb.

[surfnvb7]

they make coralife's with 2 PC bulbs in them and moonlights, they also have seperate switches/plugs. i'm positive (i have one...in the closet :lol: )...but in the end....i don't see how one brand could really be better then the other...cuz they are both still PC bulbs.

[mdt178]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6408187#post6408187 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by surfnvb7
they make coralife's with 2 PC bulbs in them and moonlights, they also have seperate switches/plugs. i'm positive (i have one...in the closet :lol: )...but in the end....i don't see how one brand could really be better then the other...cuz they are both still PC bulbs.

Can you post a link to that Coralife unit? Is it 20"?

Thanks

[NanoManMaster]

i would go with the 150 watt metal halide i have one and they work wonderful and think of it this way what if u want to upgrade in the futur and do sps u loose money on the pc and have to spoend money again on another light plus the halide will go on other tank and do awsome

[surfnvb7]

nope, they are the 24" version with 2xPC bulbs. but 24" is the length of the hood. the actual length of the bulb is 20"...so it makes sense to get the bigger one to ensure the bulb covers the entire tank.

72w version:http://www.hellolights.com/242xcoraqpch.html

130w version:http://www.hellolights.com/242xcoraqpch1.html

this is what the 24" coralife looks like over a 10g tank (soon to be replaced by a 175w SE retro with 20k bulb, over a 15g tank).
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/drharbou/Fish%20Tanks/IMG_0272.JPG

[blacksh33p]

lol this doesnt relate to the thread but i just noticed surfnvb7 is a VT fan. i just got back from watching them at the gator bowl.

[surfnvb7]

yeah yeah yeah... :rolleyes:

rub it in, we probably deserved to lose the way we played in the first 3 quarters, and in the ACC championship game. also the way some of the players acted wasn't very classy.

[natrate]

Why not do MH anyway? I just ordered a 250 MH for my 15 aga because I want to be able to keep anything. Even if you're not going to keep SPS, your softies and LPS will do much better under MH. And the light looks better, too.

[surfnvb7]

welcome to ReefCentral natrate!

lol thats a TON of light (and heat) for a 15g AGA. what kind of system did you get? DE or SE? and what type of bulb? 10k? 14k? 20k?

[natrate]

I ordered the AquaMedic HQI pendant with a 20K bulb. It's fan cooled and with it being mounted a foot off the water surface, I don't expect too much heat problems. If there is, that'll give me an excuse to get another gadget (chiller).

[surfnvb7]

why not just do a 29g tank then? that light could easily handle a 29g, plus you would have the benefit of more water so you wouldn't have heat problems....

even in a 29g tank, you should keep clams and sps anywhere you wanted.

[natrate]

Because a 29 isn't a nano.