danski

can someone tell me their thoughts on this light over my 55 gal tank. i dont want to do a retro fit but im looking for something economical with bulbs that arent too expensive to replace. any other ideas would be more than welcome. i do own an aqualight with 2 65 watt cfs but im interested in getting something different since the aqualight is really for my 29 gal tank.
thanks
dan

Muirner

What i've found is the 65 watt PC bulbs for my coralife 4x65 i have on my 55gal tank is that the bulbs are really expensive. Once you start to step up your lighting to better types the more expensive it gets quickly.

Somethign you need to identify for us, is what do you want to grow in tank? You could get away with a simple T12 bulb if your growing nothing but anubis and java's. But if you want something high light your going to want to look into CF/PC, or T5 IMO. Look at craigslist and around your LFS i know mine has fixtures that were used and sold to them for a good price.

danski

i would like to be able to do a dutch style tank. what type of t5 setup do you like? i want to do nice colors in there as i will have co2, eco complete ,root tabs ,E.I ..i really would like to avoid spending loads on a light but if i can keep it around 200.00 i might be able to pull it off..

Ozone

for $139.99 you can get this T5 HO 3X54 WITH SPLASHGUARD
http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/prod...a0e84b3792ad40

This more than sufficient for 55g setup

StillLearning

I just bought the same one for my 55 but 4 x 54 with the moonlights & legs with shipping for $160 from them. So be sure to tell him about that its worth spending the extra 20.

nokturnalkid

+1. Got that fixture on my tank and it works great. You could probably even get away with a 2x54. I only use the third light for 1.5hrs. Any more and algae starts to creep in.

danski

thanks everyone. that looks great and the company is only about 50 miles away. i can support a local business while getting just what i was looking for. much appreciated.

danski

F.Y.I
i bought the 4 t-5 set up as stated by stilllearning in this thread for 160, cant beat it, and the customer service is outstanding. i even talked to them on the weekend during closed hours, even sunday. seems like they will pretty much build you the light you want. i havent had customer service like that in sooooooooooooooo long. great to deal with and the light should be just what i wanted when it arrive.

StillLearning

Today was the first day I had my light and I couldn't be happier. Wait till you see it when you get it for $160. Cant wait till see how my plants respond to a good light now.

Here is two pics of what you will see.

nokturnalkid

You just can't beat their customer service. I had issues with the ballast and they sent me a replacement the next day. I even offered to just change the ballast myself but they sent me a whole new fixture instead. With the cost of shipping to Hawaii, I would of thought they would give me some hassles. But, they sent it with no questions asked. Good luck with the light.