Light fixture powerful enough?

[DreamReefer]

So I bought my new tank (a 72 gal bowfront) a couple weeks ago for only $150 and it came with so much stuff. The guy just gave me everything. I was even able to modify the proclear wet/dry 150 into a nice sump, but this question is about my light. It came with the stock "all glass aquariums" strip light new in box, but also what i believe is a Current Nova Extreme 48" 4x54w T5HO. I know that is the correct brand and size but the bulbs are not the long tube bulbs like florescent shop lights but like pin type bulbs i guess? there are four of them i know this.
Is this light powerful enough for all kinds of coral growth? This is my first reef tank and I have been looking around at some info but would never turn down the opportunity to hear some first hand experience/advice on what it's safe to put in my tank with this amount of light.

 

[tommy6905]

what do u mean by shop lights, like t8s?? If there t5s then you could def grow lps, softies and some sps

 

[reefsane88]

power compact lights and they should be 65 watts a bulb,u need i believe3-4 watts per gallon for corals and great pick up 150 is awesome gets som pics up and goodluck

 

[Shawnburg]

I had a power compact light on my 90 gallon reef tank. I was supporting alot of corals except SPS as they need more light. I had LPS,Mushrooms, Toadstool Leather and they were growing great.

 

[MikeG]

can you post a pic of the bulbs and fixture so we can tell what type of lights they are, T5, PC, ect?

 

[tommy6905]

+1 on the picture, alittle confused on the shop light statement even though ub said nova fixture which sounds right

 

[jamesdong009]

With 54w bulbs, I'm gonna assume they're T5s. Current T5 fixtures may not be the best but with quality bulb replacement like ATI, UVL, and Geisseman along with proper coral placement, you should be able to keep many different types of corals.

u need i believe3-4 watts per gallon for corals

Unfortunately this is a very old school way to determine if you can keep corals.

 

[reefsane88]

i dont know to much about corals ,but im positive his wattage is appropriate

and he stated they were not long bulbs, so i ruled t5 out considering its a 48 inch fixture and they are not (long tubelike bulbs )he also stated pins and if they have four pins they are power compact im about 100 percent sure i hit this one on the head nicely and he has power compact lights,also 4 times 65 wats is about 260 watts for a 72 bowfront should allow him to keep most corals amongst their placement in the tank

and if my statement was old school and incorrect my appologies but u should give him something to refrence to as he is new to this

 

[jamesdong009]

But 4x54w of T5s are much more efficient, especially with decent reflectors, than 4x65w of power compacts. That's part of the reason why you can't use wattage as a measurement for keeping corals.

Personally, I would not keep SPS under 260w of power compacts but would with only 216w of T5s.

 

[reefsane88]

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=powe...&w=400&h=183&ei=BQxsTvf7JLDC0AGHtLyeBQ&zoom=1 thank u not only explained to him but i learned something also much appreciation

 

[jt628]

With 54w bulbs, I'm gonna assume they're T5s. Current T5 fixtures may not be the best but with quality bulb replacement like ATI, UVL, and Geisseman along with proper coral placement, you should be able to keep many different types of corals.



Unfortunately this is a very old school way to determine if you can keep corals.

Agreed.. It's all about Kelvin rating and color temp these days..

 

[DreamReefer]

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=powe...&w=400&h=183&ei=BQxsTvf7JLDC0AGHtLyeBQ&zoom=1 thank u not only explained to him but i learned something also much appreciation

this was very helpful, thanks a ton. they are indeed power compacts then. four of them 2x65w dual daylight and 2x65w dual actinic.... i wasn't home earlier so i couldn't check that but that is what they say.

 

[DreamReefer]

Here are some pics... all the stuff i got for $150 is there. The tank is a bit scratched but for the price I didn't care. It was such a good deal. I even got that RO unit, and the blue rubbermaid bin is full of dead live rock. Pic of the proclear wet/dry that I remade into my sump too. Have a mag7 and reef octopus skimmer on order for the two right chambers and first will be a refugium.

 

[DreamReefer]

that proclear sump was gutted and i put my own walls where i needed, move the input over and added about a foot on to the end made all of those out of lexan and used DAP 100% silicone. works great and has been tested several times. will definitely hold.

 

[vp6799]

That looks like a current dual satellite fixture. 4 PC bulbs.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

 

[HuuTa]

u got a smoking deal for 150.i had the same light.that pc light is only good for softies.i switch over to t5 in order to keep some different corals i want.

 

[beckbrass]

Great deal. Be careful with silicone on acrylic as it does not get a great bond and tends to fail over time. The stuff to use is an acrylic glue it melts the acrylic enough to make the two piece fuse together.The stuff is made by "weld on" and comes is different types like a thick and thin version.

Good luck.

 

[DreamReefer]

i wasn't sure about the silicone. I may have to get some more lexan and use that weld-on to make a new sump, as for the light fixture. I guess thats not going to be enough for most corals... may have to look into getting a new one.