lighting suggestions for beginner coral

Beau is hosting the January Meeting this coming Saturday the 14th at 6PM.  It will be BYOB as well as a snack to share and raffle items are always welcome.  It has been requested that there be “NO SHOES” on the carpet due to it being a whitish color.

He doesn’t have a tank to view but we will have plenty to discuss in hopes that it will get the NEW YEAR off to a good start.  The annual membership fees are due, so now would be a good time to get them in to our Treasurer Stacey Hahn.   Fees are $20 per individual or $25 per family

Attendance was low at the election meeting in November and no votes were taken at December’s meeting so we have decided to take votes for anyone that didn’t get the opportunity in November and will be attending this meeting.  
We will add the votes to November’s ballots and the announcement will be made during the meeting so we can go forward.
NOMINATIONS:
President:  Jim & Nacho
V. President: Ed, Bo & Daniel Leigey
Treasurer: Stacey
Secretary: Carmen & Angie

Let’s hope the New Year brings new members, returning members and new ideas.  The club is always willing to take suggestions to get the most out of the hobby we all enjoy.

Please PM Nate C. by clicking here for directions if you are not a club member.  

Club members can click here to go to the club member only forum to get directions.

Hope to see you all there!

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[RigotoniMan]

heya i have a 29 gal tank, and im not sure what i should upgrade lighting to it currently has a 30" 20 watt flourescent fixture on the canopy. what are some ideas on upgrades? btw this is for starting some beginner soft corals

[reefbegood]

Go with a t5s with 50/50 and a full actinic bulb cheap and energy friendly.

[RigotoniMan]

is there a certain wattage level im looking for? im new to the whole saltwater aquarium thing, read a bit about it in my "Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies" and it was saying something like 2.5 watts per gallon of water, does this apply to t5 lighting as well?

[fogish]

That would depend on how deep you want to put your softies, the more light in the 5000-10000 range  the better photosynthesis can work but actinic goes deeper into the water. I would say depending on the fixtures 2 "white" T5s and one actinic to bring out the color and make it pretty for the human eye. That should also give you enough wattage for the tank size and coral used.

[RigotoniMan]

also what should i expect to pay for lighting? thanks for the responses by the way as well 

[fogish]

The fixture you choose to buy will determine the cost, $90-$200 for 1 fixture dual light? A lot of searching online will help with price checking.

[Nate C.]

You can also DIY the lighting with an IceCap 430 or a cheaper ballast (just make sure it will run the number of bulbs you want to go with), T5 bulbs, endcaps and clip-on reflectors.  Pretty simple, and likley less expensive overall.

[Robert M.]

Hellolights has new t-5 retro kits

http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=705