ok one more lighting question

[nickleslik]

I HAVE A 75 GALLON ACRYLIC AQUARIUM THAT I WANT TO USE FOR SALT WATER
I WAS WONDERING COULD I USE A STANDARD 4 FT SHOP LIGH IT FITS JUST FINE OVER MY TANK AND THEY ARE VERY CHEAP AT HOME DEPOT I CAN FIT 2 FIXTURES OVER MY TANK WITH OUT A PROB BUT WILL THESE GIVE OFF ENOUGH LIGHT FOR A SALT WATER SET-UP ?????
HERE IS A LINK TO THE LIGHTING

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN ... 33&pos=n12

AND

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN ... 33&pos=n12

 

[incysor]

First. Take the caps lock off. All caps is the internet equivalent of shouting in our faces.

Second. Yes and no.

If you just want to do a fish-only, (FO), tank. Maybe with some plastic decorations yes. Your fish don't care a thing about lighting.

If you want to do a reef tank, or a fish-only-with-live-rock, (FOWLR), tank then no. The shop light is going to be the wrong spectrum for it to do corals any good. Even with a FOWLR tank, you're likely to end up encouraging pest algaes to grow using the wrong wavelengths of light, and the only way to get it off liverock once you've really been infested is to cook the rock to the point that everything beneficial in it is dead. At least with the plastic decorations you can take them out and bleach them periodically.

You can do a FOWLR tank with cheap NO flourescent bulbs with the correct wavelenghts for marine tanks. You won't have enough light to have corals, but as long as your filtration is adequate you shouldn't have major algae issues.

B

 

[nickleslik]

First. Take the caps lock off. All caps is the internet equivalent of shouting in our faces.

sorry about the all caps but thx for the info i am just going to buy a 175watt Metal Halide