I posted something right befor this post about getting a metal halide light i have a compact flouresent light now witht he lunar lights and all that i'm wondering about the metal halide because what the heck kind of corals would i be able to keep under the compact? I mean i have only had my tank for a year so do you think i should stick with the compact for awhile before a metal halide?

it really all depends on what type of corals you are planning on keeping in the future.

I want to have nice corals not all these punnie things but then i here you have to have all this special stuff because the metal halide lights get so hott....... I mean i dont even know the diffrence between what diffrent lights corals need and everything..:wow:

this is my opinion ...

PC lights ... soft corals and some LPS
T5 ... soft corals, LPS, and some SPS
Halides ... anything you want, but every coral has to acclimated to them and they have to be the right wattage for certain height tanks.

Well now i was just looking at the T5 what do you think about them?????? Because I think im liking the sound of them better

i have no experience with T5's but i have to say that if you DO go with them ... be absolutely sure to get a fixture that has individual reflectors for every bulb. and get as many bulbs as you can fit over your tank.

I was just reading up some on some corals and a lot of them can go under the T5 so im almost leaning more towards that because the heat stays down a lot less. What is the diffrence between them and the CF lights? If I would have known the price was close to the price I paid for the compact I would of went with one of the T5 originallys....What do you think of this light Aquarium Lighting for Reef Systems: Nova Extreme Pro T-5 System by Current (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18700) my dimensions 48L x 12 x 25

i think they look like good lights, but i am not sold on them measuring up to metal halides. i would rather leave that question to someone who uses T5's for an answer based on their experience and not my opinion. call me biased, but i LOVE my metal halides.

Now with the metal halide to I need fans and everything hooked up for that to keep the heat down i mean does it really heat up that much?????????

yes it does. i have 3 x 250w and 1 x 150w and my heaters VERY rarely ever run AND i have 2 x 6" fans blowing across the sump while the lights are on to keep the temp down. i evaporate a lot, but my top off water is room temp too. that way whe nthe ATO kicks on ... the water being pumped in is also cooling it down a little bit.

See now my LFS has one and I was looking at it today and the fans were built in to it he bought it like that and it stayed cool... Hmmmm.. Also what is and automatic top off because I evaprate all the time bad in my sump

it automatically tops off the system instead of having to lug all of those buckets around every night. my RO/DI unit runs to my holding container to keep it pretty much full. from there ... when i evaporate enough a sensor turns on a pump to pump fresh water into the sump. then another sensor turns the pump off when it is at a designated level. a must have for a large system, IMHO.

I always feel like for some reason I am refilling the sump and it drives me nuts because I always have to stick around and when your waiting it seems like it takes for ever for the ro/di to fill the bucket. Could you tell me how to make one????? Or where to get something like that?

AquaCave, Dosing Pumps Specialists- Dosing pumps, Top-off, AquaDose, Tsunami AT1 (http://www.aquacave.com/DosingPumpsTopOff.aspx)

nanotuners (http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?products_id=83)

i prefer the JBJ because of its reputation, but the others work well also.

Ok I will have to go on and check it out sorry I have not been on I have been so busy with work..

Now do I have to have water running all the time for this to work or what????? How is your set up

no, you just have to make sure that you always have water in a top off container. i keep about 45 gallons of RO/DI water in a garbage can in a closet in my fish room. and just make sure that it is full every few days. if it needs to be filled i just turn on my RO/Di unit and it runs directly into the container, when it is full ... i turn it off.