72' Hybrid T5/LED fitting?

[Joe Batt]

I have just installed a Waterbox 230.6 72'x 26'.

I was wanting an LED/T5 hybrid system that fits the full length of the tank. I have 2x AI HD 52 from my old tank and will buy another. I can only seem to find 60' length. I know that would work but I think it would look a little odd with 6' missing either end of the tank.

How have others done this? Or any suggestions?

(along the lines of the screenshot below from Bulk Reef Supply )

 

[JaimeAdams]

It will be fine. The light spread won't be a problem. Besides that most folks I know and tank I have seen don't have rock piled up on the side panels. Light comes down like a cone. You are fine with that light.

 

[Joe Batt]

Just worried it might look a little odd visually being shorter than the tank....

 

[mcarroll]

I think it would look a little odd with 6' missing either end of the tank.

Have you actually seen a light system like that on a 72" tank?

Wondering why you've targeted the hybrid light?

 

[Joe Batt]

Have you actually seen a light system like that on a 72" tank?

Wondering why you've targeted the hybrid light?

I have a custom hybrid light system on my 350 tank at the moment. It consists of 2x AI 52HD and 2x T5. It gives great growth and colour plus helps to prevent too much shimmer and shading.

What are your thoughts?

 

[BZOFIQ]

60" is perfect. Any longer and you'll have light spill unless the fixture is right over water.

 

[jda]

If you want end-to-end, then you need a pair of 36" fixtures. Unlike T12, T5 maxes out at 60". If you plan for the darker ends, you can put lower light coral there, or work your rock scape where there is not as much. You can also just attach some brackets to the 6" ends for an additional LED panel.

I have a 7 foot tank and a 6 foot fixture and it drove me crazy, so I bought lights for each end. Everybody is different on this.

 

[mcarroll]

If you've seen it, then you know what you'll get...presuming you like the lights on your 350, then go for it here too! Can't argue with that!

My thoughts are just that if shimmer and shading are really issues, why cause the issues in the first place by using super-strength spotlights? Shimmer and dramatic lighting are the two main features of spotlights – that's why one uses spotlights.

If a smooth, even look through the whole tank is the priority, why not go with all T5's, or LED strips or big LED panels, or even more, smaller spotlights, for example? Anything like that would seem to give you the light you want directly without the cobbling-together aspect of a hybrid system.

Then again, maybe that aspect is part of the appeal! That's cool too. Just spouting ideas I guess.

 

[BZOFIQ]

We are talking 6" on either side of the tank. Most people dont have rocks going this close to the sides (ease of maintenance, improved flow, etc) unless you went with the "wall" style aquascape.

IMO there is never anything right next to glass that would need extreme lighting. Light, generally speaking, will fill the tank anyway; especially from T5 60" fixtures due to reflections.

My last 180G was lit by a 60" ATI Sunpower. The whole tank was filled with light without any issues. With LEDs, there is less of a spread but I believe the OP was talking about a T5 & LED Hybrid solution.

The tank I'm "working" on now is going to be nearly 7ft long and I will be using 60" powermodule hybrid to light it up. That's nearly a foot on either side and I accept that; I'll probably never have to wipe any algae from the sides. Mushrooms will do just fine in those areas close to light drop-off and I am not planning to fill the tank from side to side. I'm going for more water - less LR, I want to see the fish swimming in all the space around the "islands".

 

[jda]

It is not extreme lighting that we are talking about. Even if you cover every inch of the top, the lighting on the ends is less than in the middle since you only have light from directly above and one side... you are missing the light from the other side. This is not a huge deal to some, but it can be for others... to each their own... but it is less. I put 150W halides on the end of my fixture it light the ends of my tank... not just the last 6", but the last foot.

 

[BZOFIQ]

... This is not a huge deal to some, but it can be for others... to each their own... but it is less. I put 150W halides on the end of my fixture it light the ends of my tank... not just the last 6", but the last foot.

I get it and can agree that each person might see it differently, also depending on light source some have more sperad then others.

I put 150W halides on the end of my fixture it light the ends of my tank... not just the last 6", but the last foot.

I was referring to 6" on either side of the fixture. With the light being about a foot above the tank there is going to be no dark spots by the sides of the tank. Light doesn't just shine straight down, it spreads.

 

[Joe Batt]

Thanks for all the great input. I have no problem with the 6' light wise either end, its the aesthetics of the light fixture itself looking like it doesn't fit the tank. I am just fussy I guess.

 

[John Burke]

Thanks for all the great input. I have no problem with the 6' light wise either end, its the aesthetics of the light fixture itself looking like it doesn't fit the tank. I am just fussy I guess.

What did you end up doing? I just got the 7226 peninsula and ended up going with 2x 36" hybrids. Now I am trying to decide how to mount them so all the cords come out one end.