80 gallon Deep Blue Rimless Edge build

[Joe G]

Finally got my lighting figured out. Picked up an ATI Sunpower and a Reefbrite strip. Mounted them last night.

hello just wanted to say your tank looks great!!!
i have the same tank and i love it.
i have a couple questions about your light set up.
how long is both of your light fixtures ati and reef brights?
what bulb combo do you use for t5?
what is your lighting schedule ?
and how off the water do your lights hang?

thanks in advance your tank is awesome check out my thread one day if you get a chance our set up are similar
joe g's 80 gal tank build .

 

[nanokeeper]

hello just wanted to say your tank looks great!!!
i have the same tank and i love it.
i have a couple questions about your light set up.
how long is both of your light fixtures ati and reef brights?
what bulb combo do you use for t5?
what is your lighting schedule ?
and how off the water do your lights hang?

thanks in advance your tank is awesome check out my thread one day if you get a chance our set up are similar
joe g's 80 gal tank build .

Thank you for the kind words Joe. Sorry for the very late reply to your questions. Life has been running full steam ahead and I'm just trying to keep up. On to the questions.....

The ATI and Reef Brite are 36" long. I went for this length for a couple of reasons. I like that the light spillover from the 36" fixture fits a 48" long tank perfectly. I had too much spillover when I had a 48" ATI Sunpower over my old 90 gallon. I also found this 36" ATI in great condition online for a good price. I wanted to go 4 bulbs because I knew that I would be attaching at least one (maybe 2 in the future) Reef Brites to it. The only regret I have with the 4 bulb Sunpower is the limited bulb combo I can run so it's harder to tweak the color. Regarding bulb choices, yesterday I just replaced the bulbs and initially ordered 2 Blue+, a Coral+, and a Purple+. I was planned to remove an AquaBlue Special because it's too white and replace it with a Coral+. I was surprised to discover that the Coral+ was also too white (IMHO) also so I pulled it out and replaced it with another Blue+.

If I were to do it over again I would have gone with a 6 bulb fixture to be able play with bulb combos. I know there have been discussions that the 36" T5 bulbs are not as powerful or efficient as 24" or 48", but with my plans to mainly keep LPS and softies I knew that there would still be plenty of light. In fact I've had the fixture for over 2 years now and I have a nice selection of SPS in the middle of the tank and they are doing great (when I keep my water quality in check that is)

I'm really happy with the look of the current combo, but if I had a 6 bulb fixture I would have kept the Coral+ and added another Blue+.

Front
ReefBrite Actinic
Blue+
Purple+
Blue+
Blue+
Back

Lighting schedule is:
10am – ReefBrite on
2pm –ATI on
10pm – ATI off
11pm – ReefBrite off

Lights are about 9†off the water after the bulb change. They were about 6†off the water before. I may leave them there because some of my LPS in the middle of the tank were getting burned.

Please keep the questions coming as that helps keep my interest in the tank a little higher and more focused. Take care.

Cell phone pics from today.

 

[jedimasterben]

I know there have been discussions that the 36" T5 bulbs are not as powerful or efficient as 24" or 48"

That's still just people talking out of their rears about something they know nothing about. T5HO lamps from the same line have very, very similar radiometric output per inch, which is very closely tied to their power used (in watts). 24w lamps are 1.09w/in, 39w lamps are 1.15w/in, 54w lamps are 1.17w/in, and 80w lamps are 1.38w/in. As lamps get longer, they get a little less efficient, as well, so though the 80w lamp is higher in w/in, it'll still have about the same radiometric output per inch.

 

[ARVERLY]

Nice tank! I just put a 6x54W and a reefbrite LED on my tank. Love the t5/led combo!

 

[nanokeeper]

That's still just people talking out of their rears about something they know nothing about. T5HO lamps from the same line have very, very similar radiometric output per inch, which is very closely tied to their power used (in watts). 24w lamps are 1.09w/in, 39w lamps are 1.15w/in, 54w lamps are 1.17w/in, and 80w lamps are 1.38w/in. As lamps get longer, they get a little less efficient, as well, so though the 80w lamp is higher in w/in, it'll still have about the same radiometric output per inch.

Ben - Great info and thank you for the post.

Nice tank! I just put a 6x54W and a reefbrite LED on my tank. Love the t5/led combo!

Thank you! I agree on the T5/LED combo. My favorite lighting so far after 14 years in this hobby. I wish the Reef Brites were a little more powerful to give a little shimmer, but I'm not too concerned.

 

[Joe G]

Thank you for the kind words Joe. Sorry for the very late reply to your questions. Life has been running full steam ahead and I'm just trying to keep up. On to the questions.....

The ATI and Reef Brite are 36" long. I went for this length for a couple of reasons. I like that the light spillover from the 36" fixture fits a 48" long tank perfectly. I had too much spillover when I had a 48" ATI Sunpower over my old 90 gallon. I also found this 36" ATI in great condition online for a good price. I wanted to go 4 bulbs because I knew that I would be attaching at least one (maybe 2 in the future) Reef Brites to it. The only regret I have with the 4 bulb Sunpower is the limited bulb combo I can run so it's harder to tweak the color. Regarding bulb choices, yesterday I just replaced the bulbs and initially ordered 2 Blue+, a Coral+, and a Purple+. I was planned to remove an AquaBlue Special because it's too white and replace it with a Coral+. I was surprised to discover that the Coral+ was also too white (IMHO) also so I pulled it out and replaced it with another Blue+.

If I were to do it over again I would have gone with a 6 bulb fixture to be able play with bulb combos. I know there have been discussions that the 36" T5 bulbs are not as powerful or efficient as 24" or 48", but with my plans to mainly keep LPS and softies I knew that there would still be plenty of light. In fact I've had the fixture for over 2 years now and I have a nice selection of SPS in the middle of the tank and they are doing great (when I keep my water quality in check that is)

I'm really happy with the look of the current combo, but if I had a 6 bulb fixture I would have kept the Coral+ and added another Blue+.

Front
ReefBrite Actinic
Blue+
Purple+
Blue+
Blue+
Back

Lighting schedule is:
10am – ReefBrite on
2pm –ATI on
10pm – ATI off
11pm – ReefBrite off

Lights are about 9†off the water after the bulb change. They were about 6†off the water before. I may leave them there because some of my LPS in the middle of the tank were getting burned.

Please keep the questions coming as that helps keep my interest in the tank a little higher and more focused. Take care.

Cell phone pics from today.

Great info thank u.
I have the the 6 bulb 48 inch ATI and two reef brights but my corals were getting to much light.
Thanks to u and a couple others on the form I think I will shorten my light cycle.
Your tank looks great [emoji106][emoji106]

 

[Clayton Jessup]

I love the build and am subscribed, how are you liking the 36in ATI SunPower with a RB strip as your lighting choice? The reason I ask is due to the fact that I am considering a ATI SunPower 4-6 bulb 36in over my 4ft 75g. I just want to ask mostly for input..