advice for lighting
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Armydogracing
Zoa Collector
What would you prefer led, t5, or MH? I personally like T5s and would recommend a 6 bulb ati fixture or something similar
Armydogracing
Zoa Collector
Or one of the hybrid t5/led fixtures
govolsguy31
Active Member
Don't want to hijack another member's thread, but I'm in the same boat. My tank (90G, 48" long) just started cycling today actually. Looking at lighting options. Like the LED idea from an energy saving standpoint, but want to be able to do a wide arrangement of corals. Would one of the hybrid fixtures provide that? I want to be able to control it for different phases (sunrise, daytime, sunset, moonlight, etc). I'd also rather not spend $1k on lighting.
yes. Or diy your own.
luke33
2500 Club Member
If it were me i'd get a 8-10 bulb ati t5. I would then use two blue pop e5's for the d to d spot and still have that crazy blue led pop. Best of both worlds and aesthetically looks nice.
Could keep anything you want in there. But there are TONS and TONS of options out there.
Could keep anything you want in there. But there are TONS and TONS of options out there.
gtbarsi
Well-Known Member
First major factor in lighting selection is budget, immediate and ongoing.
I would like to say that the key with all lighting is control and this is especially true LEDs. You can kill corals with too much light easier than you can with not enough light.
Based on one of the talks at Macna this year it was shown as little as 250par can be the most some of the most sun loving SPS can take in with out negative impact. Make sure that whatever you do you have a way to know what the PAR is going to be, ether by being able to measure it yourself or having access to measurements that have been published for the lights you select that you trust.
- You can grow anything with LEDs, but there is a lot of debate about what grows x,y,z best.
- T5 is a proven route but has larger ongoing costs, and heat impact on the tank
- MH is also well proven but again even larger ongoing costs and potentially massive heat impact on the tank.
I would like to say that the key with all lighting is control and this is especially true LEDs. You can kill corals with too much light easier than you can with not enough light.
Based on one of the talks at Macna this year it was shown as little as 250par can be the most some of the most sun loving SPS can take in with out negative impact. Make sure that whatever you do you have a way to know what the PAR is going to be, ether by being able to measure it yourself or having access to measurements that have been published for the lights you select that you trust.
govolsguy31
Active Member
So, do LED's tend to be the most expensive up front, but lowest cost over the long haul after maintenance and power requirements?
What do you run on your tank(s)? What made you chose that option? Would you change it or do something different if you had it to do over?
First time reefer and still in the infancy stages of coral knowledge, so just trying to gather all the info I can.
I prefer LED lights...
Ben Seaver
Valuable Member
I have 2 32" SB Reef Lights over my 120, 6ft long. Very powerful so start off on 10%. I've had them about 6 months now, I am very happy with them. However I am a rookie and have zero experience with any other type of lighting. I would definitely recommend SB Reef Lights.
Ben Seaver
Valuable Member
those are sweet. I have the SB 16in on my 30 cube.
No. Leds are very affordable now. And will grow coral. bells and whistle cots more. hype too. power depends on the fixture. compare watts used on a t5 8 bulb to 4 radions or hydras.
Led and led. Affordable. cool(live in so cal), will add t5 for fun in the 55, treing to see if my MH will fit with my led on the 30 cube for winter.
Think mainly about budget on led. youll find something good. t5 is more esp new but look at used. t5 is SWEEET light. easy too in an odd way. it hot though, so is mh. if your prepped to cool water and the house id great.
were I to recommend a $1000 or less solution foe a newb Id go led and t5, I light low and wide. stuff it in a sweet canopy or floating canopy and go. ramp led and pop like heck, t5 for 4 hours or less. BOOM!
I could probably do it for $400 too.
Look at par maps and charts. think about the corals you will want, and decide how much par you want to be able to produce. for sps 500 par and up at the top of the tank seems the norm. 400 to 500 par down is an average tank. 300 par rigs are pretty common too. seems manufactures hit these same numbers.
ThaBeast
Well-Known Member
If you don't have a lot of coral keeping experience, t5 is the way to go. I love to growth patterns of corals under t5 & the lack of adjustments that would tempt me to screw things up.
jeffrey holloway
Active Member
I have an Led/T5 set up on a 150g 48Lx30wx25h, after a year on the T5s I just did my first and last blub change. I will be adding a couple more kessil 160we. Current set up is 6 T5s 2 aqua blue specials, 2 aqua blue plus, 2 true actinics, a Kessil AP700 and 2 Kessil 160we. T5s are great, but blub changes can start to add up. I'll get the kessils when the go on sale and burn the T5s until the expire.
mcarroll
10K Club member
It all depends what you want.
Most high end lights claim to light something like a 24"x24" space of tank. That's 4 square feet.
That makes most high end lights cost something like $200 per square foot to light your tank.
There are, of course, some middle ground options where you might pay as little as $100-$125 per square foot, but (for no apparent reason) you probably won't even consider those options.
And at the far end of the spectrum, there are LED's like the bulbs I use in the DIY's I make. A single 3-watt gu10 bulb in either blue or white goes for a buck or two – add 50¢ for a socket. These cost as little as $10-$20 per square foot.
Your corals aren't going to know the difference, but your wallet sure will. At the top of the line, there's virtually no chance of saving money vs halide or T5 even over the life of the fixture. At the bottom of the line, your whole fixture costs (at most) as much as one new set of T5 bulbs. That's it. None of those options is perfect for everyone, so you just have to choose what you want!
Reefiness
Well-Known Member
I had a 90 gallon as my first tank. Solid choice. If you want LEDs and dont want to break the bank, i would recommend one reefbreeders like light. There are several other brands out there that are similar. Basically the better quality cheap chinese lights which have had the leds customized to provide more optimal color spectrum for reef tanks.
Tend to be... yes. In general they will always have a lower long term cost over the other viable options. As far as upfront costs, they actually also have the widest range of up front costs. A high end LED will basically cost more than any other light you can find, while the lower end LEDs can actually cost significantly less than MH or T5 initial costs and yet still retain the long term advantage over the other light sources.
I have run PCs (back in the day), MH, LED, and LED/T5. Currently I have the LED/T5 that I like. It provides great control over the lights, and excellent growth and coloration. What made me switch to eventually have LEDs, long term costs, and ease of use. LEDs are set it and forget it once you program them. Theres no bulbs to change. If this was a utopian world and i had more money, I would opt for MH/T5 combo. Since moving into T5s I have noticed the significant shadowing effects that can be found within an SPS colony, which arent as dramatic with the MH/T5.
Reefiness
Well-Known Member
The long term costs between these are pretty similar. the MH cost more in electric, but t5s are the most expensive and annoying to change bulbs on. some people change tubes every 6-8 months.
