Best lighting option for 1000 gallon aquarium

[JCOLE]

I agree with others on the halides. If it were me and you truly are only doing fish only then go with a couple 150W and 250W halides. If you plan on going coral in the future then slap some 250s or 400s on there and be done with it. If you go LED and want corals later then for that size tank you will be spending $15k or more easily on LEDs.

 

[areefer01]

I have a 1000 gallon , fish only, with coral inserts.
I have mostly angelfish, butterflies, and triggerfish.
What is the best lighting option to showcase the fish?
Thank you

1,000 is an above average size display and depending on the dimensions an above average surface area to cover. Know up front that there is no best in any hobby but there is a better tool for the job in most cases. To help in any way most need to understand a bit more about the display such as dimensions, budget, and of course future plans.

You specifically are calling out the requirement of showcasing the fish. You mention angelfish and butterflies both of which can be large. By the size of the display and wanting to showcase you are probably looking at something that allows heavy blue or control to get you there during your viewing window (the pop). Rest of the day you may not really care and can run a more natural spectrum.

LED's maybe look at the ReefFi 2.0. Couple of those should do the trick. Also look at MH with actinic supplements. In the end brand doesn't matter but there are good quality kits that will fit with what you are trying to achieve. I don't push brands or types so just giving you something off the top of my head as it relates to performance and cost. So do a few searches on ReefFi 2.0 as they are getting labeled as the best bang for the buck right now and a hot topic.

YMMV of course.

 

[oreo54]

The ceiling is 1 foot above the tank.

Pretty restrictive.

Looking for light to optimize appearance of fish.
Again , fish only tank with inserts. Mostly angels, triggers, and butterflies.
Thanks for your help

Best bet in my opinion would be 2 48" 8 tube t5's (864-ish watts)
Can you get that cavity breathing room i.e vents?

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Pretty restrictive.

+1

 

[oreo54]

I agree with others on the halides. If it were me and you truly are only doing fish only then go with a couple 150W and 250W halides. If you plan on going coral in the future then slap some 250s or 400s on there and be done with it. If you go LED and want corals later then for that size tank you will be spending $15k or more easily on LEDs.

How would you get a 10x 3 ft sq area 1 ft high covered w/ mh's?
Personally the worst thing do do for fish only is create dull or dead spots anywhere in the tank particularily near the surface. Bad enough with the t5's.
Second would be to create an oven.

 

[oreo54]

Next a but load of led strips with 120 degree lenses.
The AI strips come to mind or the Quanta bars, Lumenbars ect.
Biggest question is do you want control?
Next is how white do you want the tank?

Keep in mind cool white leds are generally not the best for color rendering..
Better off w/ RGB and blended.

60" Reefer 14k lumenbars.. No cool white.
Suggest 3 rows of 2.
$2100 for 6. Add controllers (opps no controllers)..
For now I'd guess at about 540 watts for 6.

Throw in a row of royal ice..

2 Photon v50-s might work. I'd see if they could do 120 degree lenses for it.
A bit narrow but at least you have full control.

sbreef bars would be less expensive.

 

[JCOLE]

How would you get a 10x 3 ft sq area 1 ft high covered w/ mh's?
Personally the worst thing do do for fish only is create dull or dead spots anywhere in the tank particularily near the surface. Bad enough with the t5's.
Second would be to create an oven.

5 good reflectors would give great coverage. I am lighting an 8x4 with 4 400w Radiums with good coverage supporting Acros everywhere including the bottom edges. I also have blackbox LEDs on the sides but that is just for supplementation.

 

[oreo54]

5 good reflectors would give great coverage. I am lighting an 8x4 with 4 400w Radiums with good coverage supporting Acros everywhere including the bottom edges. I also have blackbox LEDs on the sides but that is just for supplementation.

You have 1 ft in height (clearance above tank).... not 1ft and then light.
I have no issue w/ the type of light. It's a matter of fit.
That was why I added t5's.

My understanding of the design

 

[oreo54]

At the "money is no object" level these would probably be the cadillac..

Pulzar G3 - Giesemann Aquaristic

High-End Aquarium LED Beleuchtung, Aquarium Hybrid Beleuchtung und premium Aquarien. Handgefertigt und made in Germany

www.giesemann.de

$399.90 Euros each for 60" bar.
Controller is 249 euros

4 bars plus controller $1845 euros approx. Guess $2000 US is pretty good actually.
So not really a cadillac price.

IP68 rating... good thing.
Can only control 4 off one "box".
Ideally I'd consider either 6 4 marine on the outside center row of tropic or the reverse depending on ones own idea of what tone they prefer.
Of course 6 means another controller.

 

[JCOLE]

You have 1 ft in height (clearance above tank).... not 1ft and then light.

My understanding of the design

Ahh..just seen that. Yeah halides would be hard for corals. Fish only still could be an option. However, if fish only then LEDs would probably be the best option.

 

[Jekyl]

If planning on using reef lights anyway, may want to reconsider the fake coral lol.

 

[748S911]

I personally would probably do 4 kessils 360x models…. If you don’t like the shimmer go with radion g6 xr15’s. Or 4- 60” ai blades spaced out over tank. Either way you can’t go wrong