DT and Refugium Lighting

M1i1t1c1h1 · Aug 9, 2020

I am looking into purchasing my lights for my DT and refugium.
As we all know, lighting can be insanely expensive! My ultimate long-term goal for my tank is to host a hybrid coral tank. I have a 125g tank. I have already taken care of my flow (2 IceCap 4k w/dual pump control). I have already done a tonne of research on lights and my conclusion is if I had researched lighting before I had bought any other equipment, I likely would have not even gotten into reefing because of the price! The Radion's look awesome, Hydra looks great, and I've heard mixed reviews about Kessils (shimmer issues in particular). But most of those lights (especially the ones recommended for a hybrid tank) are significantly out of my current price range. So I did more research...
According to a lot of experts LED's are great and very beneficial (since they are totally customizable), yet LED's all try to match the lighting spectrum of T5's. I have heard the idea that T5's are very 'set it and forget it' a few times now (there are obviously exceptions to this rule). That being said, I am thinking about purchasing an AquaticLife 48" T5HO LED Hybrid light. This will accommodate my 125G for the first year or so and then I have the option to add LED's later on for more intensity and coverage.
What are all of your thoughts about the AquaticLife? There were not many reviews on the website I was looking to order it from.

Also while you're at it, does anyone have experience with the Aqua Knight Nano Marine LED A029 as a viable refugium lighting option?

Oropher · Aug 9, 2020

Does it mean that you would only use 4 tubes of 48" T5HO then later on you would add LED? Yeah why not, AquaticLife is a good fixture, and it's not a cheap one, also consider you would have to buy 4 T5s (maybe ATI bulb) every year.

M1i1t1c1h1 · Aug 9, 2020

Oropher said:
Does it mean that you would only use 4 tubes of 48" T5HO then later on you would add LED? Yeah why not, AquaticLife is a good fixture, and it's not a cheap one, also consider you would have to buy 4 T5s (maybe ATI bulb) every year.

Yes the intention would be to add LED's later on. I know it is a bit more costly, however rather than buying 3 Radion XR30 pros/blues ($1200 each in Canada) which is what has been recommended to me for a 125g hybrid tank, I can use the AquaLife fixture ($400) with 2-3 XR15 pro/blues ($575 each) at a fraction of the cost achieving a similar result.
As most people, I'm trying to get the best bang for my buck, but I don't want to cheap out at the same time. I feel like this setup (AquaLife with 3 XR15's) will provide the necessary PAR/Spectrum/Intensity I need for a 125g hybrid tank.

Ippyroy · Aug 9, 2020

Kessil is known for their shimmer. It is considered the best on the market. BRS 160 is a very successful tank with T5 kessil hybrid and the SPS WWC/BRS 170 is the same thing, and that tank is amazing.

M1i1t1c1h1 · Aug 9, 2020

Ippyroy said:
Kessil is known for their shimmer. It is considered the best on the market. BRS 160 is a very successful tank with T5 kessil hybrid and the SPS WWC/BRS 170 is the same thing, and that tank is amazing.

I personally am not a fan of the shimmer. I have toyed with the idea of getting a kessil for a refugium grow light since they are so good, but I don't think I want them for my DT.