Lighting advise

Ianfaulk · May 12, 2012

I am starting a 46gal bow reef tank with 36in hood, I want to be able to have a mixed reef in my tank. Can anyone recommend what lighting system I need. Thanks

revhtree · May 12, 2012

Oh you have lots of options!

Are you looking for T-5, Metal Halide, LED's, or what?

Ianfaulk · May 12, 2012

Well I've been Looking at t5, but I just want what will look best.

Young Frankenstein · May 12, 2012

Metal Halide and T5 is your best option, LED's need some more time to improve

REEFKEEPER10 · May 12, 2012

Honestly I would stay away from halides unless you want to run a chiller and pay the electric bill. I would go t5 or LEDs. As far as the fixture it depends on how much you want to spend. Lol

REEFKEEPER10 · May 12, 2012

Young Frankenstein said:
Metal Halide and T5 is your best option, LED's need some more time to improve

As far as LEDs go you might want to check some of the member tank threads on here. There are some beautiful sps tank run with nothing but LEDs. They have come along way.

Reef Breeders · May 13, 2012

Ianfaulk said:
I am starting a 46gal bow reef tank with 36in hood, I want to be able to have a mixed reef in my tank. Can anyone recommend what lighting system I need. Thanks

What is your price range, there are a lot of different types of fixtures.

Ianfaulk · May 13, 2012

around 500, I like the aquaticlife lighting systems, and also the ati. The ati systems say that the bulbs aren't included which is bs.

chort55 · May 13, 2012

REEFKEEPER10 said:
As far as LEDs go you might want to check some of the member tank threads on here. There are some beautiful sps tank run with nothing but LEDs. They have come along way.

+1 LED's are definitely capable of holding their own now! My LFS has pretty much converted over and it has been a great change IMO. I personally made the switch recently from T5's to LED's and am glad I did! If you can swing it (which for $500 you should be able to) I would certainly consider LED's over the other options.

chort55 · May 13, 2012

Ianfaulk said:
around 500, I like the aquaticlife lighting systems, and also the ati. The ati systems say that the bulbs aren't included which is bs.

The ATI's don't include bulbs, but any of the fixtures you would buy that do include bulbs you will want to replace anyways as they pretty much all come with junk bulbs that I wouldn't use (nor would most others). I know a guy that tried using the bulbs that came with the aquaticlife fixture..... burnt out in like 5 months and corals started looking bad quick (before they even burnt out) so even if you do go with that fixture save yourself the hassle and atleast buy ATI bulbs. But I would still highly consider LED's over t5's anyways. You will save $ on electricity, and you will save money by not losing money on the t5 fixture when you go to sell it to switch anyways lol

REEFKEEPER10 · May 13, 2012

I run two odyssea quad t5 light fixtures from aquatraders.com over my 75g which are really cheap and need the bulbs change to ati's but I get growth but not the best color. I'm on a budget so I couldn't afford the best fixture it does what I needed it to for the moment. My green birdsnest likes it anyway. Right now I have the bulbs that came with it. 2 10000k, 2 6500k, and 4 actinics.
Cheap lighting on a 75g - YouTube

syedjilani · May 13, 2012

Tagging along.... I also want to know about LEDs and T5s.

I used 400W MH on my previous 300G mixed reef. Got excellent result and look. bit confused to move on T5s or LEDs.

chort55 · May 14, 2012

syedjilani said:
Tagging along.... I also want to know about LEDs and T5s.

I used 400W MH on my previous 300G mixed reef. Got excellent result and look. bit confused to move on T5s or LEDs.

LEDs are going to be more comparable to MH as far as look and shimmer go. I would either go all LED or LED t5 hybrid system.

tater11 · May 14, 2012

i use apollo leds non dimmable and love them.

bige · May 14, 2012

I would certainly go LEDs or t-5. But would consider LEDs.

Ianfaulk · May 16, 2012

Which light is better between the tek light elite, aqua medic ocean, and aquaticlife? I'm going to get one of these this weekend or next, so some opinions would help and be appreciated.

Reefnjunkie · May 17, 2012

Young Frankenstein said:
Metal Halide and T5 is your best option, LED's need some more time to improve

"LEDs" is such a generic term, just like MH and T5's not all LEDs are the same just as not all 'bulbs' are the same, I run all LEDs on both my main tank and frag tank after switching from MH that I had used for years. My LEDs are DIY from Reefledlights and I'll go head to head with any MH or T5 set up out there.

My tank is mainly SPS but also have some great looking acans, scolys and LPS as well as zoas-all thrize and colors are phenominal. I'm sold on my DIYs and am not regretting it at all- 1 year and running And everything is :jaw:

Good luck with which ever you choose

REEFKEEPER10 · May 17, 2012

I would go with the tek.

MBG75 · May 17, 2012

Ianfaulk said:
Which light is better between the tek light elite, aqua medic ocean, and aquaticlife? I'm going to get one of these this weekend or next, so some opinions would help and be appreciated.

Of these I prefer Tek elite. Make sure the light you get has fans. It extends bulb life dramatically.

If you can swing it. Check out this ATI. It's dimmable and price dropped. ATI is top of the line
http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/ATI-2309.html