Lighting my 80 gallon Rimless

[saltyphish]

A month ago I got a db 80 gallon rimless tank 48x24x16. I am wanting to do a t-5/led combo on it but not sure what light to use. So far my thoughts are ATI powermodule @$1,800 is not an option for me. I like the ATI sunpower dimmable fixtures. A much better fit in my budget. Here is what I am thinking. I purchase the ATI sunpower dimmable and add leds in place of a couple of the bulbs like many others have done. I am not sure if I should get a 6 bulb fixture or an 8 bulb fixture. Since my tank is 24" wide I was thinking about the 8 bulb and remove 2 of the bulbs to add led to cover the width of my tank. I plan on mainly having lps in this tank and am not sure if the 8 bulb fixture would be overkill or not. Also for the leds I like customizing my blend so I want to do diy on those but can not find a heatsink low enough profile to fit in the fixture under the shield. Rapidled has some thin ones (single led) but are too high of a profile for the fixture. Anyone have any thoughts on where I can get some low profile heatsinks that would fit in a ATI fixture under the shield? Thanks for responding.

 

[Joshky]

Get the 6 bulb fixture and add two reefbrite xho blue strips to it. They mount on the sunpower fixtures brilliantly and look pretty good too.

Personally I would go ahead and grab the 8 bulb just in case you change your mind and want to go full blown SPS down the road, since it's the dimmable version you can adjust to your corals needs. Either fixture will work though (with the reefbrites), even with SPS.

 

[Clayalaleona]

I went with two radion G3 pros on my 80. I know its not your first option but I'm very happy with them

 

[saltyphish]

I went with two radion G3 pros on my 80. I know its not your first option but I'm very happy with them

Thanks for the response. I mainly want t-5's with led supplementation on it I think either one of these style of lights alone are missing something the other provides.

 

[Clayalaleona]

Thanks for the response. I mainly want t-5's with led supplementation on it I think either one of these style of lights alone are missing something the other provides.

A lot of really fantastic and reputable stores have gone with t5 reefbrite combo, they look really nice in person and everything grows super fast. These T5 fixtures sell at pretty reasonable prices if you check out the FS forums.(I'm not talking massive amounts off, but a couple hundred still help)

 

[saltyphish]

Get the 6 bulb fixture and add two reefbrite xho blue strips to it. They mount on the sunpower fixtures brilliantly and look pretty good too.

Personally I would go ahead and grab the 8 bulb just in case you change your mind and want to go full blown SPS down the road, since it's the dimmable version you can adjust to your corals needs. Either fixture will work though (with the reefbrites), even with SPS.

I was thinking the same thing with the 8 bulb light because you never know. Maybe sps is in my future not sure but I like the option of bein capable. I have looked into the reefbrite strips but still looking for a diy alt which is why I am looking for the lower profile heatsinks. I think those reefbrites were around $300 a piece and I would want 2. Are they controllable/dimmable? I looked at them on marinedepot.com but didn't see any info there.

 

[saltyphish]

A lot of really fantastic and reputable stores have gone with t5 reefbrite combo, they look really nice in person and everything grows super fast. These T5 fixtures sell at pretty reasonable prices if you check out the FS forums.(I'm not talking massive amounts off, but a couple hundred still help)

Agreed!

 

[spartanman22]

I am upgrading with the same 80 gallon DB. I opted for a canopy and am doing 4×54 watt T5's and 2×OR-T247 led fixtures. If I wasn't doing a canopy I'd go with the 8 bulb dimmable Sunpower with reefbrites as others have suggested.