Lighting solution for a 125 Gallon Tank.

[nickyeager]

My tank desperately needs new lights but I am on a budget. The tank is Softies and LPS (Chalice, Goni, Torch) I found 3 solutions I can afford. Would love to hear some advice on which of the following solution I should buy, or perhaps a different option I haven't found yet.

Two 36" Coralife Aqualight High Output T5 Dual Lamp Fixture
Pros: T5 nice even lighting - proven technology

Cons: Cost of bulb replacement (can i use ATI bulbs on this fixture?) - is a dual lamp fixture enough light for a 125 gallon tank? The quad lamp fixture is pricey...
Two 36" Current USA Orbit Marine Aquarium LED Light

Pros: Lots of programming options, no expensive bulb replacements every 6 months

Cons: I am afraid it isn't bright enough for a deep tank like a 125 Gallon.

Also, read a review where a guy that bought 2 units like i'm planning couldn't get the two timers to stay in sync, after a couple weeks they were always off by a few hours ( even after replacing both controllers)

Two 36" Fluval Sea Marine & Reef 2.0 LED Aquarium Light

Pros: Supposed to be a lot brighter than marineland or current similarly priced LED models

Cons: Read a review where someone that bought 2 units says according to Hagen Customer service the unit has a known design defect. If used on a aquarium with more than one light the unit reacts to the other ballast turning on. The result is the unit might come on dimly, or only the blue LEDs will turn on. According to Hagen the light must be at least four feet away from any other ballast to prevent the EMR pulse from affecting the unit.

Also, no controller included like the Current USA, there is a WIFI controller but a reviewer says it is over priced and hard to find.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

What about 3 MarsAqua LED fixtures? Inexpensive, not the prettiest, however I have not had any issues with softies, LPS, and 'nems under them.

 

[sbash]

I only quickly looked at the links, but it looks like the Current fixture is only using 1/2 watt LEDs, which you are right, will not likely work well for a 125 Gallon... The Fluval light, looks like 1 watt LEDs, which also may not be bright enough for a 2' deep tank.

As suggested, the MarsAqua fixtures usually have 3 watt LEDs, which would give you a nice gradient of intensity. That said, the SB Reef Lights have a better reef spectrum are also dirt cheap and have 3 watt LEDs.

As for the controllers, aside from On/Off timers and brightness levels, I am not sure giving the (average) user the flexibility of controlling the spectrum is a good thing. I would love to hear Dana's opinion of this... Perhaps I will start a thread on the subject... One day...

 

[nickyeager]

What about 3 MarsAqua LED fixtures? Inexpensive, not the prettiest, however I have not had any issues with softies, LPS, and 'nems under them.

I just checked out those units they look interesting. What size are you suggesting?

The 165 watt at $100 each would cover 45 inches of my 72 inch long tank for 300 Dollars. 4 of them at $400 would be out of my budget which is a shame because 4 would cover the whole tank.

There is a 31 inch for $180 and two of those would cover most of my tank with 5 inches on each side potentially not covered. But at a price of $360, again out of my budget of $300 max.

Also I don't see if there is any type of control with the mars aqua. Now I know light output and quality is most important, but for instant the Current USA can be programmed out of the box with Sunrise, Blue morning, afternoon Daylight and Sunset lighting types of programming. That's pretty awesome, but again I am worried about how bright they will actually be.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

I just checked out those units they look interesting. What size are you suggesting?

The 165 watt at $100 each would cover 45 inches of my 72 inch long tank for 300 Dollars. 4 of them at $400 would be out of my budget which is a shame because 4 would cover the whole tank.

There is a 31 inch for $180 and two of those would cover most of my tank with 5 inches on each side potentially not covered. But at a price of $360, again out of my budget of $300 max.

Also I don't see if there is any type of control with the mars aqua. Now I know light output and quality is most important, but for instant the Current USA can be programmed out of the box with Sunrise, Blue morning, afternoon Daylight and Sunset lighting types of programming. That's pretty awesome, but again I am worried about how bright they will actually be.

I use three 165 watt fixtures on my 125 and get really even coverage. I have an Apex now that I use for on/off but prior to that I used simple $5 timers from Lowe's. I have an older set that have simple two channel control (blue/everything else) with it dialed to my normal preference.

 

[nickyeager]

... That said, the SB Reef Lights have a better reef spectrum are also dirt cheap and have 3 watt LEDs.

The SB Reef lights look really nice but it seems out of my range. One 32 inch light that would cover half my tank is my total budget for a lighting solution.

Can you tell what wattage on this one is? It just says 120 watts total, not per diode. It is a 72 inch LED light! It woul cover my whole tank. The reviews suck but only 2 people reviewed it.... https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Cha...&qid=1504409583&sr=8-1&keywords=SB+Reef+Light

 

[nickyeager]

I use three 165 watt fixtures on my 125 and get really even coverage. I have an Apex now that I use for on/off but prior to that I used simple $5 timers from Lowe's. I have an older set that have simple two channel control (blue/everything else) with it dialed to my normal preference.

Coool. That's good news. So do I have to hang these? Could I just sit them on glass or screen lids? Also if you have 3 on your 125 do you stick one in the middle where that little black center piece of plastic is? And if so doesn't that block some of the light? Do you have any pics of how you set it up?

 

[sbash]

The SB Reef lights look really nice but it seems out of my range. One 32 inch light that would cover half my tank is my total budget for a lighting solution.

As mentioned above, you could get away with three of the $129 units and just use a simple on/off timer from Lowe's... I have four of these (closer to the MarsAqua actually, but they are similar fixtures) on my 220, and it is more than enough.

Can you tell what wattage on this one is? It just says 120 watts total, not per diode. It is a 72 inch LED light! It woul cover my whole tank. The reviews suck but only 2 people reviewed it.... https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Cha...&qid=1504409583&sr=8-1&keywords=SB+Reef+Light

It says further down:

Each Light Panel
LED Quantities: 40pcs x 3W bridgelux

BUT, I did not see the actual specs for the diodes used, so I cannot say whether this unit is actually 'reef' compatible or not...

 

[Flippers4pups]

I have 3 165w mars aqua units that I have modded to mimic the SB reeflights diode layout over my 6' 125. My tank is SPS and LPS dominant.

Mine are in a canopy and at 13" above water line. These are powerful units and you have to start out low in intensity and slowly over the course of weeks increase intensity, as to not bleach your corals out. I also pulled all the lenses off them and this helped eliminate any shadowing at the edges of the sand bed. Easily done mod.


You do have to hang them. They come with wire hanging kits. There is no mounting hardware for them. Lots of DIY hanging ideas out there though. You do not want these laying on a glass top! They need to be around 10"-13" above water line.

I love mine and my corals have responded exceptionally well to them. Best bang for the buck for a very good led fixture. This coming from a old school T5 guy. I'll never go back now.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Coool. That's good news. So do I have to hang these? Could I just sit them on glass or screen lids? Also if you have 3 on your 125 do you stick one in the middle where that little black center piece of plastic is? And if so doesn't that block some of the light? Do you have any pics of how you set it up?

Pictures posted below.

 

[Flippers4pups]

This was right after I put them up. October 2016.

 

[HM3105]

The SB Reef lights look really nice but it seems out of my range. One 32 inch light that would cover half my tank is my total budget for a lighting solution.

Can you tell what wattage on this one is? It just says 120 watts total, not per diode. It is a 72 inch LED light! It woul cover my whole tank. The reviews suck but only 2 people reviewed it.... https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Cha...&qid=1504409583&sr=8-1&keywords=SB+Reef+Light

It says it has 40 3w..

Consider going with the Mars aqua, get the three you can afford now and pick up the next one in a few months. Pretty much the same as one t5 change out.

 

[nickyeager]

Thank you everyone! This is sooo helpful! I will go with the mars aqua, thank you for your help. You all saved me many hours of racking my brain trying to find the right solution.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Thank you everyone! This is sooo helpful! I will go with the mars aqua, thank you for your help. You all saved me many hours of racking my brain trying to find the right solution.

Your welcome! Happy reefing!

 

[JoeIII]

I have two 31" marsaqua over my 125 and grow SPS/LPS/softies no problem. I modified them by replacing the "hooks" with threaded standoffs and hard mounting them to the top of my canopy. I also modified them to run off my 0-10v controller, but figured you'd be most interested in the mounting solution and light output. Similar results should be possible with the smaller units.

 

[nickyeager]

Thanks Joell that looks like a nice setup. Unfortunately it looks like we have a Category 5 hurricane headed our way so i have to hold off on ordering and come up with an evacuation plan. Im going to put battery backups on the return pumps and hope for the best. I hate leaving my fish behind but i dont have a choice. If everything is ok when we get back i will order the new lights.

 

[JoeIII]

We are preparing as well.

Noone is talking about it, but don't discount "disturbance 1" even if Irma misses you

It is likely to become a tropical storm in the next few days and is following the track of Irma.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/