Lighting suggestion for 10' mixed reef

[A. grandis]

Yes, I forgot to mention that what they preach of their LEDs' coverage is a real joke! Please don't get caught on that!
I save some electricity here turning off my T5s when my halides are on. I could have halides only ON/OFF if I choose to.
Learn more about the compensation of your photoperiod using the bulbs properly and you will love the results!
The only reason I wrote something here is because you wrote:

...
All the corals, SPS, LPS, Softies are doing great even the gigantea is thriving. Some may ask why I would want to change if everything is thriving? The straight answer is power consumption.
...

Love to hear peoples thoughts.
Thanks!!!!

The game changes only when you like the results you had before, or when you like better the way LED's look.
Cheers!!

 

[Jay Norris]

I have a similar tank in the garage, but only 4' deep. To make a long story short, the MH is as good as it gets.

If you manage to save energy with LEDs, then you could have done with less Halides or T5s... there is no efficiency in lighting types, just different choices.

The Halides are enough to light the corals when they are on. Save some wattage and turn the T5s and VHOs off when they are on. I still have a pair of VHOs, but I have really good reflectors for them... if you don't have good reflectors you can get more mileage out of other T5s. I do realize that VHO Super Actinic are hard to beat, so if that is why you have them, then you gotta keep them since there is no viable substitute.

I am going to light my tank with 4x 400w 14k Hamiltons (probably, or maybe the Ushio or Giesemann) on the 20" reflectors and that is it - no T5s, no LEDs. 9 hours on/off. This is about $1.50 a day where I live, but there is no getting around the fact that large tanks are expensive. 20 Radions run at 100w is more wattage not to mention the $18,000 purchase and the additional heating costs. 14-16 Orpheks are expensive too. I am also not going to light the front too much, which is mostly sandy area... just keep the lights over the rock work.

I think that you could see some good savings if you just waited to turn the T5 and VHO on when the MH went off. 8-10 hours of light is enough.

If Idaho is anything like Colorado, you need to factor in your heaters having to work harder too. When you add all of this up, there is not going ot be much savings.

This might be cynical, but none of these companies will give you the right count if you ask them (EcoTech got close, but probably still 5-10 short). You saw this already a bit with the Orphek where they don't cover as much as they say when you compare them with what you have - the coverage areas are a joke when you compare them to a MH or T5 unit. Dr. Joshi is another good example where he is using 10x xr30s to replace 3x 400w Halides.

Hi, if you are matching LED watts to M/H watts, their will not be much of an energy saving, if any at all. Now if you run a chiller and an A/C in your fish room, then there will be a huge energy saving, if you live in a warm climate, and there will be other savings as you no longer need to change your bulbs every 9 to 12 months.

 

[Jay Norris]

Yes, I forgot to mention that what they preach of their LEDs' coverage is a real joke! Please don't get caught on that!
I save some electricity here turning off my T5s when my halides are on. I could have halides only ON/OFF if I choose to.
Learn more about the compensation of your photoperiod using the bulbs properly and you will love the results!
The only reason I wrote something here is because you wrote:



The game changes only when you like the results you had before, or when you like better the way LED's look.
Cheers!!

Hi, I must be one of the lucky ones in my coverage area using LED's, as my Mitra's have the same coverage area as my M/H, VHO custom light fixture did. I am also running the same amount of watts for both system, and my big energy saving come from my chiller and fish room A/C not running nearly as much, plus the fact I am not changing my bulbs every 9 to 12 months. Also I live in a warm climate, but if I was crazy enough to want to live in a cold climate, the cost savings in electricity would not be as good, due to the fact the M/H lamps would help warm the water.

 

[dantimdad]

@A. grandis why do you go directly to attacking and insulting?

Please stop.

Every time the MH LED debate comes up, you go on the offensive like it's a street fight and you have to win.

Did you forget this is a learning hobby? No one learns anything if you kick and scream and turn blue in the face.

I have used every single type of lighting there is including testing a plasma discharge system (holy cow bright! and holy cow power hungry and HOT!). None of them are the best. Most have merits others don't

That being said, MH is the gold standard but with many draw backs LEDs make up for. LEDs are becoming the standard but with couple drawbacks MH makes up for. It's personal preference at this point.

BTW, you don't need as much wattage with LED to grow coral as you do MH. So, you automatically save heat and energy. So, no you don't match watt for watt.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Consider a light rail, where the lights (maybe half of what you currently have) move along a track. Minimal investment, keep the lighting you have, no light shock, and you can likely cut your power bill substantially.

 

[dantimdad]

Consider a light rail, where the lights (maybe half of what you currently have) move along a track. Minimal investment, keep the lighting you have, no light shock, and you can likely cut your power bill substantially.

Who was it who had the article in FAMA about this? Do you recall?

I wish I kept the 15 years worth of them I had.

 

[Jay Norris]

@A. grandis why do you go directly to attacking and insulting?

Please stop.

Every time the MH LED debate comes up, you go on the offensive like it's a street fight and you have to win.

Did you forget this is a learning hobby? No one learns anything if you kick and scream and turn blue in the face.

I have used every single type of lighting there is including testing a plasma discharge system (holy cow bright! and holy cow power hungry and HOT!). None of them are the best. Most have merits others don't

That being said, MH is the gold standard but with many draw backs LEDs make up for. LEDs are becoming the standard but with couple drawbacks MH makes up for. It's personal preference at this point.

BTW, you don't need as much wattage with LED to grow coral as you do MH. So, you automatically save heat and energy. So, no you don't match watt for watt.

Hi, I also have used every type of light on the planet for aquarium lighting, and I agree with you that M/H lighting was the gold standard for lighting, as I used M/H, VHO, and T5 lighting for over 30 yrs with great results. I am not fighting with anyone one on here, all I m doing is stating that a few LED manufactures have caught up with, and even surpassed M/H lighting in some ways. There are many excellent ways to light an aquarium, but in my circumstances, M/H lighting is a thing of the past, and yes LED's are not for everyone, and are not the end all for everyone, but they are the best lighting solution for me at this time. As far as wattage between the 2 light fixtures you are correct, as you do save a little, but I like to match wattage by using more fixtures. Blue in the face and fighting, not my style, just stating facts.

 

[dantimdad]

I wasn't referring to you @Jay Norris I was referring to a previous post by someone who is always combative when it comes to lighting.

Your posts pretty much align with my experiences.

Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Who was it who had the article in FAMA about this? Do you recall?

I wish I kept the 15 years worth of them I had.

Anthony Calfo, if I recall. I bought one in the 90's after seeing it during a behind-the-scenes tour of a public aquarium (was it Baltimore?)

 

[BZOFIQ]

TEN by FIVE???? Holly Guac!

I'd love to see some pictures.

 

[dantimdad]

Anthony Calfo, if I recall. I bought one in the 90's after seeing it during a behind-the-scenes tour of a public aquarium (was it Baltimore?)

I remember Baltimore being cited in many articles about lighting in the 90s so it wouldn't surprise me it was them.

It also doesn't surprise me that it was Anthony who wrote the article either.

Thanks for jogging my memory.

Do you remember the article about the small surge tank in the basement? One of my favorites.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Consider a light rail, where the lights (maybe half of what you currently have) move along a track. Minimal investment, keep the lighting you have, no light shock, and you can likely cut your power bill substantially.

I've seen that somewhere before, possibly at a presentation at the Brooklyn Aquarium Society. Very nice idea!

Some continuous duty step motors to move the rack back and forth on a threaded rod and you're set.

 

[jda]

I have experience with a light mover. Works fine. Need large wattage and large reflectors. 1000w halide, maybe, in a 36x36" reflector. It would need to run like 10-12 hours with all of the T5s and stuff running on both sides.

The aesthetic can get annoying when you are trying to enjoy your tank and the spot that you are watching goes dark and stuff. It does work good for the corals.

 

[Jay Norris]

I wasn't referring to you @Jay Norris I was referring to a previous post by someone who is always combative when it comes to lighting.

Your posts pretty much align with my experiences.

Sorry for the confusion.

Oh,sorry for the confusion on my part to.

 

[jda]

I just remembered and wanted to add... light movers are more about buying less fixtures than using less wattage, IME.

You probably already know this, but be careful whom you take advice from when dealing with large tanks. Everybody means well, but until you have had a large tank, you don't fully understand the challenges that come up with heating, flow, lighting, or anything. ...the stuff that lots of people do does not scale from their nano (even a 180g is a nano compared to some of these tanks) and they don't understand that even a mp60 in a large tank is like whizzing into the wind, or that sometimes you need a 22ov heating system and stuff.

 

[A. grandis]

Hi, I must be one of the lucky ones in my coverage area using LED's, as my Mitra's have the same coverage area as my M/H, VHO custom light fixture did. I am also running the same amount of watts for both system, and my big energy saving come from my chiller and fish room A/C not running nearly as much, plus the fact I am not changing my bulbs every 9 to 12 months. Also I live in a warm climate, but if I was crazy enough to want to live in a cold climate, the cost savings in electricity would not be as good, due to the fact the M/H lamps would help warm the water.

I also live in a very warm climate and use chiller regardless of what type of light I have over my systems (halides/ T5/ LEDs).
Using a simple fan between the fixture and the water surface will cut most of the heat transfer by halides. We have posted this many times here.
My electricity bill is basically the same with any of the light options I've used. It's a matter of how you will be using them.
Balance of the photoperiod is the solution and what we need.
That is definitely not an excuse to reinvest so much money changing all the light of that system and have to adapt the corals to LEDs in my point of view.

 

[Jay Norris]

Oh,sorry for the confusion on my part to.

I also live in a very warm climate and use chiller regardless of what type of light I have over my systems (halides/ T5/ LEDs).
Using a simple fan between the fixture and the water surface will cut most of the heat transfer by halides. We have posted this many times here.
My electricity bill is basically the same with any of the light options I've used. It's a matter of how you will be using them.
Balance of the photoperiod is the solution and what we need.
That is definitely not an excuse to reinvest so much money changing all the light of that system and have to adapt the corals to LEDs in my point of view.

Hi, I agree with some of your post, as I believe whatever works best for you or anyone else is all that matters, just in my case the M/H lights added a lot heat to my tank and fish room even using fans and A/C. One other thing that may of contributed to my heat problem was all the humidity in the from evaporation and the local humidity here in South Florida.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am faced with this issue as of this weekend.
I have three SB Ultras I will utilize as well as two AP 700 and two 72" Reefbrites XHO. May do a third AP 700 but faced with how to hang them all as I do not want to place holes in ceiling.

I know of someone using 7 Ai Primes on a 9' tank and the colors and coral growth are amazing

 

[Daniel Waters]

I'm looking for suggestions as I've been thinking of changing my lighting. The tank is currently back on track for a year now after a crash in which I lost a fair amount of corals. All the corals, SPS, LPS, Softies are doing great even the gigantea is thriving. Some may ask why I would want to change if everything is thriving? The straight answer is power consumption. I'm running 3 x 400W Geisemann 17.5k Halides, 3 x 250W radiums (m80 ballast), 8x54W T5 for viewing and supplemental lighting and 6 x 110 VHO Actinic. I run the halides for only 5 hours per day each and the t5's are on for 12 hours.

To understand why I have all that, the tank is 10'L x 5'W x 30"H. The five feet of front to back is so enjoyable but lighting is a nightmare.

So back up a few months during the black Friday sales, I decided to buy the new Orphek Atlantik V2's. I bought as many as I could but I've realized that I flat out need more for coverage after testing one of the full size units. The Orphek is amazing but would cost me too much to fully light the tank so they are sitting unopened. At this point I'm going to sell them and try to come up with a better lighting solution.

I've spoke with Logan at Reefbreeders and the Photon lights look good and would cover the tank but I have no experience with them. I've also talked with Ecotech and they recommended 15 of the Gen4 pro XR30. Now don't get me wrong, the Radion is a great light but that price tag is completely out of my budget.

Final thoughts....

1. I love MH lighting! I don't like the power consumption.
2. I'm getting more accepting of LED technology now versus five years ago.
3. I'd really like to clean up the light rack and the WIRING( no pictures lol)

Love to hear peoples thoughts.
Thanks!!!!

How about four, 48" 8 bulb ATI fixtures turned perpendicular? The 48" will cover the 5 feet width fine. One fixture for every 30 inch width is probably doable, unless you are going wall to wall with sps corals. Plus, the 8 T5bulbs in each fixture should give good par even for a 30" deep tank. That should reduce your wattage based on what you are currently running. You could even get the dimmable fixture if you don't anticipate needing to pump full wattage all the time. Upfront costs would be much less than what you'd probably have to spend on LEDs. Bulb costs would add up over time, but you are probably talking about 6+ years break even relative to what you'd have to spend on a comparable led system. This would get you down to 12 plugs (4 for fans, 8 for the dual channels on each fixture).

Good luck, and as others have requested, we want to see pictures if this tank!

 

[vetteguy53081]

How about four, 48" 8 bulb ATI fixtures turned perpendicular? The 48" will cover the 5 feet width fine. One fixture for every 30 inch width is probably doable, unless you are going wall to wall with sps corals. Plus, the 8 T5bulbs in each fixture should give good par even for a 30" deep tank. That should reduce your wattage based on what you are currently running. You could even get the dimmable fixture if you don't anticipate needing to pump full wattage all the time. Upfront costs would be much less than what you'd probably have to spend on LEDs. Bulb costs would add up over time, but you are probably talking about 6+ years break even relative to what you'd have to spend on a comparable led system. This would get you down to 12 plugs (4 for fans, 8 for the dual channels on each fixture).

Good luck, and as others have requested, we want to see pictures if this tank!

Pics always welcomed