Lighting without the fancy stuffs

[DracoKat]

I am looking to upgrade my Coralife 4-bulb T5 fixture. I have a 48" 75g tank, no canopy.

I am still unsure if I want to keep T5's (go 6 or 8 bulb), or switch to LEDs, I am still weighing pros and cons.. but right now I am looking at pricing and see how much I need to save.

I am looking for basic lights (or fixtures for T5) that does not use wifi or controllers.. none of the fancy sunrise/sunset/thunder/cloudy settings. Basic plug and play lights that I can hook to timers. I don't want to spend money on these nice to have extras that seem useless to me.

also looking for ones that has leg mounts to sit on my tank without use of canopy. I do not want to hang lights either.. this is the other tricky part of my search.

Can someone help me narrow down some lights that fit the above criteria?

thank you!

Edit: Should add.. for mixed reef including SPS and anenomes.

 

[mcarroll]

A CurrentUSA Orbit system was going to be my recommendation until you said no controller.....so try their plain TrueLumen Pro LED Strips. Replace the T5 tubes 1 for 1 (so you have four strips or more).

You can still hook them up to a controller later if you change your mind, but you can just use a manual dimmer until then. (I'd order at least one-too-many strips and then dim them a little from 100%.)

 

[joseserrano]

Are you planning on growing corals that would need more then a 4 bulb, if so, go with an aquaticlife 6 or 8 bulb. You can find one for less then $200 bucks, built in timer.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

A standard black box would fit the bill.
I'm in the sbreeflight cult. They make an affordable two channel w dimmer.

If your a fan of the look of t5 on the tank you'll probaly be disappointed in the look of two 16 in or one 32in fixture imo. T5 coverage is as good as it gets and most led users are chasing that dragon. Pulling lenses , using diffusion etc.

The current orbit marine pro is 48 and even though it has bells and whistles it's actually designed to set on the tank the full length and is about the same power as a for to six tube t5. Easy to find them used and honestly the bells and whistles are very loud on them.

IMO eight bulb is overkill at that distance over the tank.
An older ati 4 tube might be the ticket or
Or look at the eBay six tube t5s perhaps. The big manufactures just aren't making the t5 selection choices they used to.

 

[DracoKat]

Thank you all! Keep the suggestions and advice coming!

I feel I need a bit more power. I love the Coralife fixture- it's great for clams and softies but I feel in need more oomph for sps and bta. I have an sbar too but not quite enough still.

 

[DracoKat]

A standard black box would fit the bill.
I'm in the sbreeflight cult. They make an affordable two channel w dimmer.

If your a fan of the look of t5 on the tank you'll probaly be disappointed in the look of two 16 in or one 32in fixture imo. T5 coverage is as good as it gets and most led users are chasing that dragon. Pulling lenses , using diffusion etc.

The current orbit marine pro is 48 and even though it has bells and whistles it's actually designed to set on the tank the full length and is about the same power as a for to six tube t5. Easy to find them used and honestly the bells and whistles are very loud on them.

IMO eight bulb is overkill at that distance over the tank.
An older ati 4 tube might be the ticket or
Or look at the eBay six tube t5s perhaps. The big manufactures just aren't making the t5 selection choices they used to.

That's my concern with the led- will I be playing with the light constantly? Will the disco effect drive me nuts? Too bad I don't have anyone to let me try for a while to see before I buy

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Thank you all! Keep the suggestions and advice coming!

I feel I need a bit more power. I love the Coralife fixture- it's great for clams and softies but I feel in need more oomph for sps and bta. I have an sbar too but not quite enough still.

A basic rule Ive found on par and t5 is, with ati tubes at 12in, the par is about 165 (i use 200 as an easy estimate) so at 12in 4 t5 tubes would be 600-700+ par. at the top of the tank.

So if your delivering 200 to 300 par mid tank your actually fine. clams acros nems etc. (you do have to consider time of course)

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

That's my concern with the led- will I be playing with the light constantly? Will the disco effect drive me nuts? Too bad I don't have anyone to let me try for a while to see before I buy

Right? Not to mention color. Im not a fan of Kessil color, some are not a fan of SB color.

 

[mcarroll]

Thank you all! Keep the suggestions and advice coming!

I feel I need a bit more power. I love the Coralife fixture- it's great for clams and softies but I feel in need more oomph for sps and bta. I have an sbar too but not quite enough still.

Maybe this will help:

You do not need more oomph than you have.

Keep the coralife fixture if you like it....they actually made quality light fixtures IMO.

Unless you're tired of T5's (cost, heat mostly) I'm not sure I'd say to switch at all – spend the money on corals or another set of bulbs or something instead.

If you are tired of them, of course switching to another T5 fixture makes no sense.

And like Salty said, if you like the look of your lights and weren't thinking about switching to (e.g.) halides for a different look, then I's say to definitely stick with strips for your upgrade.

 

[mcarroll]

That's my concern with the led- will I be playing with the light constantly? Will the disco effect drive me nuts? Too bad I don't have anyone to let me try for a while to see before I buy

Just keep in mind that a good LFS will allow returns – and so will a good online store, although returns are a hassle and expensive that way.

And even if you can't return it, you can always sell it – if you sell it right away it's usually possible to get almost all your money back out. So the risk is mostly in the wasted bother. But if you like to experiment, then it's no bother!

 

[CPL376]

Keep your current lights and add a two bulb fixture to your current lights. That way you can turn them off and on with a simple timer I turn on the two then the four an hour later and then off in reverse order. Also just a personal opinion. I switched to LEDs a couple years ago. Actually ran them for about a year and a half. Hated them the entire time and was never happier to switch back to the t-5s Good luck with whatever you choose