Lights for 36" aquarium - T5 bulb recommendations.

[UncleSalty]

Hello! So I had a 6' 220g, but after evaluating where it was going to go in the new house, I just am not comfortable unless I had to reinforce the floor, and that's not a route I wanted to go right now.

So I got a 150g DD Cube with Starphire! Anyways, I am planning on getting one of these for lighting....

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/36-h...re-with-led-mounting-system-aquatic-life.html

but I was curious which bulbs I should add. I was thinking with 4 bulbs, I would get (2) Blue +, (1) Purple +, and (1) True Actinic - but I have NEVER dealt with T5s, so I wanted to get everyones thoughts.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hello! So I had a 6' 220g, but after evaluating where it was going to go in the new house, I just am not comfortable unless I had to reinforce the floor, and that's not a route I wanted to go right now.

So I got a 150g DD Cube with Starphire! Anyways, I am planning on getting one of these for lighting....

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/36-h...re-with-led-mounting-system-aquatic-life.html

but I was curious which bulbs I should add. I was thinking with 4 bulbs, I would get (2) Blue +, (1) Purple +, and (1) True Actinic - but I have NEVER dealt with T5s, so I wanted to get everyones thoughts.

My personal preference is two ATI blue+, one Coral+ and one Purple+, this is the combo given to me by Matt at Boom Corals . Another good combo would be two blue+ and two Actinic. That is what BRS runs on the BRS160

 

[jda]

This depends on how you are going to run the LEDs that you put in there. If you want to run the LEDs blue for the blacklight look, then get whiter bulbs for the T5s. I would look for them to compliment each other and not try and do the same thing with both.

I know that you did not ask, but covering 36x36 with just one of those is going to be hard. You could have a foot on either side of the LEDs that is low light and 2x T5s covering that area will help, but this is not a lot of light. That might be totally fine depending on what you want to keep, but it is probably smart to ask... what are you going to keep?

 

[UncleSalty]

I know that you did not ask, but covering 36x36 with just one of those is going to be hard. You could have a foot on either side of the LEDs that is low light and 2x T5s covering that area will help, but this is not a lot of light. That might be totally fine depending on what you want to keep, but it is probably smart to ask... what are you going to keep?

This is a valid point that I did not think of. I would like it to be mixed with SPS and LPS. I guess I would have to run more LPS lower and around the edges.....or get 2......

 

[jda]

For me, this tank screams a 10/12 bulb super-wide T5 fixture... or a 250/400W Halide on a big reflector.

36" deep tanks are no joke to light... good luck. People who have never had one think that what they do can scale, but while they mean well, they have no idea until they tried to solve this.

 

[UncleSalty]

For me, this tank screams a 10/12 bulb super-wide T5 fixture... or a 250/400W Halide on a big reflector.

36" deep tanks are no joke to light... good luck. People who have never had one think that what they do can scale, but while they mean well, they have no idea until they tried to solve this.

Any suggestions?

 

[jda]

10x39w ATI. ...or a pair of 6 bulb ATIs.

Hamilton Cozumel Sun with 400w bulb. No dusk/dawn or controlling on this... just pure performance. Lumen Bright Large can work too.

 

[Montiman]

I think the hybrid will be fine depending on which leds you use. Aquatic life just released extra wide brackets for 36in deep tanks. I think 2 xr30s or hydra 52s would work great. If you are a Kessil guy like me I would do 2 ap700s plus t5s but unfortunately they won’t fit in the fixture even with the wide aquatic life brackets. I would go with 2 retrofits instead.
https://www.marineandreef.com/AquaticLife_Hybrid_24_End_Plate_23_25_Pair_p/ral01536.htm