naw tank, have lighting ?'s

[will2525]

i just ordered a custom tank and im kinda confused on lighting. the tank is 72 long, 26 deep, 19 high. i wanted a shallow lagoon style tank for lps/zoos. it is basically imo a perfect tank for a t5 fixture but i really want the tank to have light shimmer in the water and t5's dont do that. im thinking either do an 8 bulb t5 light and maybe some led's on the back for shimmer or do a hanging hood and do mh/t5 combo, but i really think mh on the tank would be way overkill and add a huge cost. btw its an open top tank a canopy isn't an option i really hate the look of them. any help or insight would be appreciated.

 

[TopNotchCorals]

i just ordered a custom tank and im kinda confused on lighting. the tank is 72 long, 26 deep, 19 high. i wanted a shallow lagoon style tank for lps/zoos. it is basically imo a perfect tank for a t5 fixture but i really want the tank to have light shimmer in the water and t5's dont do that. im thinking either do an 8 bulb t5 light and maybe some led's on the back for shimmer or do a hanging hood and do mh/t5 combo, but i really think mh on the tank would be way overkill and add a huge cost. btw its an open top tank a canopy isn't an option i really hate the look of them. any help or insight would be appreciated.

If you add LED strips to a T5 setup you will get no shimmer as the T5's are way too brite.I think your best bet would be to go with a DIY fixture from Reefledlights or a few of the Gen1 fixtures from Luke,being that your tank is only 19" tall you would be fine with the Gen1's

 

[drainbamage]

I get some shimmering from my teklight T5s, but yea, definitly not as much as you might be looking for. And what above said, your T5's will drown out your LEDs unless you go with a higher wat LED as opposed to one similar to the 'stunner strips' like ecoxotic sells.
Considering depth and size of tank, I'd really push for the T5s for the best for the tank, but if the shimmering is really of import then you might want to stick with halides.

 

[will2525]

see thats my problem, i have a 4 bulb tek light over my 40br and love it. i would def go 6 bulbs for the new tank, but i'd really like to have the water shimmer to make it look more realistic. maybe im just being too picky. and im kinda against straight halides because you don't get the just actinic time that really makes the tank fun to look at, and you can't customize the color with bulbs like the fiji purple with halides only.