Need advise with lighting

[Jeremy Hull]

My current tank is 72x24x30 I would like to run a mixed reef setup.
My current light setup is consist of 3 black box led systems (claimed to be 300 watt, but everything built similar says 160watt). I'm unsure if this is adiquate for what I want.
If it is I'll leave it alone, but something tells me it's not ideal.
I was looking at a 72" aquavim hybrid t5/mh system that consist of 3 400watt mh bulbs and 2 80watt t5ho bulbs. I'm pretty confident this would be more then enough light, but concerned with the heat output affecting the plastic bracing I have on the top of the tank.
My other option I'm considering is a 8x80 ati t5ho setup.
Im also open to other ideas but I'd like to stay under 1k

 

[xabo]

My current tank is 72x24x30 I would like to run a mixed reef setup.
My current light setup is consist of 3 black box led systems (claimed to be 300 watt, but everything built similar says 160watt). I'm unsure if this is adiquate for what I want.
If it is I'll leave it alone, but something tells me it's not ideal.
I was looking at a 72" aquavim hybrid t5/mh system that consist of 3 400watt mh bulbs and 2 80watt t5ho bulbs. I'm pretty confident this would be more then enough light, but concerned with the heat output affecting the plastic bracing I have on the top of the tank.
My other option I'm considering is a 8x80 ati t5ho setup.
Im also open to other ideas but I'd like to stay under 1k

Like this:

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

My current light setup is consist of 3 black box led systems (claimed to be 300 watt, but everything built similar says 160watt). I'm unsure if this is adiquate for what I want.
If it is I'll leave it alone, but something tells me it's not ideal.

What makes you think that black box LED lights are not ideal? They're not the most sleek looking aquarium light available, nor do they allow you to mimic sunrise/sunset. But there's no doubt that they grow corals just fine.

Before making any changes, I would get a PAR meter (a lux meter is even cheaper, $15 on Amazon) and quantify the actual light output before making any decisions. I suspect that for a mixed reef, 3x 300w black boxes will be just fine over a tank your size.

If you want to upgrade your lighting just because you're tired of the black boxes or because you have a thousand dollars just burning a hole in your pocket, these are both valid reasons to upgrade lights. After all, this is a hobby, and many reefers choose to tinker or upgrade simply because it increases their enjoyment of the hobby. I would be very surprised, however, if these lights need to be upgraded because they don't produce enough light to grow corals. Generic black boxes produce a lot more light than people think.

 

[jda]

400w MH for a mixed reef is too much light, IMO, even at 30 inches deep. 250w MH is probably too much light as well, but more in the ballpark. 150w HQI with some T5s are great lights for a mixed reef... and pretty low wattage all things considered. You might be able to find some older/used AquaMedic or Giesemann fixtures that can do this for pretty cheap - they are still great lights. 175w single ended halide is kinda the same thing.

Call Hamilton and see what they recommend if you want MH/T5 - this is still the gold standard for color and performance. It does not have to be hot if you plan ahead. I have run halides for more than two decades and they have never impacted the plastic trim of a good tank - there are all kinds of cheap plastic out there, though.

Cheap MH fixtures are no bargain. Good quality used are affordable and great choices - there are some 250W AquaMedic pendants on ebay right now for about $120 shipped... only two, so you would need to find a third.

8x80 is cool. You will have dark ends of your tank and this can get annoying. It did for me... 6 foot light over a 7 foot tank and I had to buy additional fixtures to light the ends.

FWIW - 300w is your model number, not a wattage. They did this on purpose to deceive folks into buying them. Sorry.

 

[Jeremy Hull]

I certainly don't wish to spend money on equipment I don't need!
I originally bought these lights for my old 150 gallon at the time was advised 4 maybe necessary, so right away I'm thinking the larger tank would need more light. Then when I went to look them up I realized they seem to no longer exist, and everything that looks similar is claiming to be 160 watts. That sparked the idea that maybe they're not even what they claimed to be.
With lighting having such a impact on the outcome of our tanks I want to make sure I do it right.

 

[jda]

They are not what they claimed to be, but they might be OK. Lots of people are happy enough with black boxes, but the "fresh/hot" brand changes over time... from Vipar to Mars to SB to whatever... but in the end, they are mostly all the same diodes and you pay extra for features like dimming, more channels, etc.

There is little argument to be made that pure performance (coverage, color and growth) is better with MH, but the extra might not be worth it to you... especially depending on what you want to keep. I do agree that lighting is the most important factor - I would take my MH and middling/wandering water quality over stellar water quality and middling lights. However, only you can decide on what "doing it right" means to you.

30 inches deep is no joke, but there are plenty of mixed-reef corals that can do well down there... just not really clams or the other high light stuff, but you can keep them up higher if you want to have them.

 

[Jeremy Hull]

FWIW - 300w is your model number, not a wattage. They did this on purpose to deceive folks into buying them. Sorry.[/QUOTE]

Haha you know I just noticed that after you mentioned it. It actually doesn't even give a wattage rating it just says 300w to make you assume it's 300 watts.

 

[jda]

It is 100% in the paradigm of the Chinese-made-for-America somewhat knock-off market. Jeabo pumps have names and numbers similar to Tunze, Red Dragon, Coralife or EcoTech products, etc. It is on purpose. They know that they can sell more units that way just by misleading folks... and by the time that people get mad about it, they are no longer made and have new names from the same factory. It kinda feels dirty, doesn't it?

 

[newbreefer316]

I recently purchased a 72x24x30 210g. It came with 3 15" MH pendants with luxcore 250-400w ballasts and 250w radium bulbs. While I would really like to stick with the MH over the mixed reef I know I don't "need" them for what I want to accomplish with the tank and I'm going to go with 2 ap700 with 2 t5 supplemental bulbs, similar to how BRS originally did their 160.