New to salt, building my first tank

[Nm1]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post.

I am not new to fish keeping, I have several large freshwater tanks and have decided to start expanding into salt. I have built out a 125g 48x24x24 with corner overflows which will be hooked to a vertex Supra c+. I will begin as a fowlr and evolve into a reef overtime.

I take building a tank seriously and will build a Ferrai from day one but work my way into it.

So my question...what is a good lighting system that I can grow with that will walk me thru the development of the tank. I hate having to upgrade, I rather do it right from the start.

Thank you in advance for your input.

 

[User1]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post.

I am not new to fish keeping, I have several large freshwater tanks and have decided to start expanding into salt. I have built out a 125g 48x24x24 with corner overflows which will be hooked to a vertex Supra c+. I will begin as a fowlr and evolve into a reef overtime.

I take building a tank seriously and will build a Ferrai from day one but work my way into it.

So my question...what is a good lighting system that I can grow with that will walk me thru the development of the tank. I hate having to upgrade, I rather do it right from the start.

Thank you in advance for your input.

Welcome to the saltwater side of aquariums.

Off the shelf there are several choices. Hit up the lighting sub forum and you will see posts with Kessil, Ecotech, and a slew of other LED kits. There are also T-5's (bulb) and hybrid with T-5's and LED's. Metal Halide are still a thing if you are into that. If you plan properly how much of the tank you need covered and some basic coral lighting requirements you have plenty to choose from all allowing to be carried forward should you upgrade yet take care of what you have.

You can also go the DIY route if you are ok with electronics and get great lighting and saving some money

 

[Dierks]

Oh man you will get so many answers here about lighting but I am a big fan of the AI Hydra Series. I have an Apex and it works well with each other so I really enjoy them. I have had good luck with them and are a reputable company. But like any big company you will get both the good and the bad.

Also welcome to the R2R Family!! You will get lots of people to chime in on this subject... And you can do LOTS of research here as well! Good Luck and again Welcome to R2R!

 

[Smarkow]

Welcome to reef to reef!

Consider getting the Aquatic Life T5 hybrid fixture. You can hang just the T5 at the start and wait to install whatever LED you want in the center, or start with a cheaper LED in center while you are FOWLR and upgrade your lighting to latest/greatest when you make the transition to reef down the line.

This is what I have used over my reef past few years with kessil AP700s in the center.

 

[BamboozleBean]

A mix of T5 and LEDs seems to work for most people, I have just LEDs though but my LPS and soft corals are doing well. Just introduced an SPS today.

 

[Nm1]

Oh man you will get so many answers here about lighting but I am a big fan of the AI Hydra Series. I have an Apex and it works well with each other so I really enjoy them. I have had good luck with them and are a reputable company. But like any big company you will get both the good and the bad.

Also welcome to the R2R Family!! You will get lots of people to chime in on this subject... And you can do LOTS of research here as well! Good Luck and again Welcome to R2R!

Thank you for your kind words and I will look in to them for sure.

 

[bryanfuel]

Welcome to reef to reef!

Consider getting the Aquatic Life T5 hybrid fixture. You can hang just the T5 at the start and wait to install whatever LED you want in the center, or start with a cheaper LED in center while you are FOWLR and upgrade your lighting to latest/greatest when you make the transition to reef down the line.

This is what I have used over my reef past few years with kessil AP700s in the center.

This is a great idea. A full LED suite seems over kill for a FOWLR but using just the T5's then converting to a hybrid is a great idea and won't involve any wasted money up front.

 

[AdamB]

Welcome to R2R! Is your tank rimless?
I like idea also of a t5 hybrid setup starting out with t 5s when I started out with T5’s on my mixed reef tank that I started 4 years ago and now evolved to al hydra leds which I absolutely think is the best light setup I have ever owned .

 

[Auquanut]

Welcome to the party! I currently run black box LED's over my 125 reef, but I'm considering taking down one of my planted FW tanks and starting a FOWLR with the same dimensions you mentioned. When I do, I'll be going with the T5 hybrids. Like you, I'm not sure how long it will remain FOWLR.

 

[flyline]

Welcome

 

[Nm1]

Welcome to R2R! Is your tank rimless?
I like idea also of a t5 hybrid setup starting out with t 5s when I started out with T5’s on my mixed reef tank that I started 4 years ago and now evolved to al hydra leds which I absolutely think is the best light setup I have ever owned .

Hi and thank you.
No my tank has a rim.