Suggestions for lighting my tank please

B-ridge · Jun 20, 2018

I have a 240 gallon tank. Measurements 60 long. 36 wide. 25 high. I’m looking for suggestions on lighting my tank. Right now I have 4 fathom Pharos led lights. These lights have worked well for me but they are now 7-8 years old. Every time I turn around another led light is out. Now becoming very frustrating. The owner is no longer in business so know way of replacing the lights which brings me to the topic of this thread. For the longest I was thinking of going with the ati sun power 60 inch 8x80. Some suggested this light would be awesome. Some say too much for my tank. Others suggested the 48 inch 8x80. Some also suggested this would be a better option but I was nervous I wouldn’t get great spread through out length of tank. Which wouldn’t be too bad of a idea cause then I could put less light dependent corals on the ends. Issue I have with these lights is I would have to buy led strips to get that pop in color. Replacing bulbs every year which add up over time. That leads me back to leds. I love some are programmable. Would definitely be going for that dawn to dusk look. Could hook up to my apex. Don’t like the prices of leds. Now my plans for now and the future call for easy corals and easy sps. Torches. Hammers. Frogspawn. Zoas. Duncan’s. Acans. Birds nest. Pocilopora. Digitata. Montipora. Branching Montipora. Also some leathers and softies. So I’m looking for you guys input and suggestions. Remember tank is 36 inches wide. Thanks all

pluikens · Jun 20, 2018

You could go with two, but preferably three, Orphek Atlantik Compacts. Another option for that 36" width would be the Aquatic Life T5 hybrid fixture. 60" length, get the additional 24-inch end plates and LED brackets, use four of your choice of AI, EcoTech, or Kessil LED units. Then you can have the programmable dimming of the LEDs with the extra width of T5s on the front and back.

Daniel Waters · Jun 21, 2018

I think your two best options would be

3 Orphek Atlantiks or
8 bulb ATI (48") with 2 to 4 total 48" LED bars on the sides of the fixture*

*Note: you would need to mount the ATI fixture at 12" or higher I think, but the 48" fixture length will definitely cover the 60" length with less par on the edges. The T5s will light the 36" width but the par values will vary quite a bit I imagine from the center to the back and front panes. However, most of the corals you mentioned are not high light corals, so I actually think the various light zones might make it easier for you to place corals as needed. You would be a little restricted in placing high light needing corals in the center of the tank more directly underneath the T5 fixture, but i think you should still have a large 48" x 24" area that could accommodate SPS. The LED bars would be to help cover the 36" width a little better. One on each side should suffice but you could increase to 2 on each side if needed. Your overall cost on this hybrid option would be much less initially but replacement bulb costs (after several years) will negate the up front cost savings. The tank will look different under this setup than what you are used to with just LEDs, so you'd want to be sure you like T5 lighting. Personally, I like having both T5 and LEDs on my tank.

14 foot reef · Jun 21, 2018

This is an

pluikens said:
You could go with two, but preferably three, Orphek Atlantik Compacts. Another option for that 36" width would be the Aquatic Life T5 hybrid fixture. 60" length, get the additional 24-inch end plates and LED brackets, use four of your choice of AI, EcoTech, or Kessil LED units. Then you can have the programmable dimming of the LEDs with the extra width of T5s on the front and back.

excellent choice, modifying my 14' reef to this exact set up ... QTY 3 AI 4 foot hybrid fixtures with 9 Kessil 360's ...I will be complete with this in a week or so.

pluikens · Jun 21, 2018

14 foot reef said:
This is an

excellent choice, modifying my 14' reef to this exact set up ... QTY 3 AI 4 foot hybrid fixtures with 9 Kessil 360's ...I will be complete with this in a week or so.

Thanks, what's the width of your tank? I see it may be a bowfront?