Want to add more lighting

Beej1254 · Mar 29, 2016

So as my first official advice thread on R2R I am asking for some opinions. I'm sure this was covered in one way or another on this forum but I want to ask.

I currently have a 112gal mixed reef tank. 5ft long and 18inch wide (I think) 2 ft deep. My lighting as of right now consists of 2 black box led units I got from eBay. They are set about 12 inches above the waterline. I have a shadowy area over the center of my tank which I'm noticing my zoas as they are growing are shadowing the ones below. Because of this my zoas are getting bald spots. This so far is my best colony of zoas and my oldest. I feel like without redoing some rock positioning that I could add supplemental lighting which may be more beneficial to my tank overall. I was thinking of t5ho or maybe adding another led unit. My budget is only about $200 at the moment.

I am really looking for some advice here so anything working toward solving this issue would be great. Thank you!

I included a picture of my tank so you can see the shadowy area.

mcarroll · Mar 29, 2016

If you're otherwise happy with the lights you have, adding another unit is probably the most logical thing to do IMO.

MikeyAl · Mar 30, 2016

bbearden101 · Mar 30, 2016

I have seen a lot of Beautiful t5 led box combos. I currently have 1 185 watt Chinese box, and a 165 marsaqua and am looking into adding t5s for some more supplemental blue, but the shadowing thing I had the same problems with my boxs so I slightly pulled them together with fishing string don't angle them tho otherwise you will mess up the balance of the fan. When you get t5s you may have to drop your box's down alot so some of your light won't be shaded out but other than that you will get what you want by just adding 1 or 2. Another route would be a kessil light system instead of having a whole light it would be more like a spot light, the light still spreads like your current led box's but once you get it mounted where you want it it would fill in the spot

MikeyAl · Mar 30, 2016

The kessil approach listed above would be the cleanest.

Beej1254 · Mar 30, 2016

bbearden101 said:
I have seen a lot of Beautiful t5 led box combos. I currently have 1 185 watt Chinese box, and a 165 marsaqua and am looking into adding t5s for some more supplemental blue, but the shadowing thing I had the same problems with my boxs so I slightly pulled them together with fishing string don't angle them tho otherwise you will mess up the balance of the fan. When you get t5s you may have to drop your box's down alot so some of your light won't be shaded out but other than that you will get what you want by just adding 1 or 2. Another route would be a kessil light system instead of having a whole light it would be more like a spot light, the light still spreads like your current led box's but once you get it mounted where you want it it would fill in the spot

Great bit of advice. I appreciate your time. I do like my LEDs right now but I don't feel like they are enough because of the shadowing. I have been wondering if adding 1-2 t5ho bulbs would be at all beneficial to my tank

MikeyAl · Mar 30, 2016

A lot of bulk with the t5. Why not add a kessil. You can pick up an a160 on the sellers forums.

Beej1254 · Mar 30, 2016

I won't rule anything out yet. I'm just trying to get advice. I know your right about the bulk of t5s and if I got some I'd have to totally redo my hanging setup to add them in. Im gonna do some reading on kessils

bbearden101 · Mar 30, 2016

Like Mike said I would try to find a kessil light it plus your box's would give you plenty of coverage if your dead sat on t5s then they will work but it's going to clutter the top, and more shading might occur from the t5 set up since it's bulky. it's not a must the lights you have are good for your tank no need in spending the extra money unless you have to. The only reason I'm thinking about adding t5s is to add more blue across my whole tank not just a specific area.

bbearden101 · Mar 30, 2016

You may be able to move your box lights closer together and cut the shadow down but it will also pull some light away from the edges. I have mine hung closer to the middle of my tank than the outside of my tank