Nov. 10 - Your lighting opinion wanted @ wickedfrags.com (pics)
 

Ok - to better serve our customers (and specifically to avoid those long delays in shipping after you order!), I recently added a new frag tank (48"l x 36"w x 8"h). I attached some pics below.

I am interested in your thoughts on lighting. My two options are an 8 bulb T5 fixture, or 2 - 250W 20K XM halides. I am confident I can grow and keep any coral using either lighting option, but was curious what some Canreef members might think.

Would you rather buy frags grown out and photograhed under T5 or 250W
20K Metal Halide??? Thanks.

(and oh ya, I will update the site with some wicked frags and post some new pics soon - hopefully tomorrow or Monday).

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...20tank/new.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...0tank/new1.jpg

It's curious that no one has commented on this.

I'm partial to T5's. I have an 8-bulb unit over my own aquarium and it's fantastic. The colour combination possibilities are unparalleled and the light intensity is more than enough (SPS and Crocea seem quite happy). Things have coloured up quite nicely under them.

Personally on my tank I'm partial to the halides, that being said you're putting this together for growth and photography and with a t5 set up you can really customize the colour like was previously mentioned to maximize colour and coral "pop"

I vote MH. In the end it really doesnt matter to me as long as the frags are top shelf.

I agree with Lando. As long as the frags are top shelf, I could care less.

Despite the fact I think many peolle use 250W metal halides I opted to go with the T5's. While I am partial to halides myself, bulb replacement and electricity were considered as part of the reason I opted with the T5's. I have decided to keep mostly my LPS in this frag tank, as I have a 250W 20KM over my other frag tank ties into my main.

I will be posting some updated pics or a few new goodies shortly! Thanks.

I wasn't online much this weekend and somehow missed this thread.

I was actually planning on a prop tank with the same dimensions for my new system, although I might go a little higher, either 8", 12" or even 14". Reason being is that it's also going to replace my 40g gigantea tank as they have outgrown the 24x24 footprint (12" high) for a while now. I want it shallow but not so shallow that it presents a challenge for flow conditions once it has some rock, also I want some side viewing opportunities since I guess it's not technically just a prop tank.

Anyhow, there's the background. I was thinking going 2x250W over this tank, mainly because I have some HQI ballasts sitting around unused anyhow, so might as well put them to use. However, I think T5's would work just as well. Plus with T5's you can mix and match bulbs.

The costs savings however .. I don't think will be significant. If this was MY tank, with the 36" depth I'd probably be looking at at least an 8-lamp T5 unit. And well .. 8*54 = 432, so that's not a huge reduction from 500. Also the cost of replacing halides is in the order of $80-110 (depending on what you use, what deals/sales you can find, etc.) and the cost of T5's ranging in price from $20-30 (as far as I can tell) means a lamp replacement turnover cost of around $200 as well. (Of course, at least with T5's you don't have to replace them all at once.)

Anyhow, I'm not at all suggesting that halides would have been a better choice. It's really a case of preference and I think that either option is really good. If you've decided on T5's then there you go. :)

One thing I am curious on however is that it seems that as a prop tank, you're not leveraging off the main tank's ability to replenish Ca/Alk/etc (calcium reactor, etc.). As a user of many tanks that are disparate (I house many anemones and in general it is bad form to house multiple anemones in the same water), I can tell you I find it a bit of a drag that I have multiple skimmers, multiple lighting options, multiple reactors, multiple CO2 systems, multiple dosing schemes, and .. with the capital I have invested across these many tanks, I could have had one top-shelf system instead of 3 or 4 mediocre setups. And the $10 frags that I sell at the rate of about 1 per every 6 to 12 months, just doesn't seem to be cutting it for a replacement income. ;) I know your situation is slightly different, and anyhow, this tank will work as a "wicked" frag holding tank regardless, so anyhow it's just an observation. With my 48x36 tank I'm hoping to run it as a satellite tank branched off the main tank's sump, if for no other reason than I can leverage my Ca and Kalk reactors and skimmers. The ritteri tank will forever be a distinct system though, I've learned my lesson with that one.

tek T5 here
i am keeping SPS with good color.
One old one is getting back to pink color after being brown for 2 years (originaly bought from Chin )
One red one from SeaHorseFanatic kept it's nice red and i already fragged it.
few very small naturally ocured SPS are growing out of the rocks here and there, people who have been to my place recently can chime in to confirm.

i think T5 are good choice for tanks up to 2 feet deep. Somewhat cheep-er on hydro, good K color selection and cool to run.
JMO

3' wide lighting area means your halides won't cover the last 6" on each side, and completely defeats the purpose of having a 3' wide tank. For that reason, and that reason only I would suggest you use two 48" 4-bulb T5 fixtures so you can put a space between the fixtures and cover the 3' space better. :)