Lightrails - next big thing in reef lighting?

[hawk]

On a 8 ft tank I wonder how it would work if a single 400w was on the light mover during the day, then have the tank fully lit in the evening for a few hours when the tank is being viewed?

[fkshiu]

Originally Posted by hawk

On a 8 ft tank I wonder how it would work if a single 400w was on the light mover during the day, then have the tank fully lit in the evening for a few hours when the tank is being viewed?

Others have supplemented the lightrail MH with T5s along the entire length of the tank so as to minimize the shadowing effect.

[littlesilvermax]

I have that same system from Sunlight Supply, got it about 3 years ago I think.

I have a 7'2" tank with three 250 watts MHs and I supplement with 4 T5s and 2 VHO actinics.

Right click and "save as" to watch the first vid


Right click and "save as" to watch the second vid

I have had to adjust a few things eover the years to keep it working, but I am very happy with the system.

[fkshiu]

Cool vids.

How much clearance do you need above the tank?

[littlesilvermax]

Originally Posted by fkshiu

Cool vids.

How much clearance do you need above the tank?

I have 2 feet total above my tank and it works OK, I would prefer more. The extra aluminum bar that holds the three halides takes about a few inches too, so it depends if you mont one halide to the mover or mount a few like I did.

[mark]

Not that I would do it but wondering something...

I have a tank that is ~6' long with 2-250W pendents with T5 on both sides. Would I be able to replace with one 250W on a light rail going end to end? I see the gain in dropping one pendant and ballast (save on energy and less heat) but there's obviously a drop in the overall light the tank would receive. See increasing photoperiod, going to 400W etc, but wondering how this would be correctly adjusted from the fairly typical setup (bulb for every 2-3' and 8-9 hour photoperiod)?

[littlesilvermax]

My tank is over 7 feet and I use 3 250 watt halides with the lgiht rail.

I don't think a 6 footer would work with 1 halide. It is not like the sun, where it changes angle but is always shining on the reef through-out the day.