Advise please on lights.

[Trigger Man]

Originally Posted by lorenz0

judging by your choices i take it your looking at getting into SPS right??

take a look into tek fixtures as well. the results of T5HO are impressive with the right bulb choices. how long is your 90gal? and how deep?

I would agree, check out the tek T5 HO units. I'm running the 48 inch 4 bulb one on my 125ish gallon tank and all my corals have done well with good coloring and growth. I've got many sps in there as well (some easy ones some hard), and have had no problems (running them for over 2 years). The best part about the T5s is the fact that they don't heat up the tank in the summer (also they are cheaper to buy, and bulb replacement is a lot cheaper with many bulbs to choose from).

[Kostas]

Originally Posted by Trigger Man

I would agree, check out the tek T5 HO units. I'm running the 48 inch 4 bulb one on my 125ish gallon tank and all my corals have done well with good coloring and growth. I've got many sps in there as well (some easy ones some hard), and have had no problems (running them for over 2 years). The best part about the T5s is the fact that they don't heat up the tank in the summer (also they are cheaper to buy, and bulb replacement is a lot cheaper with many bulbs to choose from).

how many watts are cheap bulb?
i know someone with a t5 each 54w. so my cp are strong then those.

[lorenz0]

Originally Posted by Kostas

how many watts are cheap bulb?
i know someone with a t5 each 54w. so my cp are strong then those.

Chuck that whole watt per gal theory out the window. lol best thing i learned about lighting. it all depends on the output of the light. even though PC might put out more watts its still not giving off the proper light for certain coral (SPS mostly). than when you add reflectors into it your increasing the light. I have a 130watt PC on my 20H and a 108watt T5OH on my 10gal and the difference is insane. the T5's put out way better lighting.


T5's have won the battle with me when it comes to lighting. the two things that sold me on T5's were the heating issue and shadowing with MH lighting. Once i get my larger tank up and running i am looking forward to comparing my roomate MH/t5 set up to my T5OH set up.

here are the two fixtures i would reccomend:

http://www.current-usa.com/nova_extreme_pro

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...ILTFIT58U.html

the tek fixture doesn't come with bulbs but from what i heard they have better reflectors but you need to buy the bulbs. the one plus side to the NEP is the fact you don't need to buy bulbs right away and is a bit cheaper on the wallet. I am happy with my NEP but the 20" lighting is a whole different story since there isn't any bulb support for it besides what current has to offer.

to be honest look at peoples tanks that have the lighting your looking at and see how it is effecting the coral. here are 2 thread on RC that i watch:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=421647

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...5&pagenumber=1

[pastout]

so are there any lighting guru's here? i need help with lights to haha. i just bought t5ho 8 bulb 48 inch set up for a 90 gallon tank and was wondering what a good bulb configuration yet iu olny have 2 bulbs so far just a fiji purple and a midday

[Trigger Man]

Originally Posted by pastout

so are there any lighting guru's here? i need help with lights to haha. i just bought t5ho 8 bulb 48 inch set up for a 90 gallon tank and was wondering what a good bulb configuration yet iu olny have 2 bulbs so far just a fiji purple and a midday

The bulb I've really been liking is KZ's New Generation (14.4k), so I'd say get one of those. As well having a KZ Coral light 10K would look good. You already have a KZ Fuji Purple which will compliment the other bulbs. I would say getting a Ati blue +, or a Ati actinic blue if you can not find the blue + in the mix would be good (does not have to be ATI brand).
I've been running a 4 bulb 48 inch tek unit in my 125ish gallon tank with the following config and am liking the overall lighting look and growth in the tank (after trying may different bulb configs).

Front bulb- ATI Superbrite (similar to the GE 6500K)
Front middle- ATI Blue +
Back middle- KZ Fuji Purple
Back bulb- KZ New Generation

As I have it the middle bulbs turn on a 1/2 a hour earlier and later then the front and back ones. So with a similar ratio in your eight bulb unit I think you will be more then happy with the results

[fishoholic]

My experience was that the T5 lights that I had did not grow my SPS corals at all. I don't know why, I just know that as soon as I switched to MH I got massive growth from the SPS that I had at the time.

[BC564]

I have the 72 gal. bowfront.....48"X28" deep.......I run the Aquatinics Constellation which is a T5 7 bulb configuration and love the light. It sounds like your tank is approx. 2" wider then mine....check the light out online.

Here is a link to look at the light itself.
https://diyreef.authsecure.com/shop/...b57d9a7a9a94f2

[vancityfella]

I started with t5s and zero sps growth. I then went to 150mh and i started to get a little growth. After that i was hooked on sps and i went 250 mh .I guess it just depends on what ou wanr to grow with your lights

[JDigital]

Originally Posted by lorenz0

T5's have won the battle with me when it comes to lighting. the two things that sold me on T5's were the heating issue and shadowing with MH lighting. Once i get my larger tank up and running i am looking forward to comparing my roomate MH/t5 set up to my T5OH set up.

haha.. See, I prefer the shimmer of the MH on the water... More natural looking to the ocean.