180 gallon tank lighting
- Thread starter 64tbolt
- Start date
Ron Reefman
Active member
Do you have a preference for led, t5 or MH? They all grow the coral you want, it's more about the features, maintenance and bulb replacement as well as each having a few negatives.
But keeping the $500 budget for a 180g tank is a bit constraining. I use leds because I like the features and advantages better. I've had t5 and MH over my 180g tank in the past and they both work just fine. For me the MH issue was heat and bulb costs, for t5 it was more bulbs and replaced even more often, so now it's leds and I'm a happy camper.
For your 180g you can do 3 of most any Chinese black box leds. A couple brands make 32" versions so you would only need 2 of those. They make plenty of light for sps, they run cool and they have 2 channel control so you can dial in the warm to cool white and still do solid blue dawn and dusk by timers. Given your budget, that's the way I would go.
My choice would be 2 Reef Breeders Photon V2 fixtures at 32", but that's double your budget. And others like AI and Eco Tech would be 3 or 4 times your budget. And understand, these fixtures don't make better light, just more control options for those who are control freaks or like to play with their high tech equipment... like me.
Good luck.
But keeping the $500 budget for a 180g tank is a bit constraining. I use leds because I like the features and advantages better. I've had t5 and MH over my 180g tank in the past and they both work just fine. For me the MH issue was heat and bulb costs, for t5 it was more bulbs and replaced even more often, so now it's leds and I'm a happy camper.
For your 180g you can do 3 of most any Chinese black box leds. A couple brands make 32" versions so you would only need 2 of those. They make plenty of light for sps, they run cool and they have 2 channel control so you can dial in the warm to cool white and still do solid blue dawn and dusk by timers. Given your budget, that's the way I would go.
My choice would be 2 Reef Breeders Photon V2 fixtures at 32", but that's double your budget. And others like AI and Eco Tech would be 3 or 4 times your budget. And understand, these fixtures don't make better light, just more control options for those who are control freaks or like to play with their high tech equipment... like me.
Good luck.
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