90 Gallon Mixed, Mostly SPS, Light Recommendations.

[Fibinotchi]

I'm getting ready to redo my 90 gallon. I am going to go bare bottom, with star board and mostly sps. On the light, should I go
Tek 8 bulb light - http://www.aquacave.com/tek-light-t-5-48-lightbr-fixture-8-x-54w-lampsbr-by-sunlight-supply-693.html

Current Sunpod 2- 250 watt with lunar led's
http://www.aquacave.com/48-sunpod-2x250w-hqibr-fixture-by-current-usa-1999.html

Or some sort of DIY LED.

Money is of some concern, but growth, color, and longevity are very important.

Thanks for your opinions and feel free to vote and make suggestions.

PS. I hope this is the best place for this thread, I know it could go in the lighting forum.

 

[superchargeme]

I have a 92 corner setup with Leds 72 cree 3 watts each very nive colors on my corals. I have a red planet that I set up top and had to move it down to bright for it at first.

 

[Allmost]

T5 all the way ...

TEK has no fans, T5 needs to be ran on cooler temps to keep its spectrum and intensity ! also the life of the bulb is lowered with no fans.

look into ATI powermodule if money is not of concern or ATI Sunpower if it is.

I have seen MANY tanks with great success under TEK lighting, so absolutly nothing wrong with them, but you will get more light and ... form ATI

HTH.

 

[Fibinotchi]

I have a 92 corner setup with Leds 72 cree 3 watts each very nive colors on my corals. I have a red planet that I set up top and had to move it down to bright for it at first.

Do you have a picture? Or a detailed build thread? What is the mix, cool white and royal blue??

 

[Fibinotchi]

T5 all the way ...

TEK has no fans, T5 needs to be ran on cooler temps to keep its spectrum and intensity ! also the life of the bulb is lowered with no fans.

look into ATI powermodule if money is not of concern or ATI Sunpower if it is.

I have seen MANY tanks with great success under TEK lighting, so absolutly nothing wrong with them, but you will get more light and ... form ATI

HTH.

I don't see any fans on the ati either, what is the difference between the powermodule and the sunpower? would 6 bulb be enough for what I want or would I need 8.

 

[BPro32]

I voted tek because I love my T5's but I agree with allmost and think you should go sunpower if the funds are there. On another note, a 6x54 sunpower or powermodule will do just fine for anything you want. I ran a 6 bulb sunpower on my 90g it was plenty of light.

 

[Allmost]

I don't see any fans on the ati either, what is the difference between the powermodule and the sunpower? would 6 bulb be enough for what I want or would I need 8.

well you gotta look more careful then , the fans are on top.

sunpower has 1 fan for each 3-4 bulbs,
Power module has 1 fan per 2 bulbs.

ATI claims no difference, but I can see cheaper electric parts being used in SP.

I would go with 8. but 6 would work for sure.

ATI (as they claim) has a 50% higher light output than others. (due to reflectors)

 

[Fibinotchi]

Ok, the first time I saw it, I thought they were just logo's. If I went power module I would probably only be comfortable with the price of the six bulb. Does anyone have one of these? I would like to know how much noise the fan makes, my wife's hearing is very sensitive to the sound of a high pitch fan.

 

[Allmost]

Ok, the first time I saw it, I thought they were just logo's. If I went power module I would probably only be comfortable with the price of the six bulb. Does anyone have one of these? I would like to know how much noise the fan makes, my wife's hearing is very sensitive to the sound of a high pitch fan.

I have a PM, no noise .... like I mean, over the overflow and MP40s, you wont hear the fan ....
but I have seen reports of some ATI fans making noise .... hopefully others will advice as well

also, do look into Sfiligoi T5 units as well, Italian made, looks really nice, any color u want it ... price is about the same as ATI PM , but the ATI has been used more widely and has proven itself so ....

 

[Fibinotchi]

Do you have a link to a picture of your tank that I can check out?

 

[Allmost]

Do you have a link to a picture of your tank that I can check out?

not with the PM on it yet...

 

[Fibinotchi]

How about the MaxSpect G2-230 LED, would it grow sps in my 90 in at least the top half of my tank?

 

[nemeth27]

Fibinotchi,

I have the 6 bulb PM over my 90Gal. No noise from the fans really at all. The people who did have noise noticed the screws holding the fans on were too tight and the noise went away after they loosened it. IMO the 6 bulb is plenty and I have acros everywhere in the tank. Actually the 8 bulb one is almost 18" deep (same as the tank) and you will have a lot of light loss unless it is VERY close to the top of the tank. I currently have 4 ATI blue+, 1 ATI Aqua Special, & 1 UL Super actinic. I took this picture in the middle of switching out old bulbs, so it is even brighter now.

Hope this helps.

 

[Fibinotchi]

Fibinotchi,

Very nice. Now I am more leaning on the 6 bulb powermodule, or the maxspect 230 w led.

 

[BuckeyeTodd]

yeah I've had tek and ati's, and if you're planning on running a true sps dominant(like 70-80% sps) then get the six bulb ati sunpower. If you are going to have more non sps then get the six bulb Tek. The ATO is much stronger, but IMO it is harder to place non sps because you have to put them on the bottom or in shaded areas.

 

[BuckeyeTodd]

and I've never heard anybody been able to justify the $ for the power module(at least not enough to sway me), the only way I'd get it is if they didn't sell the sunpower in the size you need(which in this case they do). I had a six bulb sunpowr over my 180 and it was plenty of light

 

[pimp2daizzo]

i have a 90 gall sps tank and i have 6 bulb t5 which i love but i wish i went up to 8 bulbs...

 

[vdubfiend]

im using the 6bulb x 39 sunpower on a 4' tank and there is plenty of light for sps anywhere in the tank...

Ive also added reefbrite led strip(s) for shimmer- each one of the reefbrites puts out (approx) 2x par of 1 t5 bulb...

I was very hesitant on switching over (from mh to t5) but im happy i did and havent looked back... I do love the look of halide (specifically radiums) but the fans dont come on, the chiller is sold, the tank stays 2 degrees cooler...

im using about 40% of the power i was before the switch, no chiller,etc etc

MH (2 x 250w) + ACTINIC (2 x 110w) = 720 total watts
T5 (6 x 39w) + LED ( 2 x 30) = 294 total watts