going to upgrade my lighting need your help

King Ron

New member
i one day maybe 2012 want a 100gal tank with corals and add more live sand . but my light is weak .i will go lid less and just use jump screens to keep the heat down . but what light should i buy . keep in mind i wanna move from 55g to 100g . i am not a pro and might never be in this fun hobby so no LED for me . i want 4 bulbs and moon lighting ...
 
I can't decide between Tek and ATI for my upcoming build. Both appear to be good choices. One has A great rep for being THE T5 with price to match, both also look very sleek as well.....decisions decisions....
 
When I was deciding between Tek and ATI I figured in the cost of fans, hanging kit, and splash guard for the TEK which brought it closer to the price of the ATI Sunpower so went ahead and went with the sunpower.
 
I personally love my coralife aqualight pro. It has a high price tag but can handle anything you put in there.
 
i dont wanna break the bank . i am ill be fine with a 2 bulb system now i am told .

If you plan on anything but very low light requirement corals, plan on at least a 4 T-5 bulb fixture, a 6 bulb fixture would be even better. If you get a 2 bulb set-up, you'll end up getting rid f it for a fixture that produces more light.
 
If you plan on anything but very low light requirement corals, plan on at least a 4 T-5 bulb fixture, a 6 bulb fixture would be even better. If you get a 2 bulb set-up, you'll end up getting rid f it for a fixture that produces more light.

I agree. With a 2 bulb fixture you wont be able to grow anything but mushrooms and nps corals. If you are going to go with a t5 set up you want at LEAST 3 watts per gallon to grow most corals. If you are gonna try sps you will want closer to 5 watts per gallon
 
When I was deciding between Tek and ATI I figured in the cost of fans, hanging kit, and splash guard for the TEK which brought it closer to the price of the ATI Sunpower so went ahead and went with the sunpower.

I either got a similar post here or wanted to post that
 
ATI Sunpower wow kool but 400 . and i dont knw if i even want pro or big boy coral. what to pick arrrrh lol i must move frm my 64w setup soon . i am getting green, pink, and purple growth. tank is getting there ...
 
I use MH. [metal halide]...which does about anything...but...it's very power hungry, and noisy because of the cooling fan. The ballasts that power it (one for the mh bulb, one for the actinics that balance the color of the bulb and provide a twilight) are also very expensive.

T5s are a good alternate course: you of course need a set rated for what you want to keep.

LEDs are excellent, too---and they can give you that pretty light-ripple effect that MH does. BUT---they are complex to set up: you need to consider the angle of light provided; the PAR at certain depths and angles (ie, not straight down) the placement of your corals, and various other considerations, including the difference between light that will make corals grow well and light that will please the human eye...and those ARE two different things.

I recommend a number of days of reading every LED thread in the Lighting and Equipment forum before making your choice: this is a big investment. There are starting to be less expensive sets offered, but you cannot just plug one in and assume it will work the same as any other light. It is VERY different.

Something else to consider: growers are apparently going over to LED because of savings in electricity and bulb life. This means you will be buying corals that have been growing and feeding under LED...which may mean that your tank is a bit more of an adjustment: at least for me, it indicates that when I buy a coral, I'm going to start it in my tank with more precautions than I have previously: the program is, basically, starting low on the rockwork and increasing its lighting cautiously. At worst, they 'sleep' a bit at first---but this lets their internal flora, which use light to produce sugars for them, adjust to the lighting conditions in your tank and increase their numbers accordingly. [If you install a coral and see it emitting brown stuff or turning brown, the first thing to suspect is too much or the wrong spectrum of light.] Bottom-line, if growers are using one thing, and you're using something else, pay particular attention to the adjustment procedure and be cautious.

LEDs are actually adjustable. And while they're spendy, they don't have a hundred dollar bulb burning down every 8 months. So ultimately there is a break-even, in power savings and bulb savings. But it is initially a large ticket item. As I say---get into that forum, read, and take notes.

This is the kind of thing where you can buy the most expensive equipment going and still have serious problems, if you don't know how to set up.
 
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