How to light a small cube? Best reflector ballast combo?

[Nerdy Nudi]

initially posted in the nano forum, hoping to get more results here.

hey folks, my solana build is being held up since i cant decide on lighting.

id like something that gives me a combination of clean looks (canopy/hood/skirt build is an option) performance (abilty to keep a little bit of everything) and not make a massive dent in the wallet (3-400ish).

here is what ive considered and my thoughts. i have limited hands on experience with many of these fixtures so feel free to enlighten me:

nova extreme t5 pro:
- not too happy that there are not many manufacturers making 18w bulbs limiting color and potential quality issues from only a single source
- although bright, it is completely uniform and doesnt have that pop that seems to seperate salt water aquariums from their fresh water brethryn.
+ great price, included legs, and good output

sunpod
+ halide
+ legs and moonlights
+ price
- ive seen these first hand and the reflectors suffer from a major hotspot due to the nonhammertone sides creating a very focused "stripe"
- doesnt get as much out of the 150w that most other reflectors can
- light that isnt focused in center is too spread out due to the shallow depth of bulb's seating

ati t5
+ best combo and power in t5s
+ at 23" it doesnt hang too much off either side and the bulbs themselves are a bit shorter
- price, 2x the nep
- needs canopy/hanging system/etc
- the reflectors are so good that it can cause visible band of intensities from any given bulb (light isnt mixed as since it is much more focused)
- silver may be nice on its own, but powder coated black would make it much more tempting

lumenmax 3 hqi
+ price for system between nep and ati fixtures
+ great ouput and much better uniformity over sunpod
- no legs, need to be hung
+ reflector is a nice design that does not need to be hidden
+ 150w option

lumenmax elite
+ best output and uniformity for 2' area
+ price for system between nep and ati fixtures
- the reflector doesn have that nice finish look of the max
- only in 250w for de bulbs, way to much light and heat than i need

my questions for you:
*are many of you able to run a 150w halide on a small cube without heat issues?
*the lumenmax elite comes in a mogul base 175w; is it worth considering the 175w se over the max 3 150w de?
*sls blue wave magnetic ballast or the icecap electronic?

did i miss something?

thanks for bearing with me, hopefully in a few weeks ill have some nice pix to share.

 

[michael.lemke]

I have a 40 cube with a 250 watt giesemann. I bit pricey but I got in on reef central used in very good condition for $200. No problems with heat on the open top. My reef keeper controlls a fan @ the top of aquarium. 85 out today and still didn't need t come on. 150 mh over salana should be fine unless you live in a hot climate with no ac in the house. Happy hunting

 

[michael.lemke]

I have a 40 cube with a 250 watt giesemann. I bit pricey but I got in on reef central used in very good condition for $200. No problems with heat on the open top. My reef keeper controlls a fan @ the top of aquarium. 85 out today and still didn't need t come on. 150 mh over salana should be fine unless you live in a hot climate with no ac in the house. Happy hunting

 

[grigsy]

Of the choices you list, I would go with the Current Sunpod. The ones I have seen looked nice.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I have a Current Sunpod (( 250 watt version )) over my 33 cube, and I am very happy with it.

 

[E.intheC]

I have a Sunpod 150 on my 30 cube and love it. The only downside for me is that I'm probably going to have to add some supplemental actinics for looks. You could get a blue-er (haha) colored 14000K bulb and it should be great.

It's really a good wattage because I can grow SPS on the top, LPS in the middle, and lower light corals on the bottom.