How would you Light a 30" wide peninsula tank?

[smokinreefer]

Hey guys,

I'm planning for a 8' x 24"H x 30"W sps dominant peninsula reef.

Lighting this thing has got me stumped... I'm open to all suggestions/experiences but will favor those that are aesthetically pleasing.
(I.e. Nice tank mounted fixtures).

One caveat, no hanging wires... A work around is I may be able to set up a slim pseudo floating top to house some lighting.

Has anyone run hydra 52s & kessils together? I'm thinking the hydras could provide some decent coverage, and the kessils could throw some nice shimmer.

Let's get this brainstorm going!
Thanks!

 

[GSMclowns]

2 x 4' ATI Hybrid (8 bulbs).

 

[scar79]

I assume this will be an open top tank since you're concerned with aesthetics. That said, mounting legs almost always detract from the aesthetics. What's the reasoning against hanging wires?

 

[smokinreefer]

I assume this will be an open top tank since you're concerned with aesthetics. That said, mounting legs almost always detract from the aesthetics. What's the reasoning against hanging wires?

My wife. Lol

She's been cool about the whole display, so im not about to get into a debate about hanging wires! (Even though she's said no to wires, I keep showing her pics of tanks with them, and every time she says no.)

 

[smokinreefer]

2 x 4' ATI Hybrid (8 bulbs).

I haven't had a T5 fixture before...
Does 48" mean the fixture is 48" or the bulbs?
Just wondering if having 2 x 48" fixtures is actually longer than 8'...
I'll check out the ati site for specs.

I see that you have a sunpower, so if you were able to, you would change to the hybrid?

 

[GSMclowns]

If I have the money, I would change to the Hydrid right away. More power, only 1 wire for the whole fixture.

 

[Wazzel]

This will not be a whole lot of weight. You could cantilever out a small structure to support the lights and use light weight wood to cover it to a pseudo floating canopy. It would take care of all of your requirements.

 

[scar79]

This will not be a whole lot of weight. You could cantilever out a small structure to support the lights and use light weight wood to cover it to a pseudo floating canopy. It would take care of all of your requirements.

This is where I was going when ruling out both hanging wires AND mounting legs. It should be fairly light but at 8' there's going to be a lot of leverage forces to deal with. Definitely doable if designed and implemented properly.

 

[Wazzel]

This is where I was going when ruling out both hanging wires AND mounting legs. It should be fairly light but at 8' there's going to be a lot of leverage forces to deal with. Definitely doable if designed and implemented properly.

I am use to dealing with 10's to 1,000's of tons so the weight we deal with in the hobby is next to nothing. Some lightweight aluminum either shapes (I-beam or channel) or the 80/20 profile (15 series, rectangular 3x1.5) should be more than adequate for 100 or so pounds.

 

[Potatohead]

Hey guys,

I'm planning for a 8' x 24"H x 30"W sps dominant peninsula reef.

Lighting this thing has got me stumped... I'm open to all suggestions/experiences but will favor those that are aesthetically pleasing.
(I.e. Nice tank mounted fixtures).

One caveat, no hanging wires... A work around is I may be able to set up a slim pseudo floating top to house some lighting.

Has anyone run hydra 52s & kessils together? I'm thinking the hydras could provide some decent coverage, and the kessils could throw some nice shimmer.

Let's get this brainstorm going!
Thanks!

The 52's will shimmer well enough on their own. The problem is on that size tank you will need like five or six of them.

I see you are local, go into J&L and look at their larger display tank, that is T5 lighting. T5 is tried and true and pretty foolproof. I like LED but it's hard to argue against T5 for SPS.

 

[Voodoojar]

Giesemann makes a 90cm Aurora which is 35.4" so three of them would fit perfect. I have one and measured it. I think two of the 48" and you would have overhang but dont know for sure never seen one in real live.

 

[bif24701]

3x Kessil AP700s with mounting arms

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/ap700-mounting-arm-kessil.html

You would need two per fixture. I think this would look amazing, very clean. There is only one wire and if you can't mount the arms to the tank sides there are extensions that allow you to mount it further down on the stand.


I know you don't want wires or cables but I find the AP700 cable mounts to be sleek.

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[madweazl]

Hey guys,

I'm planning for a 8' x 24"H x 30"W sps dominant peninsula reef.

Lighting this thing has got me stumped... I'm open to all suggestions/experiences but will favor those that are aesthetically pleasing.
(I.e. Nice tank mounted fixtures).

One caveat, no hanging wires... A work around is I may be able to set up a slim pseudo floating top to house some lighting.

Has anyone run hydra 52s & kessils together? I'm thinking the hydras could provide some decent coverage, and the kessils could throw some nice shimmer.

Let's get this brainstorm going!
Thanks!

I dont blame her on the hanging kits, I dont like the look either. For clean installs, Kessil has the most aesthetically pleasing mount in my opinion (nice guide for the wires too). The Kessils actually have the best coverage of the LEDs out there and the color blending is great. I think the AP700 is a fantastic option in regard to providing a very clean look along with being very functional. If 360s, you'd probably want to run the narrows (5-6) for an SPS dominant tank but you'd have a lot more wires.

Giesemann makes a 90cm Aurora which is 35.4" so three of them would fit perfect. I have one and measured it. I think two of the 48" and you would have overhang but dont know for sure never seen one in real live.

That would be about a foot too long.

 

[Logzor]

This is how I would do it and justification to myself for the reasoning:

For SPS dominate you're biggest challenge with LEDs is getting enough coverage. If you look at any of the hugely successful large LED SPS tanks they have a ridiculous number of fixtures. For the 8' tanks, maybe 8+ radions or something just nuts and unfeasible? Plus when you're unhappy with them you wont be able to ever afford (or logically justify) to switch once you make that investment.

In this forum people will recommend enough to 'light' to cover the tank well but probably not to keep those SPS happy.

T5 will work but, jesus, the number of bulbs you have to replace is just, not comprehensible? I can't imagine having that many tubes.

Take a look at the old WWC 300g: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJU1KGR7kQE

There is lots of old threads on this aquarium, it was legendary.

Do you know what they ran on that tank? 3x400W MH, 4 T5 tubes, and some LED strips.

The 630G? 5x250W MH + a few T5's and LED strips

On their new 900g? 6x250W MH + reefbrites.

All of the SPS in these aquariums are incredible.

For this long and wide coverage you want MH. I'm a T5 guy and run the ATI T5/LED PM but on my 150g. It's fine but if I go to 300g MH is the answer.

Yes power and heat is an issue but compare those MH to the actual total wattage of what LED and T5 would really require and then compare initial investment costs. You would only need to replace 3 MH bulbs and possible a few T5's

 

[smokinreefer]

This will not be a whole lot of weight. You could cantilever out a small structure to support the lights and use light weight wood to cover it to a pseudo floating canopy. It would take care of all of your requirements.

This is where I was going when ruling out both hanging wires AND mounting legs. It should be fairly light but at 8' there's going to be a lot of leverage forces to deal with. Definitely doable if designed and implemented properly.

I am use to dealing with 10's to 1,000's of tons so the weight we deal with in the hobby is next to nothing. Some lightweight aluminum either shapes (I-beam or channel) or the 80/20 profile (15 series, rectangular 3x1.5) should be more than adequate for 100 or so pounds.

excellent! thanks guys, I think this is what i'll do.

The 52's will shimmer well enough on their own. The problem is on that size tank you will need like five or six of them.

I see you are local, go into J&L and look at their larger display tank, that is T5 lighting. T5 is tried and true and pretty foolproof. I like LED but it's hard to argue against T5 for SPS.

hey, yeah I stopped in today and discussed some options... pros and cons for both... aesthetically (fixture wise)I'm leaning towards LEDs, but the sps junky in me is being swayed to T5s since that seems to be giving the best results color and coverage wise.

 

[smokinreefer]

Madweazl, i agree, maybe 6-8 kessils, from what ive read would be decent light wise, and decent aesthecially as well.

Logzor, i hear ya. my best tank was with 400W MH, but that was years ago. and I've since left the sps game, but i haven't used T5s, and my experience with LED is limited.

my main caveat with going MH again is the fixture is guaranteed bulkier... and i haven't seen one that is as aesthetically as appealing as the alternatives.

 

[Potatohead]

I think the trend now (and what I use myself) is LED with T5 supplement. You don't have to buy as many T5 tubes, you still get some shimmer, you fill in the shaded areas, and you can use the LED for color temp, ramping, etc, and you're not using gobs of power. I guess the question is whether you can get that past the wife - Is a hanging canopy an option? You can hide everything other than the wire cables if you do that.

 

[bobssecrtsn]

If I have the money, I would change to the Hydrid right away. More power, only 1 wire for the whole fixture.

If i had the money, I'd Probably get a new wife :lolspin:

JK

 

[Logzor]

Madweazl, i agree, maybe 6-8 kessils, from what ive read would be decent light wise, and decent aesthecially as well.

Logzor, i hear ya. my best tank was with 400W MH, but that was years ago. and I've since left the sps game, but i haven't used T5s, and my experience with LED is limited.

my main caveat with going MH again is the fixture is guaranteed bulkier... and i haven't seen one that is as aesthetically as appealing as the alternatives.

It's hard to avoid the bulk with MH for sure. If you're not going full-blown SPS crazy then you're best bet may be a mix of LED and T5. Are you thinking of using a canopy or have all the lights out in the open?

An option for a hybrid approach would be the ATI 48" LED T5 Powermodule. They're pretty sleek fixtures and the LEDs pack a punch on them. Definitely price out two of those verses the 8 kessils.

To stay with MH you could get two of these. The ReefBrite products are awesome. Not as sexy as some other options but I think you would be happiest with the results from these.

https://premiumaquatics.com/product...de-36-250400w-de-pendant-wxho-led-strips.html

 

[scar79]

I'm a big fan of the "floating canopy" because it allows you to DIY your own setup and configuration and you still get a very clean look. Six 36" T5 bulbs and six LED pendants (kessil A360W, AI Hydras, etc) would be pretty cool.

Something like this if you follow:

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Had to use periods cause spaces disappear! Dashes are T5, 0's are LED