I'm back & I'm guess lets also say I am new.

[bobme]

So I have been out of the game for a while. Forgot a lot of the stuff, and things have changed a lot I see as well. Euro Reef gone? Well, after being married 10 years and no plan on kids we both have come to the conclusion of lets buy a huge tank and have a tank room and not a baby room. We are thinking a shallow (maybe 18") 300 gallon tank for SPS and just go all out. I remember a lot about care and water quality but the lighting market has changed a lot. Any suggestions for lighting a 18"-20" deep 8' tank? Thanks guys.
bobme

 

[Valentini89]

So I have been out of the game for a while. Forgot a lot of the stuff, and things have changed a lot I see as well. Euro Reef gone? Well, after being married 10 years and no plan on kids we both have come to the conclusion of lets buy a huge tank and have a tank room and not a baby room. We are thinking a shallow (maybe 18") 300 gallon tank for SPS and just go all out. I remember a lot about care and water quality but the lighting market has changed a lot. Any suggestions for lighting a 18"-20" deep 8' tank? Thanks guys.
bobme

Welcome! And I would recommend LED lighting. The choices are multiple, you have to find what you like.

 

[bobme]

Welcome! And I would recommend LED lighting. The choices are multiple, you have to find what you like.

I have been looking at LEDs and that was what I really wanted to get. I am a little unsure on the light spread / area covered. I remember when LEDS systems first really started coming out, current usa I think where the high price systems. But that's right when I stopped with reef and went overboard with freshwater systems. I was reading the LED information on some sites and I hate to say this but, most of it goes right over my head.

 

[Sk8r]

Depth matters with LEDs, and so does 'spread'. Just any old LED is not equal to the job if you are keeping coral: you want 'reef-capable' LEDs. You want to ask how far the particular light spreads (width) because LED is highly directional. You want to ask about depth: how deep will this light penetrate. I have a 36" deep tank, which is unusual, so I had about one choice for a light that would do the job. You'll note we have a sticky particularly on lighting.

 

[bobme]

Depth matters with LEDs, and so does 'spread'. Just any old LED is not equal to the job if you are keeping coral: you want 'reef-capable' LEDs. You want to ask how far the particular light spreads (width) because LED is highly directional. You want to ask about depth: how deep will this light penetrate. I have a 36" deep tank, which is unusual, so I had about one choice for a light that would do the job. You'll note we have a sticky particularly on lighting.

My old friend had a 8'x4'x18"h tank and I really loved it. Now as an adult 10+ years later I have the money to do that; and I really think now that I have a fish room that's what I will do.

 

[nereefpat]

Just doing some quick/dirty math... the tank will be a little over 3' wide, correct?

It's going to take a lot of lights, no matter how you do it. I would look into something like Mars aqua, get about 6-8 of them, and turn them sideways if you want LEDs.

Look into 8-10 bulb T5 fixtures too, as they would provide good coverage.

 

[bobme]

Just doing some quick/dirty math... the tank will be a little over 3' wide, correct?

It's going to take a lot of lights, no matter how you do it. I would look into something like Mars aqua, get about 6-8 of them, and turn them sideways if you want LEDs.

Look into 8-10 bulb T5 fixtures too, as they would provide good coverage.

The tank is 96"l x 48"w x 18d. I know its a lot of lights - and the idea of using LEDs sounds great, but the ones I saw where around $750 each and I thought I would need like 5 or more. Then I thought the best idea is to come here and learn again

 

[nereefpat]

In that case, I would suggest 8 fixtures. Each would cover a 2'x2' area. You don't have to spend $700 a piece though. There are black box type fixtures that supposedly work just fine. They just have less bells and whistles, like lighting storms and similar crap.

I'm not an LED guy, so hopefully someone else will chime in.