Lighting a Cube, opinons wanted!

[DoctaReef]

I'm in the initial stages of planning a new tank set up: researching and budgeting. I'm thinking of doing a 100 or 135 rimless cube, so I was hoping for some opinions on what fixtrues you would use to light it with MH/T5 or LED:
100: 30x30x24
135: 36x36x24

What do you guys think? Any and all opinions welcome!

 

[autodave]

I have my 30x30x24 cube lit with a single LumenMax Elite 250w,I also have 2 Ecoxotic Panorama LED's as supplement but don't really need them

 

[Bonvivant]

I have a 24 x 24 x 20 Cube lit with two AI units. I can grow anything, any where in the tank. I have acros and crocea clams on the bottom. All of them are happy and growing.

 

[DoctaReef]

I have my 30x30x24 cube lit with a single LumenMax Elite 250w,I also have 2 Ecoxotic Panorama LED's as supplement but don't really need them

Are you growing SPS? How is the coverage with the singe MH?

 

[DoctaReef]

I have a 24 x 24 x 20 Cube lit with two AI units. I can grow anything, any where in the tank. I have acros and crocea clams on the bottom. All of them are happy and growing.

How is the coverage? do you think the 2 AI would cover the extra 6-12 inches of length/width?

 

[gath2]

Before taking it down I had a 30x30x25 cube setup. I used a Diamond Lumen Arc Reflector and a 400W MH. It had a center overflow in the back middle. I kept it 6" off the water or so and had excellent coverage except for the two back corners. The overflow shadowed them a bit, but I liked it overall and could put anything in it.

 

[DoctaReef]

Before taking it down I had a 30x30x25 cube setup. I used a Diamond Lumen Arc Reflector and a 400W MH. It had a center overflow in the back middle. I kept it 6" off the water or so and had excellent coverage except for the two back corners. The overflow shadowed them a bit, but I liked it overall and could put anything in it.

Thanks for the info...What did you like/dislike about the cube? Why did you take it down?

 

[Chris27]

For a cube, a single halide pendant (14,000K) is the way I would go.....can't beat the changing one bulb a year thing. All you need to do is adjust the height for coverage, and wattage for water depth.

 

[gath2]

I loved the tank. I had it built into a corner closet of my house so you could see it on two sides. The biggest problem with MH's is heat. Since it was in the wall, I cut a whole in the ceiling and vented air out that way. We are going to try and sell the house soon, so it had to come down so I could put the closet back together. No idea where we are going to end up, so I've been in the process of parting it out. Already wishing that I would have just held onto it all and found a way to move it.

 

[RokleM]

See below. 30x30x27 with a Lumenmax2 (good spread instead of focus), Galaxy/Lumatek select-a-watt, Radium.

 

[autodave]

Are you growing SPS? How is the coverage with the singe MH?

Yes I have SPS,all are growing well.The coverage is good,I have my reflector 10 inches above the water.There are people who say this reflector is a poor choice,but it is working great for me

 

[sirreal63]

I have a 110 gallon Pentagon, 40x40x17 lit with a single 150 watt Radium in a LAIII Mini driven by a Aqua Medic HQI cube ballast. I am bleaching new SPS additions directly under the fixture. I hope to get some par readings soon.

Light is raised about 12" here, acclimating some corals.

I normally run the unit with the bottom of the fixture about 6" off the water. Spread is good, covers a 30x30 area nicely. A single halide works great in the right reflector. Another good option would be an 8x24 ATI T5 unit.