Lighting Combination

[BBoley24]

I am setting up a 240G Long 8'x2'x2' reef tank and I have done the research and have used every type of lighting excluding solaris. I have made a cheap diagram here of what I am planning on putting in there for a full spectrum of light.

I know this will shed alot of blues but I am looking to create a full spectrum and simulate a whole day light schedule. Not all of the lights will be on but a max of maybe an hour or two out of the whole day.

What changes or improvements would you suggest for a different or better look? Has anyone tried this combination before?

These are all four foot bulbs pushed by a series of IceCap Ballasts with individual reflectors.

<img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d5/BBoley24/TankLightSetup-1.jpg"></img>

 

[DarG]

Should be bright as hell with the IC ballasts on the T5's. I was going to do the same with my T5's on my 90 but decided to go with standard 54 watt ballasts on the T5's. Heat, bulb life and with 4 T5's under IC SLR's and 2 X 250 watt halides I will have more than enough light. My 90 has a plenum and DSB and is only 18 - 19" deep.

Anyway, my input and my non-expert opinion is ... I think that the UVL super actinics are "better" bulbs than the Geiseman pure actinics. Higher par. But probably not going to matter in your case.

 

[bureau13]

That seems like more light than you will need. However, you did mention that you wouldn't necessarily have everything on all the time...that should give you tons of flexibility in terms of getting the color just right, which is something I miss in my rather more mundane fixture, with 250W HQI and a single row of T5 front and back. Personally, I'd settle for dual rows of T5 front and back, that would be perfect IMO.

jds

 

[BBoley24]

yeah I hear ya... but it is a divider therefore being seen on all sides... and id like to get all spectrums of color and there is no way i would ditch MH. The HQI is simply for space for the T5s.

 

[hahnmeister]

Yeah, four rows of T5s is enough... 7 is overkill.

 

[BBoley24]

Yes but I am trying to evenly distribute the coloration to the other side of the tank... I dont think the front 2 rows can disperse the light through the other side as teh rock will be in the middle therefore casting shadows and no actinic would reach the back

 

[bureau13]

Actually, when I had 10K halides I had actinic T5s in front and Blue+ in back, and it diffused everywhere pretty well...the back of my tank is against a wall though, so its not exactly the same situation.

Now that I have 14K halides, I have actinics both front and back. You could possibly run a mix of actinic and aquablues front and back...I don't think you'll need any extra blue (i.e. Blue+) with those 14K halides.

jds

 

[BBoley24]

thanks for the info... what if i switched the halides to 10k? do you think that would make for a more natural look? alot of people think its to bland but i dont want the tank to be blue.

 

[hahnmeister]

Id say that the best bulbs you can use are going to be XM 250wattDE 10,000Ks, EVCs, or even BLV nepturion 14,000Ks. Then four rows of T5s running a 50/50 mix of ATI blue+ and UVL Auper Actinics. Oh, and dont worry about 'color banding' or dispersion... like bureau13 said, they will overlap very well. If you want even more blue, okay, then add another row of blue+ T5s to the mix, but that combo is a very cool one. Its like a 'day-blue'... very warm, with yellow and all, but not too much because there is loads of actinic/blue as well. It makes for a very pleasing look in the end, and one that is hard to replicate with halide alone. Corals love it though, and will color up better than under any other light. The 2x250wattDE w/ 4x54wattT5 (10,000K halide, 50/50 Super Actinics and Blue + bulbs for T5s) has become a favorite of my local clubs after one member started using it a few years ago. Its now the 'lighting setup' of choice in 6 different member's tanks since then because of the results that the first one had... corals pigmented up better than anyone else could produce under just halides or T5s alone.

The only additional thing I might consider, and perhaps if you wanted to continue with the multiple rows of T5s, would be to keep the 7 rows of T5s (if they will fit even), and forget 2 of the halides, instead mounting the 2 remaining halides on a 8' Light Mover Rail. If you mount the halides so they are spaced 5' apart, and move back and forth across the tank every few minutes, you will be getting an effective output from them of 4 halides, but w/o the fixed source, which is better for corals of all sorts. The T5s will allow for normal viewing in the areas where the halides dont happen to be at the time.

 

[BBoley24]

Thats a crazy idea! again i wouldnt have all of the lights on but maybe an hour a day... i appriciate the color combo ... you think adding all of those bulbs wouldnt make for a good spectrum? a 50-50 mix would ultimatly be just as effective and look better?

 

[hahnmeister]

Well, I can show you a few tanks that run this setup... 120g tanks with 2x250wattDE 10,000Ks and 4x54wattT5 actinic/blue bulbs. Its a killer combo with a very cool look. The T5s can run for 8-10 hours a day... your choice, and the halides can run 8. Thats an ideal setup.

As for the light mover, you would run the halides under the same schedule... there would just be 2 rather than 4... but the same photoperiod would apply.

Its not that I dont think all those bulbs wouldnt make for a good color spectrum... its just that they are redundant... very redundant.

 

[BBoley24]

I thought about it again last nnight and I think you are right... I think I will scrap alot in the back and stick with the 10k bulbs. I figured the halides would simulate more of the sun so why not make it closer to the spectrum and let the t5s do the coloration.

 

[hahnmeister]

Yep, thats pretty much the way to do it. The 10,000K halides have the full spectrum output... loads of everything. They are really all you need to grow good looking corals, its just that our eyes like it with a bit more blue. And then the blue and actinic T5s give that extra 'deep blue' POP... but not too much because there is still all the red and yellow spectrums from the halides. Corals just love it. I have never seen corals color-in as well as under this combo... not even under high-wattage 20,000Ks or pheonix bulbs.