Lighting Dilemma
- Thread starter AquaSump
- Start date
AquaSump
New member
Ok, so i just used the club par meter and i'm getting about 75 at the bottom, 100 in the middle and 130 at the top. right under the 175w MH bulb i'm getting 545. from what i read at http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1963431it looks like that's not enough...... I want to grow SPS on top, LPS in the middle and softys at the bottom.
R_Hudson
Just having fun
I can't remember par numbers right off the top of my head, but I'd say your low. How old and what K is the bulb? What type of reflector are you using? And how many are you using on the 90? All of these things play part in par measurements. So tell us some more about your current setup. Also how high it is off the water.
I have always been a fan of t5 so I can't recommend you a great choice for bulb replacement. But if your looking for a whole new fixture/setup, I'd go with at least a 6 bulb t5 for that deep of a tank. 8 tubes would be ideal.
I have always been a fan of t5 so I can't recommend you a great choice for bulb replacement. But if your looking for a whole new fixture/setup, I'd go with at least a 6 bulb t5 for that deep of a tank. 8 tubes would be ideal.
FILTERDAQUATICS
New member
Those numbers are to low foe what you are trying to do. If you want to stick with Halides you need to bump up to a 250watt ballast and bulb combination with a very good reflector my personal thoughts would be a lumen max elite or lumen Bright mini for a reflector with a SE 250 20000k Radium bulb on a Galaxy Ballast. Oh and you will need 2 for a 4 ft tank.
quaz
New member
second that on the LED's. The technology "I think" is comiing around to get decent/ well priced fixtures. There were a couple on Craigslist for like $240 which is a really good deal. They're dimable with separately controlled blues and whites.
ghellin
New member
I can't speak for the fixtures since I have not tried them, I have only done the DIY LEDs. I use 3 watt Cree XP series LEDs they are 3-4 dollars each. I have had great success with LEDs in my aquapod with fantastic SPS growth and my clams are very happy. I am building a 48 LED fixture now for my 58, with royal blue, cool white, and neutral white LEDs. What are the dimensions of your tank? And I could help give you an idea of cost if you decide to go LEDs. A few pros are LEDs last for many years, significantly less energy usage so less heat, by dimming you can achieve almost any color you want,
FILTERDAQUATICS
New member
Thanks for backing me up and reiterating what I said!:beachbum:
I'll second the DIY LEDs. It's really not that difficult and even easier with solderless connectors. I started switch out my T5's for LEDs last summer. I just built my final addition to replace my last 2 T5's. I've got sps growing just fine in the sand of my 24" high tank. You could even add some LEDs to supplement your current MH before deciding to replace the whole thing.
AquaSump
New member
Thank you everyone for the help! i guess i didn't provide enough information. My tank is a 90 Gal (48x18x24). i have two single ended MH 175w in the middle of the tank with brand new 10,000k bulbs and two T5 actinics. The MH and the T5's are all about 10 inches off the water under a wood hood. i do have reflectors behind the MH and T5's, but thier not one of the new crazy reflectors. I had my tank setup with 4 T5's (two white and two blue) and was not getting enought light either. so... i added a 24 light cree module and still didn't have good light. This is my third setup and it looks like 175W is still not enough...... It seems like everyone is mixed on what lights make sense, but i really only want to "redo" my lighting one more time.... so i guess i have to decide between DIY Cree lights, 2 250w or 400w MH's or 8 T5's...... I hate doing things twice or three times... (or four times..)
oddballs
In Memoriam
Out of all the options you listed in the above post I think all will be fine except the 400 watt halides.Most of the tanks that have 400 watt halides that we have dealt with in the past were way to much lighting for most lps and softys.And a lot of the sps in these tanks were really light colored if not partly bleached,and some were just not able to handle that intense lighting and just died in a couple of weeks or so.Keep us posted on what you decide to do if you would it would be appreciated!
Like I said earlier in this post this is just my opinion(and this hobby has a ton of opinions).If you have anymore questions or problems you can always bring them up at our meetings ! Hope to see you there.
Scott T
Like I said earlier in this post this is just my opinion(and this hobby has a ton of opinions).If you have anymore questions or problems you can always bring them up at our meetings ! Hope to see you there.
Scott T
jjmcat
New member
Do you know of any Ben?I dont know much about LEDs myself.
oddballs
In Memoriam
I can talk to a couple of people I know that have led's about talking to us at one of our upcoming meetings if the club is interested? I know brad(yeldarbj) and I had discussed him talking about this subject to our club 6 or 7 months ago.I will give J.J or Richard a call today or tommorow and see if we can not get this going!
AquaSump
New member
oddballs
In Memoriam
You will do great with two 250 watt halides .If you were to add 2 t-5s for actinic-extra supplemental lighting you should be great! As I said before you want to make sure you have good reflectors on the t-5s and the halides,as long as you do it should be really great lighting for your tank! Also i am not reiterating anyones ideas this in my professional opinion !:spin2:
FILTERDAQUATICS
New member
If you want to do MH's then you should really consider these options they WILL WORK for what you want. Either the LB reflectors or Lumenmax Elite Refectors, 250 watt electronic ballast with either a phoenix 14k DE bulb or a Rdium 20k SE Bulb. One of the most colorful SPS tanks I have seen in quite a while is owned by Travis or mutateddogbone on here and he runs the Lumenmax elite reflectors with 250 watt ballast and a 14k phoenix DE bulb. I run the other version mentioned and couldnt be happier here are a few shots from an old thread of my tank using these lights and I still use them today. Remember these reflectors are quite large so be prepared.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1559699&page=5
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1559699&page=5
mutateddogbone
New member
well, since i was called out i shall post a few pix. i was playing around with my new camera and will have a thread with all the photos i took tonight.
ORA Red Planet
ORA Bird Of Paradise
Tyree M. Setosa
Mr. Myagi Tort
ORA Red Planet
ORA Bird Of Paradise
Tyree M. Setosa
Mr. Myagi Tort
AquaSump
New member
The pictures look great! You aren't kidding about the reflectors. They are big. The LB's are 16X16X7 and about $100 and the Lumenmax Elite are 17L X 14.5 W X 5 H and are about $150. So.... I wonder if i would be better off spending my money on a couple of high quality reflectors and keeping the 175W setup vs. stripping down my whole tank to completly rebuld with the 250w setup. (probably cost about $800).
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