Lighting for 10' tank

[SausageArm]

Those ATI Powermodules look great and get brilliant reviews but they're pricey, suppose that's what you pay for a great all round package.

I personally like the look of T5 lit tanks but from what i have read theu don't do so well on deep tanks.

On my 125"x36"x36" reef tank I went with a DIY hybrid setup using 4x80W T5 lights and 6 Rapid LED dual Aurora puck kits, unfortunately it's not full up and running so can't comment on how it grows corals, buy the coverage is great, sunrise/sunset, controllability and punch from the led's, reducing shadows and shimmering with the T5, hopefully it works aswell as I'm imagining.

 

[Zacktosterone]

Why don't you just do 2 4ft cebu suns with the 2 metal halides each, the refelctors will be perfect for what you're doing.

 

[Stylo328]

Those ATI Powermodules look great and get brilliant reviews but they're pricey, suppose that's what you pay for a great all round package.



I personally like the look of T5 lit tanks but from what i have read theu don't do so well on deep tanks.



On my 125"x36"x36" reef tank I went with a DIY hybrid setup using 4x80W T5 lights and 6 Rapid LED dual Aurora puck kits, unfortunately it's not full up and running so can't comment on how it grows corals, buy the coverage is great, sunrise/sunset, controllability and punch from the led's, reducing shadows and shimmering with the T5, hopefully it works aswell as I'm imagining.

This is very helpful, thank you. I am curious about your dimensions as I was thinking of going a bit longer as well. Any particular reason and/or benefit?

Thanks

 

[Stylo328]

Why don't you just do 2 4ft cebu suns with the 2 metal halides each, the refelctors will be perfect for what you're doing.

I considered that, but have decided on a blend of T5 and LED in lieu of MH. Don't get me wrong, I love the look of Radium bulbs, but I just don't want to deal with the heat issue.

 

[golferbud101691]

I would go kessil with t5 supplement. You'll get the shimmer of the led's and the extra growth of t5. For those demensions, you would probably need 5-6 360's and 4-8 60" t5's depending on how much sps you will have. Trust me, the growth will amaze you when you combine 2/3 different types of lighting.

Also, with the kessil warranty/customer support, you're never without a light for your tank.

 

[SausageArm]

This is very helpful, thank you. I am curious about your dimensions as I was thinking of going a bit longer as well. Any particular reason and/or benefit?

Thanks

The dimensions are as they are because I wanted a deep tank but needed space to have the sump below hence the 36" tall, 48" would have been lovely but no room for sump and crazy amount of extra money for thicker glass.

The tank length is the length of the room so couldn't possibly go longer.

The depth front to rear is 36" as any more would have made the fish room too small, but the tank would've been brilliant and with the extra depth, but lighting gets even more expensive covering the depth and surface area.

 

[Stylo328]

Reviving this thread as I finally purchased a new tank. Dimensions are 120x30x28. Based on equipment I already have, I have decided to light the tank with two rows of 10 bulbs of T5 light with Reefbrite strips. Configuration will be as follows: two t5 bulbs in front in a Giesemann T5 retro kit, followed by the Reefbrite strip, and then an eight bulb ATI sun power.

The bulb combo and order I am planning:

Blue +
Purple +

Reefbrite xho blue

Blue +
Coral +
Blue +
Blue +
Purple +
Blue +
Coral +
Blue +

I posted this in the T5 Q&A thread, but thought I'd post it here as well.

Thanks is andvance for your thoughts and suggestions.

 

[dartier]

I noticed your thread and thought I would comment on what I am planning. I am in the process of setting up an almost identical tank (120 x 36 x 30).

I had already purchased lights for a 300 DD tank that I was going to use, but at the twelfth hour I decided to go for a 560G. About 4 feet longer and a few inches deeper.

From the planned 300 DD, I already had 4 AP700 fixtures on hand along with 6 x 80W T5 retro kits. With the extra 4 feet, I have decided to mount the AP700 units front to back, with each covering a 24" x 36" section. I will need to pick up 1 more AP700, which will make it 5 units.

For the T5 kits, I will be adding 2 more 80W units, so that I can mount 1 bulb on each end of the AP700, and 2 bulbs crossing under the centre of each AP700 between each puck. This will give me a total of 8 x 80W T5 bulbs, and 5 AP700 fixtures. I had planned on using C+ and B+ bulbs in equal proportion.

It sounds like we are coming at this same problem, just from opposite directions. Your going mainly T5 with a bit of LED supplementation, and I am going mainly LED with a bit of T5 supplementation. It will be interesting to see how it works out for each of us.

Dennis

 

[Stylo328]

I noticed your thread and thought I would comment on what I am planning. I am in the process of setting up an almost identical tank (120 x 36 x 30).



I had already purchased lights for a 300 DD tank that I was going to use, but at the twelfth hour I decided to go for a 560G. About 4 feet longer and a few inches deeper.



From the planned 300 DD, I already had 4 AP700 fixtures on hand along with 6 x 80W T5 retro kits. With the extra 4 feet, I have decided to mount the AP700 units front to back, with each covering a 24" x 36" section. I will need to pick up 1 more AP700, which will make it 5 units.



For the T5 kits, I will be adding 2 more 80W units, so that I can mount 1 bulb on each end of the AP700, and 2 bulbs crossing under the centre of each AP700 between each puck. This will give me a total of 8 x 80W T5 bulbs, and 5 AP700 fixtures. I had planned on using C+ and B+ bulbs in equal proportion.



It sounds like we are coming at this same problem, just from opposite directions. Your going mainly T5 with a bit of LED supplementation, and I am going mainly LED with a bit of T5 supplementation. It will be interesting to see how it works out for each of us.



Dennis

Sounds like a wonderful setup. Looking forward to the photos. We should boat post pics here once setup for others who could benefit from the thread.

Congrats on the new setup.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dartier]

Congratulations to you on your tank as well.

Dennis