Lighting for a 155 bowfront?

[Daygrowth]

Hi All,

I am curious to know what people would recommend for lighting a 155 bowfront?

The tank dimensions are 72x24x24

I was thinking that I would buy 4 x 72" VHO bulbs/ballasts, get 2x50/50 and 2 daylight bulbs retrofit them to the hood. Or I was thinking I may be able to do something with a T-5 setup, but I don't know very much about T-5 bulbs or their differences in output capacity just yet.

Any suggestions are appreciated

Thanks!

 

[Daygrowth]

By the way, I'm planning to keep it FOWLR for the most part and slowly move into keeping corals as I get used to keeping a larger aquarium.

 

[raddogz]

Our display tank at work uses (2) 96w 36" pc light fixtures. Total wattage is 384 watts.

We have a RBTA, some type of flower anemone, and a green carpet anemone. The back of the tank faces the floor to ceiling window.

There is no hood for the tank. The fixtures sit on top of the glass.

As far as longevity and heat T-5's in my opinion will out do vho's.

 

[Daygrowth]

Thanks

My only concern about the T-5's were that the wattages seemed low and I thought that I would need 6-8 bulbs just to match the same effect as 4 VHO bulbs.

Am I wrong?

 

[kodyboy]

t5s are awesome, much better than PCs or T12VHOs. To get the most out of t5s you need good reflectors and active cooling. Look at the link below for some nice retrofits.
http://diyreef.com/shop/index.php?cPath=89
two of the 36 inch retros would cover the tank, or if you can live without a canopy (I do not know if it would fit in one or not) the aquactinics constellation would work great!

 

[raynist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9309618#post9309618 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Daygrowth
Thanks

My only concern about the T-5's were that the wattages seemed low and I thought that I would need 6-8 bulbs just to match the same effect as 4 VHO bulbs.

Am I wrong?

Hey Mike,

You can check out my lighting when you stop over this weekend. I have a 180g tank which is similar in size to your 155.

If you think you are going to get corals then I would buy the right fixture/lighting the first time and save yourself some money.

--Ray

 

[scarson61]

Wanted to tag along because I am trying to figure out how to light my 155 Bowfront. Only difference is mine is going to be a reef tank housing SPS. I have someone who says he can build a canopy and if this is the case I'll just retro fit it with 3 250 watt MH and some VHO's but my other option is to get the pre-made hoods (like the Current MH/T5 combo) but they are only raised 3 feet off the tank with the legs and I wonder if that is not too close

 

[raynist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9316747#post9316747 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scarson61
Wanted to tag along because I am trying to figure out how to light my 155 Bowfront. Only difference is mine is going to be a reef tank housing SPS. I have someone who says he can build a canopy and if this is the case I'll just retro fit it with 3 250 watt MH and some VHO's but my other option is to get the pre-made hoods (like the Current MH/T5 combo) but they are only raised 3 feet off the tank with the legs and I wonder if that is not too close

If it were me and I had a canopy I would use:

3 - Lumenarc Mini's or Coralife equavilent (cheaper, same thing)
3 - Icecap 175w Electronic ballasts
3 - Iwasaki 15k 175w bulbs.

The Iwasaki bulbs put out more par than just about every 250w bulb (and crushes 175w bulbs) and will use less elecricity. They are very white bulbs with a hint of blue. If you want more blue you can add a T-5 retro kit.

I have these bulbs on all of my tanks (180 and 120) and grow SPS on the bottom of the tank.

--Ray

 

[raddogz]

Seeing that this will be a Fowlr tank (at least in the beginning) I believe the T-5's will be fine for now, and when you move to corals and you get into more lighting the T-5's will give you the dawn and dusk effect you may be looking for as far as supplementation.

I am not so sure the 175w even with a Lumenarc Mini or equivalent size will give the same punch in a 155g - as I last recall the height of the tank is more than 24 inches as is with a standard 120g or 180g.