Lighting the tall tanks...

[brbegle]

Afternoon -

I am doing my searches in and around Reef Central, but I also like to hear it from the group here in AZ.

I'm look for a fairly cost effective method to light my new setup. Currently I just have a lot of softies and mushrooms, although the Raccoon has eaten over half of them, but I would like to get ready to start moving up the coral ladder so to speak. I want to keep things fairly simple, but my tank is 36"x36"x18", so it's kinda tall and the 96Wx2 just doesn't seem like it's cutting it.

Any suggestions on well priced systems? I'd just like to hear some opinions, and I know everyone has them - but let me know how YOU would light this setup! Also, I'd rather not build anything if possible.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[phlipper84]

I am running a 30" tall reef and have gone with 2 x 250 watt HQI pendants and 4 48" VHO bulbs. I have also added 1 96 watt compact fluorescent. This system seems to allow very good penetration to the bottom.

 

[brbegle]

How does this look: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7748086558&fromMakeTrack=true ? I'd like to stay in this price range if possible.

 

[phlipper84]

I have no familirity with T5 lighting. Would look into the lighting-equip forum for more info. Would also look into the vendor feedback forums to see if anyone has dealt with the seller of this item.

 

[dgin]

I'd do either a 250w or 400w DE pendant. The T5s aren't a bad choice but they don't have the penetration that DE bulbs have with a good pendant like the ReefOptix III or PFO MiniPendant.

 

[Aflac]

Is having a tall (or shallow) tank really have an affect on lighting?

 

[brbegle]

DGin - I know you are right, but I am looking from a cost standpoint too - what can I expect to pay for the type of system you are talking about and where can I price them? Thanks for your help man!

 

[phlipper84]

try sunlight supply, marine depot or hellolights. You may even be able to find something on Ebay. Just be sure of what brand you are getting. I am running PFO pendants with a PFO ballast. You would probably be looking at 4-5 hundred for that set-up. However, a single pendant system could be cheaper. Another option may be VHO. You could end up with a 4 bulb system, run by an IceCap 660 ballast, for probably around 3-350. The bulbs are about 24 dollars a piece so your replacement costs are reasonable.
Depending what you are going to keep, tall tanks have quite an effect on lighting. The way I understand it, the deeper it goes the higher the light output needs to be to penetrate. If you plan on keeping soft corals, mushrooms and the like low, you may get away with less lighting.
Remember though, 8 t5 bulbs have to be expensive to replace. Even if you found them for 20 dollars (?) per, that is still 160 dollars once per year I am assuming.

 

[Philwd]

Aflac,
In a word yes. The shallower the tank the more likely T5s would work across the board.

Its really just the physics of light. Light intensity drops as the inverse of the distance from the light source. Search for clkwrks thread on the par in his tank and you will see the dramatic difference from top to bottom of his tank.

Also if you have very good clear water you can get away with less light. Read some bare bottom threads and people are cutting way back on lighting. Some back to 3-4 hrs a day of halides.

 

[rljlll]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=2

this is the link to the used goods forum they always have MH pendants and retos along with some of the whole setup lighting systems to good prices watch them for a few days if your in no hurry i always see some good deals

 

[CloWn SpaWn]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=789973 chis has 250 de for 350.

 

[Aflac]

Thanks, Philwd. I frankly didn't know a few inches would make a noticable difference.

 

[rljlll]

it does only six inches could be life or death for some coral i have heard

 

[brbegle]

Thanks for the info all - keep it coming. I contacted Clkwrk about the 250 de, waiting to hear from him. I'm still learning about MH.

 

[rljlll]

they are way hot so the tank will jump at least 1 degree usually

 

[dgin]

I'm runnning the 3x250w 14K Phoenix bulbs on IceCap ballasts in PFO minipendants. This is over a 6ft tank. I have run 2 of these pendants over the same size tank previously with decent results - I just had them up a few inches more.

Each pendant setup ran about $265 - this was back a couple of years ago.

MH lighting does radiate a lot of heat. Even with an open canopy, it can raise the water temperature a few degrees - depends on how high they are above the water, length of time they are on, ambient air temperature, etc. With a closed canopy, you will need a lot fans and/or possibly a chiller. I've been successful with just fans and evaporative cooling.