Lighting upgrade

G

guitar510

New member
I will be building a canopy sometime in the near future...so that means I'll be upgrading my lighting or at least planning for it to be installed sometime down the line. When I started my first 40 gal reef I purchased this lighting system (the 36 in. 96W x 2 variety, 1 actinic, 1 daylight): http://www.jbjlighting.com/sys_formosa_dx.html

This worked well with my 40 gal and I never had any trouble growing the beginner corals. I never challenged the lighting with needy coral though...Then, I moved and upgraded to a 75 gal with the same footprint as the 40 gal in order to utilize the same stand and I'm tall so I like the idea of having the tank more at eye level. Ever since, my coral growth has struggled at the lower depths of my tank.

I want to upgrade and was thinking T5s retrofit all the way, but they're so expensive. I want to see what my alternatives are...

Thoughts:

1. T5s (budget kits?)
2. MH (budget kits?)
3.*Could I pull the lighting out of the JBJ system mount it in the canopy and supplement with MH or T5. This is the idea that came to me the other day.
 
For reference...my original 40 gal...
100_1008.jpg


And...my current 75 gal...same lighting
IMG_2903.jpg
 
it is hard to be in this hobby on a budget :(

But I would say HO - VHO T5.

It would be hard to fit a single MH over that guy, unless you get a lumenarc or something of the sort.
 
Agreed, so if I went with HO or VHO T5, any chance I could save some $ by incorporating my 10,000k 96W PC and Actiniv 96WPC into the design?

Perhaps go with a T5 setup using less bulbs and supplement with my PCs?
 
You could certaintly start with a 2 bulb retro & still use your PC's as long as they're not too old. Then add more as the wallet allows. Many LPS corals would likely do just fine. Probably need a few more for SPS.

Old bulbs are a recipe for algae explosions. Been there.

Just make sure to use good single lamp reflectors(SLR) to get the most out of your setup.
 
Looking at reefgeek...

I see two options for retrofit kits: Ice Cap SLR or Sunlight Tek2. Then within each of these options I can go with High Output or VHO. It looks like the only difference (which must be a big one) is the ballast.

For the HO they are driven by Universal AccuStart Triad ballast (@39W)
For the VHO they are over-driven by Ice Cap 660 (@60W each)

Any major differences from the Ice Cap SLRs or Sunlight Tek2s?

It seems like the reason to go with VHO is if you have limited space for extra bulbs, (which is my case) since you can get more wattage/bulb. Also noted that the overdriven T5s don't last as long. What is the difference in lifespan from HO and VHO?
 
Another thought, if I went with a 2x now I would have a ballast rated for 2 - T5s. If I went with a larger 4x or 6x would I then have a ballast rated for all 4 or 6?

Just wondering cause if I do it piecemeal then I would have multiple ballasts, right. I guess my only concern there is space...do ballasts mount in the canopy or separate?
 
You could get an icecap 440 flourescent ballast at first, you can run up to 12 lamp feet with it, I'm not sure how long your tank is, but if it's 3 ft, you could run 4 bulbs on that, then in the future get another 440 and run another up to 4 bulbs on it as well. With the 2 ballasts you can run your actinics on 1 and daylights on the other for the dusk/dawn effect. Then all you need to buy are the sets of endcaps and reflectors. I've played around with buying a t5 retro kit from marine depot and they definately do NOT give you a discount for buying a package deal. It's cheaper to buy them piece by piece.

Or....

If you wanted to still use your pc's, you could just get 1 250 watt metal halide and a nice reflector like a lumenarc for around 300ish with an icecap or lumatek ballast and you shouldn't ever need to worry about more light in the future if you want to go to SPS.

Also, posting your 75 gal tank dimensions might help some other people give you some more ideas at what would work for you.
 
Dimensions for the 75 gal are 36 in x 15 in x 31.5 in deep.

Wondering if I could go with one of these or similar...http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/Metal_Halide/IceCap/Retrofit_Kits_(MH_Only)/Metal_Halide_Retrofit_Kit_w!_250W_10000K_Ushio_by_IceCap

and then try and fit one or both of the 96W PC bulbs I currently have with the JBJ...I would probably only have room for one...so I was thinking I could cut down the reflector to make it fit either in front or behind the MH. The PC would be 96W actinic. I would also utilize the three fans that are used on the JBJ and mount them in my canopy.

So total would be 96W PC actinic + 250W 10,000 MH...

Thoughts?
 
That would be a great addition and allow plenty of light at most depths. It's not the best reflector (lumenarc mentioned earlier) but will cast mucho light. Also should plan on painting the inside of your canopy white to maximize the reflection as well.
I'm going the same route soon, 2x 175 retro and bust up my current T5 cased 4 bulb.
 
Not the best reflector....OK suggestions for a good 250W MH retrofit? Let me guess the quality reflector is much larger and is part of a complete filxture...

I won't have much room to work with to add in the actinics even if I go with the MH from reefgeek above.
 
OK, I see the lumenarc now. The mini would fit but would not allow any room for actinics. Perhaps I'll be OK with the retrofit MH as long as I keep demanding corals up high. Still not sure if I'll even be able to fit the actinics even if I go with the retrofit mentioned above. I'm going to sketch it out and see what I can come up with.
 
I have the 60g, same foot, but not as cool as that tall one you got! But the depth does restrict you a great deal. The reflector will make the difference of getting the light to the bottom. (You must have freakishly long arms!!! lol)
I will tell ya, from my VERY limited experience, that even low-powered T-5s will out perform your PCs. I have a Coralife 96, with your same configuration in it, and I added a cheap 2 x 39w GLO T5 to the mix, and you can barely tell the PCs are on. Everything is brand new, so it isn't an age thing. One thing I have read is that the actinics in the T5s do not benifit from the overpowering. I am not sure how true that is, just that is the general opinion of the masses. So you could get an uber powered T5 x 2 for your whites, and use your PCs for the actinics... I am not sure if this theory will hold water (punny) but I think it will.

I am at the bottom of my learning curve with this stuff... so take it for what it is. :-)
 
If you are considering overdriving the T5 (T5 VHO) ... you need the Icecap 660 ballast, not the 430. The 430 only slightly overdrives T5 (that comes directly from an email from Icecap).

Second thing ... The super actinic T5's definitely do benefit in output from being overdriven. I am running two 420nm super actinics on Icecap 660 ballasts as supplemental halide lighting. The difference in output between on the the standard, Advance HO ballast compared to an Icecap 660 with the super actinic T5's is signifigant. It's a large visual difference.

The super actinics have lasted over a year on the 660 ballast ... I have used Giesemann and UVL as well as fiji purple lamps all on the 660. I got a year out of one UVL super actinic and was close to a year on a KZ fiji purple before I took it out of service, still running strong. So while they dont last as long on the 660, they still have good usable life and that is for the blue lamps which reportedly dont last as long as the white T5 lamps anyway.
 
Ah, well there ya go. I thought the actinic were indifferent to the OD, but I stand corrected. (actually I am seated)

I got much to learn.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15063262#post15063262 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Imzadi
Ah, well there ya go. I thought the actinic were indifferent to the OD, but I stand corrected. (actually I am seated)

I got much to learn.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you do get more output overdriving the T5 SA. But they still cant compete with T12 VHO super actinic in terms of color. If someone could make a 420nm T5 that had the color of the T12 they would sell lot hotcakes. Why they cant make a better 420nm T5 is a mystery to me. Ive asked and nobody has had a good answer. From using T12 VHO for a long time, the 420nm T5's were very disappointing to me in terms of color. But overdriving them definitely improves the output atleast eventhough they still cant compete colorwise.
 
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