MH / T5 / LED?? oh my!

[fareforce]

I know this has been discussed extensivly here on RC, but I want to see what you guys think.

I am doing a 280gal in wall tank this fall. The tank will be 72"x30"x30". I want to keep SPS, clams, etc, all the way down to softies, and zoos.

So what do you guys think I should do for lighting? Try to keep in mind price, heat, mantainence costs, etc. The tank will not be running a chiller, and I dont want to add one. There will be an additional 130-160gals for the sumps as well.

 

[Shagsbeard]

Anchorage... I see why no chiller. As far as lighting goes... go big. Spend more than you think you need to... you wont regret it.

 

[motlot77]

if it were me i'd really take a hard look at the led systems. sure more money up front, but the bulbs last sooo long. not like mh where you're replacing often. and they don't generate much heat so you won't need a chiller.

there's a couple good threads in the lighting forum with links to outside sites and what people are keeping with them. pretty interesting stuff.

 

[alexb518]

yeah, i would really like a set of LED's as well. i was looking at some the other day, but can't afford yet. they're [profanity]. i think it said the bulbs are good for like 12 years or so. probably worth it in the long run. check it out on google...i was looking at the solaris ones.

 

[murfman]

Solaris just released the 400W LED light for pre order. At a minimum, you are going to need 400W because of the depth of your tank. I have a 72" tank and run 2 250W 14K with 72" SVHO actinics. You could do the same with the 400W or add a 3rd in the center.

 

[silverwolf72]

Main prob I see with the LED is price, figure in a couple of years all the new technology they'll have brighter more efficient and cheaper LED fixtures. And the 12 year thing for life I have doubts about, is that per bulb or for the fixture to be usable for 24 hr/day or 1 hr/day? I see claims like that on compact florescent for the house they still seem to burn out way before that 5 years or whatever there claim is. Ok just my 2 cents

 

[fareforce]

The biggest problem I have with LED's, is they are to new on the market, and you can't chage the color temp of them. I dont want to sepnd thousands of dollars on an LED system to find out that I dont like the color temp.

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

LED's = windows vista
let the hardcores and freaks beat all the bugs out of it for a while THEN jump in.


I would recommend 2 -400 watt round pendants suspended
dead center, one in each half, with some t-5's around the edges

OR get 4 250w DE's in rectangular housings that drop a rectangular pattern which you can fit two on each side. this will also give you a more continuous light field across the whole tank.
And IF you want add a pair of 6' VHO's with an IC660 (or equiv) for actinic dusk-dawn stuff.

 

[fareforce]

So, everyone is liking MH over T5's?

I was personally thinking

Option #1
Using 2x250w MH in square pendants (one on each end), and a 400w square in the center with either VHO or T5's for actinics/ dawn to dusk.

Option #2
Usae all T5's


What does the night crew think?

 

[dorkfish3]

Id use either 3-400's but that would be crazy for electricity. maybe either 3-250s or 2x250's and 1x400.. your idea doesnt sound bad, but your still going to have dead space in the center unless you retro some t-5s, but it would be easier to run the extra MH.. I also like Frick-n-Frags idea. Id say run 2x250s 8 hours a day and run the 400 in the middle for like 4 hours or something.. that would be good. my buddy has a 125 with no chiller here in missouri and a closed canopy and has no heating issues with 2 250s and a 400.. I have always like MH so that would be my choice.. gl

 

[silverwolf72]

I plan on going T5 myself.

 

[dorkfish3]

check out oceanencounter.com for budget spending they sell 250w metal halide retro kits for like 175 a piece. they come with icecap electronic ballasts and a huge parabolic reflector decent bulbs and all the stuff you need. my total on two of them shipped was like $359. it was the best deal I found besides used

 

[cowboyswife]

I love my T5s and wouldnt switch to halides unless I absolutely had to. If I did change my lights, it would be to the T5 teklights.

 

[cyclops23]

i have a tek t-5 light and i love it, so do my clams. all of my corals look sweet, bright colors. also runs a lot cooler than mh. it's a personal preference thing, there will be a lot of people tell you that t-5's suck and mh is the only way to go. others will tell you you don't need to waste all that money on mh's, t-5's will do the trick. i have nothing against mh, i went with the t-5's cause i don't have to drop a ton of money at one time to change bulbs, i don't have to worry about heat, and i got a great price on the fixture. go with what you like.

 

[fish 511]

If money and electricity were not a huge concern to you, I would do Halides with T5 actinics. I think that would look best...HTH

 

[fareforce]

Electricity is a little bit of concern, but so is what will work and look the best.. The other thing I was thinking was going pure T5's, with a single 250w MH in the middle. Mainly for shimmer lines =)

If I did go with T5's how many in what size would I need? I have never used T5's before.


**edit**
One last question. VHO's are not as bright as T5's right? I was thinking maybe I should do the best of all worlds.

Since I am working a such a big tank why not 2x 72" Ice Cap VHO's (for dawn to dusk), 8x 48" Ice Cap T5's on individual reflectors, and 1x 250w Ice Cap MH in the dead center. WOuld that be enought light?

 

[silverwolf72]

That should be more than enough

 

[fareforce]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9814853#post9814853 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fareforce
Electricity is a little bit of concern, but so is what will work and look the best.. The other thing I was thinking was going pure T5's, with a single 250w MH in the middle. Mainly for shimmer lines =)

If I did go with T5's how many in what size would I need? I have never used T5's before.


**edit**
One last question. VHO's are not as bright as T5's right? I was thinking maybe I should do the best of all worlds.

Since I am working a such a big tank why not 2x 72" Ice Cap VHO's (for dawn to dusk), 8x 48" Ice Cap T5's on individual reflectors, and 1x 250w Ice Cap MH in the dead center. WOuld that be enought light?

Any other thoughts?

 

[papagimp]

I have a tank with MH, one with T5's, and one with PC's and another with NO floursecents. I enjoy my T5's the most. Although I love the shimmer effect from MH, I don't enjoy the fight to keep temp down. I have to run the MH lights at night instead but at least that gives me a tank to view after lights out for everyone else. I also like being able to add a multitude of color spectrum to my tek fixture, whereas with a MH bulb, you have just the one bulb. (sure you could use different bulbs on the different MH retrofits but then 1/2 the tank would be one color, the other 1/2 a different) I'm not sure how much of a shimmer you would get from a MH with 8 x T5's on there. They can be bright and I would wonder if that would effect the overall effect of the MH bulb? Just a thought.

 

[wizzbane15]

no body saw that you are doing an in-wall install. MH are not practical for this type of standard applcation. The depth of your tank is going to put some constraints on you. 30" is getting down there. That is probably on the outer edge of T5's and their effectiveness. you can get 72" T5's and put 6-8 of them across the top of tank- WITH REFLECTORS! Do not get T5's without reflectors. It would be like getting a car without tires. Premium Aquatics and the DRs. sell nice ICECAP parabolic reflectors for T5's.