New 180g reef lighting question

kdrof

kdrof

New member
Hey all, I am new to the site and reef setups. I previously had a 55 gallon marine tank with no coral. That was a nice learning experience. Now that I have my own place I want to get a new tank and not have any restrictions on coral I can put in.

I have been researching lights and do not have enough experience to make the call. I was looking into Mh's, T5's, and LED's. I have read pros and cons on each and everyone seems to have a different opinion on what setup will work and is the best. Can I ask any of you for some help? :)

I am picking up my tank this weekend and going to start the stand build... I was looking into the marine land 72" pro lighting with the 3x150w Mh's and 8 39w t5s and moonlight LEDs. The setup has reviews from people that are great and others say no. I like the all in one setup and the timer capabilities.

After seeing some people not thinking the light was sufficient for a 72x24x24 tank I looked into aqua illuminations SOL LED equipment. I know it's more expensive but looks fairly simple to setup and will save on energy costs and run cooler.

I know I can run 3 250w MHs and some T5 hos that are integrated together... I am still new to this and don't know exactly what I need and will get me by with any coral (sps to sorties) that I would like. Like I told my wife, I don't want to have my tank setup and hear "you don't have the right equipment for a certain type of coral or you won't get good growth" I just want to know what I need to get :) everybody in talk to at LFS's or readings tell me something different.

If the best way is to piece Mh's and t5s or w.e it may be together let me know some suggestions... Please

All I ask guys is for a little bit of help and guidance. Thanks a lot for having me, kevin
 
im having the same delima for my 125g. i guess it comes down to what corals u plan to keep. if u plan of a few sps corals towards the top u can get away with t5 lighting. if u plan on an amemone or clam and mostly sps i would either go with 3-250w mh or leds.

aqua illumination leds are very nice. u would need 4 modules for your tank. so about $2200.00 . but u would never have to change bulbs and electric bill will be about 1/3 less then mh's.

hamilton makes some nice mh-t5 fixtures the will cost about $1100.00. i like the all in 1 units with timers also. unfortunatly i dont think any come with 250w mh's

or lastly aquaticlife makes a great 6 lamp t5 fixture. i like that it only has 1 power cord and a built in timer. about $800.00 and generates much less heat then a mh fixture.

with any mh or t5 fixture your going to spend about $250 a year on bulbs.

personnaly it all comes down to how much u want to spend. i would love a/i leds lighting for my tank but its hard to justify $2200.00

im leaning towards the aquaticlife t5 fixture it should do every coral no problem and is 1/4 the cost of a/i leds. thats a lot of bulbs. lol. but my tank is 4" shorter then yours .

oh forgot to add. right now i have a coralife 400w cf fixture. i wouldnt mind keeping it but not sure if has the capabilities of doing sps corals at any height. i think it may work for top mounted sps's
 
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Thanks for the reply. I emailed the ai guys and their chart states if I have the LEDs 12+ inches above the water I need 3 for my tank. I was going to dump 1200 on the marine land pro but could pay 300 more and not have to change bulbs each year or w.e. The 250 bulb cost would be the upfront cost of the LEDs. I may jump on them if I can get away with three. I would think their chart would be accurate. What do you think? Also, the ability to upgrade the LEDs and easily swap out is cool

Do you think 3 would be sufficient for mid to high placement of sps and the rest lower? The awl is less SOL fixtures if they are set higher... Is this because they can spread the light wider? I just want to make sure I get the right amount of lighting for whatever I want to put in my tank....
 
I am running 2 maxspect G2-170watt on my 84" long tank and it covers the whole length. Just something to look at as well. So far i am loving this setup over my 3x 250watt halide and t5 combo i had and at 1/2 the wattage use.
 
Scuzy, how are your corals doing? Any restrictions or anything like that? When you had MH and T5s how often did u have to change the bulbs?
 
Well this is a restart of my old tank. I had a break from maintaining it and so all corals gone. I am slowly adding new stuff now and so far so good. I love the colors and i can custom it to be more blue by changing out a few LEDS. It's definitely brighter than my halides + t5s. and those bulbs are around 6-9month a pop to changeout.
 
scuzy said:
I am running 2 maxspect G2-170watt on my 84" long tank and it covers the whole length. Just something to look at as well. So far i am loving this setup over my 3x 250watt halide and t5 combo i had and at 1/2 the wattage use.
Click to expand...


how high off the water are they?
 
There is a thread in here where a guy is using 3 AI modules on a 180 and his tank looks nice.I'm also on the same boat and can't decide between the ati sunpower 8 x 80w or the the AI modules.
 
Foxrazr, thanks for the post. I will check out the ati's. I just would like to get three to keep the price down andnstill be able to grow any coral I would like. I may message the guy with the 180 and ask him about his updated experience
 
New 180g reef lighting question

scuzy said:
I am running 2 maxspect G2-170watt on my 84" long tank and it covers the whole length. Just something to look at as well. So far i am loving this setup over my 3x 250watt halide and t5 combo i had and at 1/2 the wattage use.
Click to expand...

Who makes that unit and who sells them?
 
I just set up a 180, I used 3 evolutions 120G's and I love them. They are controlled with a reefkeeperlite. I got them from Reefkoi.
 
kdrof said:
Foxrazr, thanks for the post. I will check out the ati's. I just would like to get three to keep the price down andnstill be able to grow any coral I would like. I may message the guy with the 180 and ask him about his updated experience
Click to expand...

You are welcome and keep us posted on what you decide to get....
 
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