Trying to figure out lighting for 245 gallon.

[drivingmyself]

Here's what I have going on, I know nothing about aquariums, it is my girlfriends hobby. We have a 245 gallon salt water tank that I know she eventually wants to do coral in, right now all we have is fish. Her birthday is coming up and she has previously mentioned she would love to have led lights for her tank but it is too expensive. As an electrician I know markup on a light fixture can be huge so I figure I would just see what type of leds they use and build a fixture. Well turns out apparently there is not just one type of LED and I have no idea wth I am even trying to look up. There appears to be way more involved with this than I would of ever imagined.

So I have a 72in long by 30in deep tank and I was wondering is there a "you want to buy this" rule of thumb or where should I even begin. I've google a bunch of things but I still really don't know what I should buy. Or is there questions I should be answering before my question can be answered?

someone did suggest a cluster/t5 design. someone else said sps corals need the most light, I have no idea what she wants to grow so I should probably be prepared for them. but im still not sure what i am looking for.

 

[Pmj]

That's a big tank and 30 in is pretty deep. I'm by no means an expert but these two sites sell DIY parts:

http://www.ledsupply.com/
led group buy .com (for some reason this URL is being rewritten)

You basically get LEDs + Heatsink + Driver + Power Supply. Optics would help control depth, and also many people get controllers, dimmers, timers, etc.

For cheap LEDs, many go reefbreeders or chinese LEDs on ebay. Hope that helps a little.

 

[azjohnny]

I have 3 Reef Breeder budget lights on my 180 and I have been happy with the results. Cost less than $200 per unit and come complete with mounting legs

https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/superlux/

My tank is a FOWLR with a large anemone and some Kenya Trees

 

[drivingmyself]

so if I were to get 3 of the superlux, she should be able to grow w/e she wants?

well i just did read this part in the q/a A: For tanks 12″ front to back or less, 6″ is plenty of height. For tanks 12″ to 18″ wide, 6″-10″ is a good height. For tanks 18″-24″ wide, 8′-12″ is a good height. We do not recommend a single light for more than 24″ of width front to back.

does that mean I am looking more at 6 lights?

 

[azjohnny]

My 180 is a 6 foot tank and instead of having the lights installed side to side, they are front to back so I can use the mounting legs, 6" above the tank. I do have some shadowing, I have been thinking about getting a 4th light.

The Super Lux are comparable to a 250 watt MH as far as light produced.

If you want to mount the lights side to side you can get (2) 32" lights but you would have to hang them.

Reef Breeders 32" light
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-32/

 

[nuxx]

If you don't mind the look or lack of automation just get 165 watt dimmable full spectrum Chinese LEDs. Really can't beat them.

If you want more controllability and a better looking package go with Kessil A360WEs or A700s.

We went with the Chinese lights on our frag tank and Kessils on our display.