what are the best types of lights

Z

zoanthid2009

New member
so i have an 80g and want to upgrade lights. right now i have a t-5 fixture with some individual t-5s. I know i want halides, but what wattage and should i combine them with t-5s?

And are there any specific models you recommend?

oh and right now i have a lot of torchs frogspawn and some brains

thanks
bryan
 
There is really no “best” light, it’s all preference. My preference is T5’s. What fixture are you using? Have you tried different bulbs? Bulbs like ATI, KZ, UVL, have very good par.
 
Are you planing SPS or clams? If not T-5's are fine, just get better brand/spectrum. What is your depth, 18" would be 150 watt MH for adeqiute, 250 for max growth and light. Again its not just the wattage, brand quility and spectrum play a big role. Yes, if you add MH, I would keep the T-5', they also add color options too, to bring out the colors of your corals.

Yea, I forgot to mention Par, it also makes a dif, as does the fixture/reflectures for the bulbs. Some fixtures do nothing to help the light get to the tank, esecialy with T-5's this is critical.
 
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Well right now i have a current model and am messing around with different colors like purple and 10k and actinic. I would like to get SPS, which is why I want the MH...i was just trying to find a fixture that is a good combination of both. like should i get 1 250 or 2? There are just a lot of options...and i think the depth is 24"
 
If it was me I would go with 2 250 watt single ended retro fit. Get two good refectors and mount them in a tall canopy with fans. Use T-12 VHO's for your actinics. I geuss I am old school but love the look :)
 
That question is like opening pandora's box. You are going to get every answer under the sun.

Speaking of which, that is my answer... the SUN. Delivered via solar tubes or a skylight.
 
jefathome said:
That question is like opening pandora's box. You are going to get every answer under the sun.

Speaking of which, that is my answer... the SUN. Delivered via solar tubes or a skylight.
Click to expand...

HAHA ive tried pitching the pool idea to my parents but for some reason they are not fans....

and yea i like the MH/vho but i dont have a canopy and dont really wanna build one to match the stand...i guess i can look to see if the company sells a hood
 
With a 24 inch height you can use whatever you want really. Ask yourself a few ?'s.

Do I want to deal with heat?
How much do I want to spend on my electric bill?
How often do I want to change my bulbs?
How much do I want to spend on lighting?

answer these and you/we can narrow it down a little more.
 
Tucson Reef said:
Are you planing SPS or clams? If not T-5's are fine, just get better brand/spectrum. What is your depth, 18" would be 150 watt MH for adeqiute, 250 for max growth and light. Again its not just the wattage, brand quility and spectrum play a big role. Yes, if you add MH, I would keep the T-5', they also add color options too, to bring out the colors of your corals.

Yea, I forgot to mention Par, it also makes a dif, as does the fixture/reflectures for the bulbs. Some fixtures do nothing to help the light get to the tank, esecialy with T-5's this is critical.
Click to expand...

T5's are fine for SPS and clams too. A 6 bulb 48in ATI would grow some nice SPS in a 90 gallon.
 
aquaph8 said:
With a 24 inch height you can use whatever you want really. Ask yourself a few ?'s.

Do I want to deal with heat?
How much do I want to spend on my electric bill?
How often do I want to change my bulbs?
How much do I want to spend on lighting?

answer these and you/we can narrow it down a little more.
Click to expand...

so i still live with my parents haha so i dont even know how much our electric bill is or what is normal. The main thing im concerned about though is increased water temperature...if the MH is hung in a fixture with fans will it really be that hot?

and the lighting $ i am splitting with my dad and ill pay 400 and so will he....and bulbs would be nice once a year
 
IMO, I would go with a T5 fixture. You could go ATI with a sunpod for well under your budget with bulbs or maybe even a little cheaper with a tek fixture like S E A runs over their coral tanks. I would check out a couple local tanks with each (T5 and halides) and pick what you think looks better. Just dont look at mine cause I dont even like it. LOL
 
LEDs are more expensive to begin with but you have no heat issues, low energy use, and no bulb changes for many years. I think we figured that after 5-6 years, we'd break even. Because we are planning on keeping it for as many years as it will go, I think we will come out OK - plus I love the light.

Unfortunately, we are waiting for a new ballast and I really miss it. (Many thanks to Mr.Right for lending us a fixture in the mean time :wavehand:) I think our problem was a short caused by too much pet hair/dust/etc in the ballast. Come on - I'd rather fool with my tank than clean house.

Whatever you choose, good luck.
 
sillygoose said:
I think our problem was a short caused by too much pet hair/dust/etc in the ballast. Come on - I'd rather fool with my tank than clean house.

Whatever you choose, good luck.
Click to expand...

Clean your fixture too, it is a dust bin too, worse then the Power supplys, and subject to salt mist
 
I once bought a used ballast from another hobbyist online--not anyone local--and it arrived with the strongest odor. I opened it up to discover it was littered with tiny flakes of marijuana. I don't know whether the fans from the ballast were vacuuming the marijuana into the housing or whether the previous owner simply hid his stash in the ballast, but it was a surprising amount of green dust.
 
Again I stand by T5’s. 24” depth is not “un” T5able. Bellow is a link to my previous tank. I did have SPS scattered about along w/ a crocea clam in the sand bed. The tank was 22” tall and I had 4x24 watt current fixture. Before you spring to by a new light look into better bulbs. The PAR output of the higher end bulbs are nigh-n-day to the stock current bulbs. Like TucsonReef said spectrum dose play a role as well. I’m not saying you can have a full blown SPS tank but you may be surprised at what some better bulbs will do.


http://www.reefcentral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1805284
 
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