Hi everyone, bout to finish off the micromesh on the 300g and need some advice on how to suppliment or completely change to LED lighting.
The tank is 96"long x 31"high x 24"deep
First off, this is a FOWLR with a Harleguin Tusk, Dogface puffer with nice yellow, Bluethroat Trigger, Flame Hawkfish and a Matted Filefish. So we really don't have to worry about the "can LED support corals or not longterm" debate. I'm mostly concerned with how good it looks and how well my fish are lit up to see color.
I currently have a 4' T-5 fixture with 5 bulbs that lights my 100g nicely but obviously that's 4' short for the new tank. 2' on both ends is too big a dark area although it might look cool actually. Definately look like a deepwater tank which I'm sure the bluethroat would appreciate but the problem is I WANT SOME SHIMMER BABY! lol I want this new huge tank to really be awesome and I need help making it happen.
I really like the idea of 50,000(theoretical) lamplife and the wattage savings on my powerbill over time will be helpful to me as we just had a new baby and all my money is going to him these days.
I'm not caught up on the new stuff out there. I looked into it about a year ago and decided to stay t-5 because the led fixtures were crazy expensive and would probably be obsolete in a year or two. Cree is coming out with new LEDs all the time.
One idea is to use the fixture I have and add something like stunner-strips around the ouside edges of the tank. That would minimize the investment and lower the risk of buyers remorse in a couple years, but eventually I want to run all led fixtures.
I think another really cool idea people are having that would work well is using some Par38 lamps on a fixture from the ceiling above. Especially considering the top of the tank will only be about four feet below. I would want the beams to be just the right size to light the tank but not the room around it. Not sure what optics you'd have to have there, maybe 30degree?
Quite simply, what would you do if you were me and trying to be smart with your money? I could probably just get away with using the 4ft fixture on legs but I want a shimmer and no dark sides. I definately wants me some shimmer!
Thanks for any replies, you guys have never led me wrong in the past.
The tank is 96"long x 31"high x 24"deep
First off, this is a FOWLR with a Harleguin Tusk, Dogface puffer with nice yellow, Bluethroat Trigger, Flame Hawkfish and a Matted Filefish. So we really don't have to worry about the "can LED support corals or not longterm" debate. I'm mostly concerned with how good it looks and how well my fish are lit up to see color.
I currently have a 4' T-5 fixture with 5 bulbs that lights my 100g nicely but obviously that's 4' short for the new tank. 2' on both ends is too big a dark area although it might look cool actually. Definately look like a deepwater tank which I'm sure the bluethroat would appreciate but the problem is I WANT SOME SHIMMER BABY! lol I want this new huge tank to really be awesome and I need help making it happen.
I really like the idea of 50,000(theoretical) lamplife and the wattage savings on my powerbill over time will be helpful to me as we just had a new baby and all my money is going to him these days.
I'm not caught up on the new stuff out there. I looked into it about a year ago and decided to stay t-5 because the led fixtures were crazy expensive and would probably be obsolete in a year or two. Cree is coming out with new LEDs all the time.
One idea is to use the fixture I have and add something like stunner-strips around the ouside edges of the tank. That would minimize the investment and lower the risk of buyers remorse in a couple years, but eventually I want to run all led fixtures.
I think another really cool idea people are having that would work well is using some Par38 lamps on a fixture from the ceiling above. Especially considering the top of the tank will only be about four feet below. I would want the beams to be just the right size to light the tank but not the room around it. Not sure what optics you'd have to have there, maybe 30degree?
Quite simply, what would you do if you were me and trying to be smart with your money? I could probably just get away with using the 4ft fixture on legs but I want a shimmer and no dark sides. I definately wants me some shimmer!
Thanks for any replies, you guys have never led me wrong in the past.
