What Type of lighting hangs over your SPS tank?
- Thread starter LoJack
- Start date
LoJack
New member
I am currently using LED's but am contemplating a switch to an ATI 8 Bulb T5 Fixture. I am just trying to get a feel for if this is the right decision or not.
I love the shimmer of halide, but I don't care for the heat.
I want a lighting option that is going to show beautiful coral color and provide decent growth.
More than anything I want my tank to "pop"
I love the shimmer of halide, but I don't care for the heat.
I want a lighting option that is going to show beautiful coral color and provide decent growth.
More than anything I want my tank to "pop"
trueblackpercula
New member
I have one radion G1 with TIR lens over my 30 x 30x 30 sps tank and everything is doing well.
trueblackpercula
New member
Can you please define pop because that is usually caused by more of the blue spectrum and its more of an art then just placing bulbs over your tank. This thread will become quickly a debate of LEDs vs halides vs T5 any choice works well.
Halides plus T5
Pros great color on sps and fast growth
Cons lots of heat and higher electric bills
T5 alone lighting
Pros great colors on sps less heat then halides good growth on sps
Cons bulbs only last 6 months
LEDs
Pros unlimited lighting possibilities great growth almost no heat
Cons fixtures are expensive and may need more then one fixture per tank depending on size.
I use LEDs and not to sway you in any way but I simply love it.
Rogue sub
New member
Switching from mh/t5 to radion led today. Everything I've seen online and locally leads me to the conclusion that some do better in mh then led and vice versa. Not sure either is a clear winner for coloration. My electric bill picked a winner for me though. So did my upkeep bill
+1 and it is what I am currently using and have no plans on changing.
LoJack
New member
I'm looking at the ATI Sunpower 8x54 watt fixture right now. My tank is 55"x24"x26". I haven't read nearly anything bad about this unit, and the fact that the most beautiful SPS tank I've ever seen is lit by a powermodule, I figure its a good starting point.
The June 2010 Tank of the Month built by Krzysztof Tryc (lunar) is absolutely inspirational.
I have spent an incredible amount of time getting my system balanced and consistent. I dose, have an ATO, test regularly, and keep a very strict maintenance schedule.
I have made it an absolute mission to keep my parameters within the optimal range. I run a DIY Cree LED setup from RapidLED.com and I'm not overly happy with my results. Some of my corals look phenomenal, however there are downsides to the LED. I find the light to be very directional, and find that it casts shadows more so than any halide or T-5 I've used in the past.
I also find that the shimmer is so erratic that its not natural like with metal halide. I realize that this is due to 72 sources of light as opposed to lets say 3 with halide pendants. (and I realize that this point is almost irrelevant since T-5 has no shimmer at all and thats the direction I'm considering going)
Above all I realize the leaps and bounds that LED's have made in a very short time and realize that its too early to commit to a very expensive LED setup.
When I first started this new tank 18 months ago, the AI Sol was the biggest breakthrough in LED's ... then the Radion showed its face ... improvements are made on them so fast that most people haven't paid their credit card bill off before the next best thing gets released ... making models before them completely obsolete.
The discovery of varied spectrum and uv ... is inspiring new units every single day it seems. Yellow, Green, Cyan, Red ... colors that weren't even mentioned when the first Royal Blue / Cool White fixtures were released.
LED's are evolving like Laptops did a decade ago ... I guess I just want to stick with tried and true until the advances slow down a little. I don't want to spend 3 grand and have a unit thats missing key features 10 months from now, when the experts in the field of lighting discover another key element thats critical to long term success.
Drae
RAIDER NATION!
You make some great points about LED lighting. I just saw a thread where a guy has 12 gen 1 radions over his tank lol. I bet he feels like a... well I won't go there but we all know he regrets it already. ATI and radium are still king of the mountain imho. The power module hybrid is the only led fixture I'd run if I had the coin. Jmo
LoJack
New member
And this is exactly what I mean ... $10K in lighting ... only to have it trumped a few months later.
I know that LED is the future ... but while I'm waiting to get there, I'm gonna try my hand at T-5.
I haven't placed the order yet, its a long weekend and nothing will ship until Tuesday anyway, but the plan is the 8x54 ATI Sunpower. I'll keep reading and researching until I pull the trigger ... but it seems like the best option for my current set up.
trueblackpercula
New member
I would have to agree about the LEDs changing as fast as technology, but any of the top name brand fixtures will work for long term. I have the G1 radion which is the first roll out and it works to perfection for my needs. It doesn't mean down the road I won't upgrade but only because everyone always wants the newest gizmo. I would have to say that in less then two years LEDs will surpass most lighting out today. As soon as LEDs companies find a way to replicate the spectrum of a radium, aquaconnect, or T5 bulbs I would say game over to all that. All I can say is my electric bill has been cut by 68% and I am running my fixture longer and brighter. Let's see when the summer months roll in and see how much my 1/4 Hp chiller goes on.
LoJack
New member
I like this too. Instead of Royal Blues, I soldered up two heat sinks with UV's.
I had built my original fixtures with 12 Royal Blues and 12 Cool Whites x3. And after reading all about how UV was, I built (2) 2"x24" Heat Sinks that Contained 12 UV LED's each. They come on an hour before and stay on an hour after. The color that they magnified was unbelievable, and some of my SPS morphed color in that period of time.
When I switch my LED's out for the ATI Unit next week, I'll be keeping my UV strips that I built as a pre-sunrise, and post-sunset additive.
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