Whats your lighting setup?

reefnewbie54321

reefnewbie54321

In Memoriam
I am doing some research on LPS tanks becuase after being out of the hobby for a year I thought it might be interesting to try something a lot less stressful. It will also be a learning experience becuase I have never had a single LPS coral.

So after doing about 5 hours worth of browsing I came to this conclusion about LPS lighting sytstems,

-Halides are to strong and corols wont fully open or get bleached from them
-T-5s will work but VHO is better
-VHO is the ideal setup

So whats your lighting setup and what would you suggest for a 125 LPS/Softie w/ a few Zoo's???
 
i have 260 watts of PCin my 55 gallon tank with an openbrain, echino, acans, candy cane, and a frogspawn that are colored up pretty well and seen to open all the way up, but if I want to get the best colors from my corals, ill have to feed them 2 times a week (i used to to not feed, and now that i do thier color has inhanced)
 
Thanks for the reply, I knew that feeding my corals would be important but I didnt realize that it would enhance there color. Guess I'll be re-reading bornemans articles on reef food.
 
It is not true that metal halide lamps are "to strong" and will result in LPS corals bleaching. I have two 250w metal halide lamps along with 4 VHO lamps over my 100 gallon reef aquarium that houses both SPS and LPS corals. Many LPS corals like pineapple brain, tooth, and hammer do best under intense light provided by metal halide lamps. However if you only want to keep LPS corals then VHO should be fine for most LPS corals and PC works well if the aquarium is shallow.
 
Metal Halides!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Metal Halides!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I definately wouldn't say halides are too strong. I've got 2 175 halides and 2 96 watt PC's over my 120 and I think it's great. You are going to get a million different opinions on this question but I think if it grows a calcium skeleton ( hammers, frogspawn, bubble, etc...) then it came from an area that recieved a decent amount of light, it takes quite a bit of energy to grow that skeleton so don't underestimate how much light they need.
As for your question, I'd put 3 175 watt halides and either 2 6ft VHO's or a pair of 96 watt PC's for a little dawn to dusk effect. Dave
 
The tank hasnt been ordered yet and I think if I go SPS I will stick with the 125 (48 x 24 x 25 high) but if I do an LPS tank I think I am going to downgrade to a 95 gallon (48 x 24 x 17 high)

If its 17" high with a 3" sandbed Im guessing this will change the previous opinions about MH's being okay for my tank. I may be wrong, I dont know much about LPS corals.

So for a tank

48 long 24 wide and 17 high (3" bed) what lighting would be best??? ... sorry for confusion I just dont see the point in buying such a tall tank if its going to be LPS anyways ... I figure why not make it shorter and save on electricity.
 
I use a 4x54wT5 w/ IceCap660 on my 75.My 40 has a 2x39wT5 and a 1x250MH.BTW,what makes you think VHO's are better than T5's.Ever researched/read any of the threads/tests done on PAR measurements with T5's?A 4x54w T5/IC660 with IC reflectors for the T5's puts out alot more PAR than a 2x250MH setup at 19" depth.
 
I think vho's put out better color than the pc's do. From what I have read and heard first hand from other reefers the vho's will last longer than the t5's and the pc's. I don't have any experience with mh so I cannot coment on them. I have seen several tanks with zoas and lps with mh's lighting them - and they had incedible growth. There are so many opinons about what lighting is best. I have been very happy with my vho's and I will probably stay with them for a while. Unless I should decide to start an sps tank. Just my .02 for what it's worth.
 
I have a 15 gallon with 2 24" VHOs over it and all my LPS love it. Especially my bubble coral that has decided to take over 1/4 of the tank. While I haven't tried MH with LPS, I think that VHOs are near ideal for LPS dominated tanks.
 
i currently have a 55g with a 2"-2 1/2" sandbed and i have 2 175W 15K MH along with 2 regular 40W NO actinic bulbs and my lps,zoas,softies,clams,and sps absolutly love it! my bubble coral is about 7 1/2" across and is up at the top half of the tank, my zoas and gsp are growing like crazy also.

my opinion would be to look at tanks with the different lighting setups and see which one it is that you like the most and then go with it.
 
Here's a link to a thread on a PAR test comparing 4x54w T5/IC660 to 2x250MH's.
http://www.creativereefing.com/viewtopic.php?t=646&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=80
BTW,I think its common knowledge that T5's get 18-24months bulb life.I just changed an 18month ol T5 blue+ bulb out and the new bulb was only slightly brighter than the one i replaced(i ran them side by side for comparison).I know IceCap has tested the GE6500k T5 and after 2yrs,it was still at 85% output.
With VHO's expect a yr at best,and thats with a good e-ballast like an IceCap.
 
I think I am going to start with a VHO or T-5 setup (still have to read that t-5 article and do a little more research). I will probably upgrade later if I feel I need it
 
Sounds like a good plan,consider getting an IceCap 660 as it will allow you to fire VHO's or T5's in any combination.I used to run 2 VHO's and 2 T5's on my old 40gal with my IC660.
 
I run 4- 24" VHO on my 20L and am very pleased. albeit my rationale was different: i had the hood and endcaps and ballast all ready and wired from a previous tank. But, i really like it. My bubble and frogspawn are massive, and my candy canes are ready to split...i have only had coral for about 2 weeks now.

Whatever you get i am sure you wil like it, so dont stress too much.
 
I would like to get it right the first time but if worse comes to worse I just add some halides ... I dont think I will becuase most of the corals I plan on stocking are pretty low light but you never know I might now be satisfied.

As of know I think I am sticking with VHO ... I just read in the mushroom forum that mushrooms shrivle up under t-5s??? yet rics wont reproduce under t-5's only VHOs and up.
 
i run 150watt de 14k halide over a 10 inch deep tank... with 2 inches of sand... the light is about 12 inches above the water to keep temps down but if i could lower it i would... everything looks great... including my torch which is my centerpiece that is at least 6 inches across at its widest part of the day...
 
I run 6x54w T5's. My tank is dominated by LPS but I have some acros and montiporas too which do great under the T5 lighting. Some of my reefer friends with halides that have the same corals I do get some better color, but they also have quite a bit more wattage and heat from the MH!

I've been with the T5 for over 2 years, from my experience I would say 18 months MAX on the same bulbs, less if overdriven. This is still a lot better than VHO or PC bulb life, and my *opinion* of the T5 is they pack more punch than VHO or PC, almost as much as halides.


p.s. what you heard about mushromms shriveling and rics not producing is a general statement and you should not take it as gospel. I wish I could rid my tank of ricordia yuma that keeps splitting...
 
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