Lighting Questions

[Beej1254]

The age old question I guess but I'm trying to figure out what will be best for lighting on my 110 gal tank.

My tank is 5' long by 18 inch wide by 24inch tall.

Right now I have a Fluval Marine and Reef LED. It says it's 46w with 120 degree light dispersion. All in all I like this light but it's not enough to really make my corals thrive. I've already added 2 old aquarium lamps with only actinic bulbs just for color.

My thought is that I'd like to add 2 Current USA Orbit Marine 36"-48" lighting systems that I'll overlap in the center of my tank in addition to the Fluval LED. I like the light just from what I've read in terms of features. A huge problem I feel that I have is my tank has a huge glass bracing down the center that has horrible stains I can't get off and I feel like I'm losing a ton of light.



My other issue for lighting is budget. My wife doesn't want to hear about how I have to spend money on expensive lights so I figure I'd buy one now and one later on.

Anyone's thoughts on if this will help my coral growth and color? Or are there any better systems out there in the same price range? I really want to do the split lighting because I think it'll most benefit me and I like the light controlling features.

thanks

 

[spoonman]

For about $200 you could get a couple of 165W taotronics fixtures and be done with the less than adequate lights that you have. I would sell them to buy the tao's. Just my opinion. The current orbit light that I had looked good and had some cool features, but sucked for corals. Not near enough light.

 

[Beej1254]

I will definitely consider the Taos. They look like a quality product and I'm confident they would be much better then the marine orbit LED in terms of coral growth. I really want something with at least a built in ramp timer though. Or something capable of a day/night cycle on its own. Right now I have the Fluval on a timer to just turn it on and off from daylight to nothing. And if I want the actinic lights on then I have to switch off the timer and then turn the lights on myself. Which yeah this isn't a horrible thing but I'm not always home to do this so my tank sometimes has a very long or either a very short photoperiod. I'm looking for more regularity.

 

[spoonman]

The taos have separate switches for the blues and whites with separate power cords. I have one timer on the blues and one on the whites. I turn on the blues one hour before the whites and turn them off one hour after the whites go out (all on 2 timers). You could also do this with a controller if you have one.

 

[Reefing Madness]

165W Dimmable Full Spectrum LED Aquarium Light Marine Reef Coral Fish Tank Lamp | eBay

 

[Beej1254]

thank you both for the input I really appreciate it

 

[alyxandria]

Just thought I would add in my two cents here that I love my eBay LEDs. I have three of them for my two tanks and plan on buying two more for my next tank I'm setting up. They're cheap and make the tanks look fantastic. Throw them on timers since they have separate plugs for blues and whites and you're set! Best of luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[melosu58]

I really like the ones that RM recommended. The two lights is better. Some have more but they give you a pink look.

 

[Reefer James]

If you are not getting a LED from one of the top led brands you're pretty much wasting money unless it's for a FOWLR. Kessil. Eco Tech. Aqua Illuminations. Reef breeders.

For this tank your best bet is going to be LED supplemented with T5.

 

[mr_X]

If you are not getting a LED from one of the top led brands you're pretty much wasting money unless it's for a FOWLR. Kessil. Eco Tech. Aqua Illuminations. Reef breeders.

For this tank your best bet is going to be LED supplemented with T5.

That's absolutely false information. The fixtures posted above will grow colorful corals 30" away. Reef Breeders is a top brand? They sell the same light posted above re-branded with their name on it.

To the OP- I agree with the above that you should remove the existing fixtures, but I would use 3 of these Chinese panels over your 5' tank.
They do sell these units with built in timers, but I suggest the scenario mentioned above- 2 cheap timers, one for blue and one for white, and you are done.
I've been doing it exactly this way for years.

 

[Beej1254]

Thank you everyone. With all of your input it's easy to make a choice and I'm glad to see that it's actually much cheaper then expected. When I first started this tank I considered these LEDS but I was scared of buying a product I could barely find reviews on.