lighting upgrade help please..

[Feelthereefer]

I would like to have some.feedback on lighting choices i currently have a current fixture that is 3 150 watt halides thats it stuff has done great but would like a combo of halide and t5 but no idea where to begin on brand or bulbs any help is great thanks.. Tank is a standard 125 gallon..

 

[mr_X]

what are you looking to spend?

 

[Feelthereefer]

Like to stay under 1500..

 

[mr_X]

then look into LED fixtures. you will need 3 of them and you can get decent ones at around 400 a piece. as potent as halides with much less electricity usage and virtually no heat.(not all LED fixtures are created equally, so please research them, and by research, i don't mean hearing one person's short experience and considering it law)
if you are still stick on halides, i would buy 3 of these-
Lumen Bright Pendant Kits | CoralVue
they have the highest reflectivity in the industry.

of you can squeeze a couple extra bucks, i would say this is the very best metal halide fixture you can get-
Lumen Bright/T5/LED Aquarium Lighting Fixture | CoralVue

 

[Feelthereefer]

Thank you for the reply where would i look for the leds at.. How are you lighting your personal tank..

 

[mr_X]

I'm partial to T5HO lighting. i'm not ready to fork over thousands for LEDs and i prefer T5's to halides.
if i had a 125 with a canopy, i would retro fit 8 x 80 watt t5's in the canopy (they are 5' lamps, and i would stagger them so that they evenly light the entire tank)
if i needed a fixture for that tank i would use a 6' fixture and try to find a 16 x 39 watt unit (8 lamps per 3 feet). if not, a 12 x 39 (6 lamps per 3 feet) will do fine. much better than what you have now. i would use a mixture of high end lamps in it and the tank would look like a scene in the movie AVATAR.

 

[mr_X]

oops- as far as looking for LEDs, i would check out different forums and see what people are having good service with. i'm talking about sps growth and coloration. some people view a soft coral expanding to try to absorb more light as growth. i'm speaking of actual skeletal growth.

 

[Gti_Leo]

i would totally agree with mr.x

i would never even recommend halides to any reefer, they are just out dated in todays world. power costs are so high and halides just add to the expense, as well as they cost an arm and a leg to replace the lamps. LEDs or T5Hos are my suggestions

 

[mr_X]

but t5 HOs are not cheap either. high end lamps are 20 bucks a piece, x 16....

 

[Feelthereefer]

So long story short halides are over rated kinda.. I.just want to be able to keep anything i have been very lucky with the light i have now has done ok.job just want to upgrade it after first of year and still learning all this.. So mrx could you tell me what light you would buy then you seem to have alot of good answers i do not have a canopy guess i could build it

 

[Feelthereefer]

Few pics of current conditions and look

 

[mr_X]

ok. what i see here is a lot of softies and lps, neither of which are high light. i would use 3 of those lumenbrite pendants and hook them to the wall like you did your halides. i would put them at about the same height and use 250 watt, 20k lamps. that would look awesome. (750 watts)
or, i would go the t-5 route and use a 12 x 39 watt fixture. (468 watts)

nice looking tank!


oh...i would also lose the lids. your evaporation will get worse, but light penetration will get better, along with gas exchange, and overall health of the tank.

 

[Gti_Leo]

but t5 HOs are not cheap either. high end lamps are 20 bucks a piece, x 16....

i know they are i never said they but 16 lamps is alot of light over a 125 and you'd be able to use cheapy lamps and still have good results. also halides should be changed out from 6-9 months where as T5s can go atleast 9 months. a t5 over its life time will lose about 10% of its light output where as hilides at 40% of its life will lose 40% of its light output. so not only do the lamps cost $70 each they have to be replaced more frequently so i nthe long run T5s are cheaper and use less power

 

[Feelthereefer]

Really lose the glass lids huh.. Just always nervous of a jumper but thanks for the compliment any advice is always welcome

 

[Gti_Leo]

nice the tank is looking great

 

[Leighton79]

If you want nice LEDs, after seeing them on trial at my lfs, google ai sol.

Although they will likely melt your softies like a laser.

I always thing it's best to light appropriately for the coral you are keeping, one of the reasons I'm not a fan of mixed reefs, even with coral at various depths.

Some softies, I'm thinking of GSP off the top of my head, I'm sure would live under candles, but that wouldn't be much good to an acro or monti.

 

[Gti_Leo]

Really lose the glass lids huh.. Just always nervous of a jumper but thanks for the compliment any advice is always welcome

you could put some egg crate over it to cover it, you will have some protection and you will have dass exchange, i've also read that the egg crate will also help increase a bit of PAR as it is a parabolic lense and helps direct the light downwards

 

[Feelthereefer]

Ok well i will remove the glass tops this weekend i have a naso and.yellow tang flame hawk pair clowns and a blue yellow damsel are any of those known for jumping i just really want to get a good light not scared to spend the money just want to be able to keep everything..

 

[Feelthereefer]

Current nova extreme pro 12 / 39 watt 72 inch 655 ya or na

 

[melosu58]

Moved to General Hardware and equipment discussion.