Reef Lighting Confusion!!

[cashmoney6980]

Well I finally got permission from the wife to convert my 6 foot 125 gallon freshwater tank, to saltwater!! I plan on going with several different coral types, and have been debating on what type of lighting would be suitable. I've been reading forums after forums after forums and have decided on going with T5 lighting... My head is spinning after trying to figure out what would be best for different types of coral, yet be mildly cost efficient

I was looking into these lights...
AL-420038 Premium Aquatics - AL-420038 Aquarium Supplies

Would these be efficient enough for coral? If not all types, then what types would it be good for? This is about the most I'd want to spend for lights, so if anyone else has a better idea for most efficient lighting around the same price, I'd love tr it

I've also read about Icecap Ballasts that will overload a T5 bulb? What does this mean? Is this a different type of lighting system, or is it an add on to an existing lighting setup?

I'm open to hear anyone's thoughts on how i could approve this idea or setup! I want to make sure i get this right! Thanks in advance!

 

[carey]

I have these lights on my 6 foot 125g reef tank and find they grow pretty much anything. The fixture your looking at I believe has a total of 8 bulbs while this one has 12, much better coverage.

72" 12x39W Nova Extreme PRO T5HO 3x10k/3x460nm Actinics by Current USA*(1082) - AquaCave.com

You can find it cheaper if you look around, this link was just handy.

It doesnt have the moonlights, which I find unnecessary anyway or the timer. But it can easily be hooked up to walmart timers for just a couple bucks.

Hope that helps.

 

[MacDracor]

8 bulbs, 2 rows of 4, plus lunar lights... I'd say that's a good fixture for at least soft corals. Probably most LPS corals will do ok (though some may need to be positioned higher). Very few SPS corals would do well under that, though. You'd be limited to Montis, Green Birdsnest, etc.
How deep is the tank? Deep sand bed, shallow?

 

[cashmoney6980]

Thank you for the link Carey! I'll definately look into those!!

The tank is 24" if I'm not mistaken. I'm at work right now, but will post definate size when I get home. I think ima just do a shallow bed in the tank, and a DSB in the sump. I'm looking to do a 55 gallon sump so lll have room for overflow just in case. Ima start building the sump this weekend.

I might just get the light set that Carey posted. The more lights the better! And the price wouldn't be a whole lot more. I'll def look more into and keep u guys posted!

 

[cashmoney6980]

Carey, I found the lights in the link you posted on F&S for the exact same price as the one I was looking at, so I think that's the one I'm going to go with. Thank you again for posting that! That's a [moderator edit] good find!

 

[carey]

You should be very pleased with the fixture. I have been able to keep anything I want so far with very good results for the most part. The only thing I have not kept is an anemone and a clam under these lights. I have some SPS even, higher up on frag racks but they are doing very well so far.

 

[bavass]

two things to not go cheap on one is lights the other is skimmer. Buy the best you can buy the first time.

 

[cashmoney6980]

Is the Nova Extreme Pro not a good choice to go with bavass?

 

[bavass]

I have the 48" Nova Extreme Pro on my 55 and i love it, it was the only fixture that had 6 bulbs and wasn't wider than my tank

 

[cashmoney6980]

O ok. That's great to hear! My wife has been trying to talk me into buying some cheap Chinese made lights simply cuz they cost next to nothing... I told her it would end up costing us more in the long run because we'd end up having to buy multiple lighting systems trying to reach the setup I want.

I'm pretty stuck on getting the nova extremes cuz the price is right, especially for the quality and amount of bulbs. I've been doing nothing but searching for the perfect lights in my budget, and I'm glad to hear more good things about the nova extremes! I've read some reviews online of people saying that they actually don't put out the power they say they do, but I've read too many good things for that to keep me from getting them

 

[bavass]

The only down fall i have seen with them is the legs can break easy if its sitting on tank. They are easy to find. The bulbs in it are ok but it was better when i replaced the bulbs with ATI's. If u are going to have the fixture sitting on the tank eventually get a second set incase!

 

[Ibrahim]

There are also 120w led fixtures on eBay for only $170. You can get 3 and grow anything you like!! I also think LEDs are better because you don't need to change bulbs out and they last for like 5-10yrs before needing to be replaced. It's also cheaper than the t5 fixture youre looking at

 

[carey]

The only bad thing about the led panels is the hanging. If you don't have a canopy it seems to me it would look cheesy ghetto rigged. LOL

 

[Ibrahim]

Lol that's true but it's an excuse to get a canopy lol.

 

[carey]

See, I LIKE the non canopy look! LOL I really like the open top and just the light fixture on it. If I could I would get the led panels for the 6 foot 125g BUT I have no way to hang the lights from the ceiling, they are cathedral vaulted ceilings and like I said I don't like the canopy things. So I am happily stuck with my nova extreme pro. I can not complain though, had it for a year and everything thrives under the lights. The only corals I have lost have been my fault and not the lights. lol

I heard the same thing about the legs for the fixture but so far I havent had any issue with them. I also have another person help me remove the fixture when needed and we are super duper careful with it.

 

[cashmoney6980]

Yea I don't like the way they'd look hanging above my tank. I'm just hardly crafty enough to make a DIY sump, let alone hang $500 worth of electricity above a bunch of water on nothing but a hope and a prayer lol. I've also heard that LED lights won't penetrate the water as deep as t5s will. From wat I understand, led lighting is still evolving and hasn't quite reached its full potential. (But I could be very wrong as I have no experience with them, and have only heard thru forums and the such)

Carey or bavass, does the nova extreme pro lighting have 2 different plugs for the actinic and white lighting? Or is it a switch? Or are they always either both on or off?

 

[bavass]

Yes it had separate plugs. I have mine set on 2 different timers one set cuts off then an hour later the other set and reverse fir coming on. It does not have moon lights but i added them on mine. You will probably want to replace the bulbs that it comes with eventually. I bought ATI's a few months after i got the fixture and i kept the ones that came in it for spares. The ones that come in are fine i just wanted more of a variety of colors

 

[Buffy]

I have the Nova Extreme Pro over my 75 Gallon tank and I like it. I used a pulley system to hang it, and actually the pulley system looks pretty good IMO of course. I don't know if you can find it in my thread, I am having trouble posting pictures these past 2 weeks.

p.s. I'm not a diy person at all. But I'm learning through alot of ummm costly mistakes. I have a 20g on my coffee table to make to a sump but am chicken, started trying to cut plexiglass but it aint going so well. Here's another 6 month project LOL. Ask anyone, that's what it takes me to do something DIY like 6 months.

But seriously I like my light.

 

[bavass]

Call your local glass company and have them cut glass for you. Thats what i did cost my $12 for 2 baffles 1/4" thick. If you have a glass tank then you want glass baffles

 

[cashmoney6980]

I did the same as bavass for my DIY sump I'm making now, and the one I already made. At my local Lowes they cut the glass for free if you bu the big panel. So I had 4 baffles cut for right around $20. But of coarse this only works if ur using a glass tank. If you're using acrylic then I'd stick with acrylic panels, and in that case Lowes will cut the acrylic to the size u want as well, but the Acrylic sheets cost more than glass does. Don't use acrylic baffles if ur tank is glass cuz silicone doesn't adhere to acrylic nearly as well as it does to glass