Lights for 120g?

[Grease]

So I'm upgrading from a 40 to a 120g. On my 40 im running t5 ho lights. One blue other 10k. I'm wondering what other people have n like for a 100+ sizes tank. Any info would be appreciated.

 

[Psychocircus91]

So I'm upgrading from a 40 to a 120g. On my 40 im running t5 ho lights. One blue other 10k. I'm wondering what other people have n like for a 100+ sizes tank. Any info would be appreciated.

most people will probably recommend leds if you can afford it. You could also do an eight bulb t5 setup, or a few metal hailides, which are powerful, but can get hot.
LEDs will save you a lot on electricity.

 

[Grease]

Do the led's need replaced every year or do they last longer?

 

[Psychocircus91]

Do the led's need replaced every year or do they last longer?

LED's last four years+

 

[Grease]

That's nice

 

[chbix]

As said if you can afford them LEDs are the way to go.

On avg LEDs have a 50,000+ hour life...so if you run them 24 hours a day they are suppose to last over 5 years.

They are more energy efficient so your power bill is less.

And they don't produce near the heat as a mh or even t5.

And you can customize the color with various blue, wht, violet and uv LEDs.

The down side is they are more expensive up front....

 

[Mr. Crabs]

If you are just doing fish, check out the Marineland Doublebright LEDs. Pretty good affordable fixture that casts a beautiful light and will serve FOWLR purposes. If the tank is deep, than I would do 2x 48" fixtures. If you want something for reef or a future reef, than check out the Aqua Illuminations Sol or Vega fixtures. Incredible control and quality that will last a LONGGGG time.

 

[Terrance]

A 120g will have a center brace which does block a lot of light. Unless you DIY center bace with something clear, I dont think its worth it with MH or any long fixtures. I recommend 2 smaller fixtures of LED. Just my opinion though.

 

[oyf709]

A 120g will have a center brace which does block a lot of light. Unless you DIY center bace with something clear, I dont think its worth it with MH or any long fixtures. I recommend 2 smaller fixtures of LED. Just my opinion though.

Agree with Terrance, if you have a glass tank, most likely would have a center bracer. You will need to have 2 small size, 16" to 24" to cover your tank. It would still give you some kind of shadow area right under the bracer, but it will create some very nice shimmering effects.
It would also depend on your live stock. If you are doing FOWLR, you can pretty much go with any fixtures which might be as low as $60 to $80 each. But if you are keeping corals, lighting choice will start making some differences. (also depend on how tall your tank would be)

 

[Grease]

I'm glad u said something about the brace. I wouldn't have even thought about that. I do have corals so I'm gonna need lights for a reef.