Getting bigger tank, lighting question. (1 Viewer)

[padanky]

Ok, my neighbor is getting a replacement for his 135g. He is getting one with built in overflows. I might get his old 135 w/ HOB overflow. I have a 72 bowfront now w/ four 48" T5's. No money for light upgrade, should I be alright if I stagger the lights and place corals accordingly? 6 foot tank... I beleave the 135 is shallower than my 72.

 

[rxonco]

Depends on what kind of corals you're talking about. 4x54 lights on a 6' tank definitely will be a drop from your current setup.

 

[padanky]

Just one small rock with sps, mostly candycane, gsp, yellow Polyps, shrooms, cabbage, pagoda, xenia, zoas. LTA, GBTA, Derasa Clam.

 

[mario8402]

you will need way more horsepower unless the bulbs are overdriven; which yours are not. time to get more T5 lights or go MH/LED

 

[padanky]

I'd like better lights, but not anytime soon. Just normal run of the mill Corals, nothing fancy. Later I can sell the bowfront, maybe get lights then.


Wife almost doesnt want me to get the tank because I'll have so build the stand, canopy and sump and even that cost money.

 

[Copingsaw]

4 x 54 T5 on a 6', 135 gallon tank is far from ideal. You can certainly make it work by excluding certain corals and limiting placement. It may not look good and you'll likely have some dim areas of the tank.

 

[padanky]

so what kinda lighting should I get? could I add on to what I have? LED is out of the question and would rather not run up my electric bill either.

 

[rxonco]

I'd say another 4x54 and you could stagger the eight.

 

[Hurdicuss]

You will not like the look of a 6' tank with 4' staggered lighting... You will notice obvious differences between the actinic and daylight coverage and overall it does not present well. I did this once with 24" retro lighting over a 20 long (30" length) which = no bueno...

For a 6' tank with what you are keeping, t5 lighting will be quite sufficient. Keeping mindful of budget, you can keep your current 4' lights and add supplemental 2' on one end. Additionally, 2' fixtures & retros are common among the used equipment boards (though you may have to search beyond MARSH to find it). Otherwise, you are looking at 3' retros lined up end to end OR a 6' fixture (which will have 3' lighting end to end inside) because last time I checked (been out of t5 lighting for a bit now) the longest bulbs available were 5' - so figure double bulb cost to cover a 6' tank... Considering the option of metal halide, with good quality reflectors/pendants you will be able to sufficiently cover the length of the tank with 3 of these. Again being mindful of budget, with your current inhabitants I will say 175w is sufficient BUT if you see yourself gravitating more heavily toward SPS then I suggest 250w. Again, with everyone jumping on the LED bandwagon you can find REALLY good deals on quality used MH equipment in the used forums; check here first, but I know you will find options on RC.

Hope it helps, good luck.

 

[flipside]

I wouldn't do it if the wife says she's not fond of the idea of you building more "stuff." You gotta' keep her happy with this hobby. Let that gorgeous 72 bow grow out, man.

Just sayin... <--- Really hate that phrase.

 

[rxonco]

Nevermind...Don't think that would work.

Personally, I think if you don't have the disposable income for the upgrade to build stand, get new lighting, sump, skimmer, etc...you should just hold off.

 

[padanky]

Thanks guys, yeah I've been thinking it out both ways. But I also just bought a fourth tang. 72 is good for them now, but would like to get them a bigger tank. Thanks for the info otherwise.

 

[padanky]

And idea is kinda growing on the wife, will have plenty of time between getting the tank and actually having it ready and set-up.

 

[Ostentum]

250w of MH costs about $16 a month at 12 hrs, cut down to 7.5 like I have mine at and its about 10 a month or .33 a day. I hate when people talk about the electricity costs on MH and they dont know what they are talking about, not you in particular but its a common heard thing over and over again. I have done the cost breakouts in the past, based on my current needs if I was to replace everything with LED compared to MH. If you only get 5-7 years out of the LED, which is what I think is the correct lifespan of LED, not 11 yrs like to claim, the costs are about the same to run LED v MH for 5 years, anything after you will save money with LED. many will I keep my house at 76 anyways, my tank is currently at 79.8 and sometimes gets to 80.5. I dont run a chiller, but I have an open floor plan. Oh wait I forgot to add in my 30w fans which is another 1.60 a month to run both of those. Last months electricty bill in my 2200 sqft house was $185. With all that being said, take two things into consideration based on you, not what everyone tells you is better...
1)What do you want to grow, not necessarily now but in the future.
2)What look are you going for. Do you want shimmer, color pop, strobbing, hopefully noone close to you has epilepsy, a combination of shimmer and pop, etc etc. Your more than welcome to come check out my tank anytime. I run 2x 250w Radium 20k with 2xVHO super actinic for supplements. I am sure that Tmgrash will let you come check out his AI Led System and gabej will let you come check out his custom LEDs. Also I think that Dustinb is running t5s on his system. So within a 15mile radius I am sure you can get a good idea of what different combinations look like.

 

[rxonco]

While I went with T5's, I agree with the above statement. I've yet to see an LED lit tank that a.) looks natural, b.) looks bright, and c.) comes close to MH.

 

[padanky]

250w of MH costs about $16 a month at 12 hrs, cut down to 7.5 like I have mine at and its about 10 a month or .33 a day. I hate when people talk about the electricity costs on MH and they dont know what they are talking about, not you in particular but its a common heard thing over and over again. I have done the cost breakouts in the past, based on my current needs if I was to replace everything with LED compared to MH. If you only get 5-7 years out of the LED, which is what I think is the correct lifespan of LED, not 11 yrs like to claim, the costs are about the same to run LED v MH for 5 years, anything after you will save money with LED. many will I keep my house at 76 anyways, my tank is currently at 79.8 and sometimes gets to 80.5. I dont run a chiller, but I have an open floor plan. Oh wait I forgot to add in my 30w fans which is another 1.60 a month to run both of those. Last months electricty bill in my 2200 sqft house was $185. With all that being said, take two things into consideration based on you, not what everyone tells you is better...
1)What do you want to grow, not necessarily now but in the future.
2)What look are you going for. Do you want shimmer, color pop, strobbing, hopefully noone close to you has epilepsy, a combination of shimmer and pop, etc etc. Your more than welcome to come check out my tank anytime. I run 2x 250w Radium 20k with 2xVHO super actinic for supplements. I am sure that Tmgrash will let you come check out his AI Led System and gabej will let you come check out his custom LEDs. Also I think that Dustinb is running t5s on his system. So within a 15mile radius I am sure you can get a good idea of what different combinations look like.

Thanks for the breakdown, I've seen Travis's LED's and DustinB's older tank. I'll look into the MH's.

I'd like atleast the lighting I have now, I havent had a problem with SPS with my current lighting, i like the shimmer too. I'll check youtube more some ideas too, see what i can find video wise.

 

[Ostentum]

If you want to check out an LE SPS dominated tank your more than welcome to come by and check mine out, the radiums really gave the corals an extra kick. I will be out of town till Tues after labor day.

 

[padanky]

Alright, I'll let you know. Went over and was talking to my neighbor about what he has now and all he has is a 48'' stuck right in the center about 6'' from the surface. My reef is about 5 times nicer though. That being said, I need more lights.

Ballpark cost of the set-up your talking about?

 

[Ostentum]

I paid 150 for a dual 250w ballast, got a killer deal on some lumenbright reflectors $40 a piece and the bulbs were 70 a piece. So $340 total for the metal halides. VHOs were 20 for each tube but I ordered 6 only use 2 though and the icecap ballast was 70 used. If you watch these forums, reef2reef and reefcentral you can find some pretty good deals.

 

[kilteddj]

Last months electricty bill in my 2200 sqft house was $185.

Not being funny, but which provider are you with? My electricity bill for a 2600 sq. ft. house last month was $360!!!

Also, I have yet to set up my tank!