Lighting recommendations (1 Viewer)

[James Lynch]

What kind of lighting would you guys recommend for a tank 60 inches long by 30 inches wide by 24 inches tall?

 

[BiGPiNK]

Very much depends on what you want to do with the tank...do you want a softy tank, softy/lps tank or sps dominated tank? What is your budget, leds on a tank that size will cost a pretty penny, but would mean you'd probably never have to worry about upgrading again and you could keep just about any coral. Halides would be marginally cheaper but would cost more over the life of the lights (electricity, cooling demands, bulb replacement) . T5 is still a proven option, but at 24 inches deep you'd be looking into 6-8 bulb fixtures which can be both bulky and expensive to rebulb.
Also how do you like your tank yo look? Some people like a really blue tank...leds will give you a stunning blue look and give your coral plenty of pop. But both halide and t5s can be chosen in any number of combinations of color.
So give us an idea of what your dream tank would look like and I'm sure there'll be plenty of suggestions!

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[James Lynch]

I mainly want an lps and softy reef. I like the pop of the corals with led but also want the growth. I don't know if led will give me the growth or not. I am using led and growing zoas and leathers but want torches hammers and the such to grow as well.Not too focused on budget as I am going to take my time with this build.

 

[BlackSS]

LED for sure. Im seeing great growth from LPS and SPS. Just might have to watch output. Easy to fry LPS.

 

[rlpardue]

My personal favorite would be MH with LED supplementation. A 30" front-to-back depth is some serious spread - large MH reflectors would cover that area with 2x400w bulbs. LEDs as primary lighting would also be cool. I'm not sure if growth would be better under MH or LEDs - I imagine it would depend on the fixture.

 

[dark8nge1]

My sfiligoi covers those exact specs (actually 32" front to back). It's 2 250w DE MH and 4 t5s.

I loved this light. The ballasts are crazy and make the halides dimmable so you can even simulate clouds with halides! If I didn't get the hookup with Ecotech I definitely would still be running it. Keeping mine in the closet just in case I decide to go back.

Let me know if you want to check it out James. If you don't have a heat problem I say halides all the way.

I'm also still very partial to VHOs. I just love the UV they put out. Wish I could throw them up with the radion pros for some extra UV punch.

 

[James Lynch]

If I were to go led for this what units should I use and how many of them to cover this area? Halides would be awesome Ben but I feel I would need a chiller then.

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[kannon50]

I'm tagging along on this. I'm considering going Mitras on my new 210. Mh are great but kill the wallet monthly with electricity. Was also considering the hydra 52's but I'm afraid it would take 4 of them to provide the range I want. What leds have you considered?

 

[reeftopia]

If you didnt live so far you could view mine under leds I have tons of growth and color, both sps and softies, hammers ect.
You dont need the high dollar fixtures, they are nice but not a neccesity. You would need 3 led fixtures over your tank

 

[ModAquatics]

If you didnt live so far you could view mine under leds I have tons of growth and color, both sps and softies, hammers ect.
You dont need the high dollar fixtures, they are nice but not a necessity. You would need 3 led fixtures over your tank

Yep You can get good color and growth. I have seen it on Reeftopia's tanks, Inigomontoya's and many other's tanks. However, You can never beat combining LED's for color and brightness control coupled with either MH or Fluorescent HO/VHO for growth/color. But like was mentioned earlier, LED's by themselves don't add as much heat to the tank and they can still produce.

 

[James Lynch]

Any more advice for this size tank?