new lighting options. discuss (1 Viewer)

[gabe_j]

ok so i started reefing with T5's then went to a bigger tank and converted over to MH i started off with a 150 radium 20k over a 40 br. then up'd it to a 250 14k hamilton, but its warming up outside, here in texas anyways. and since my wife started complaining its too warm in the apt. i decided to swithc back to T5's or LEDs. the question is now, should i go with an ATI PM 4x39, tek elite 6x39, custom led, or a few nanotuners PAR 38's.

yeah i know its alot of options but with the T5's i know ati puts out just as much light with a 4 bulb as tek does with a 6 so thats saving me 2 bulbs extra everytime they need replacing, plus they keep their value much better. But a 6 bulb combo buys me more customizing my mix of bulbs to pretty much anything i want.

then there's the led route. i know i'll pay through the nose for a custom setup. to light the whole tank. but again its a diy so i get to play with some gadgets and built my own light. and hopefully it looks good when i'm done with it. or i can take the easy way out and throw some, maybe 3 par38's over the tank and call it good. i was thinking 2x 20k's 60° and 1x 12k 80° in the middle. ideas, input, critics welcome please discuss.

 

[soymilk]

if this is your grow out tank I would go with t5. Its a safer bet.

You might want to consider 2 150w mh fixtures as well. Less heat, more coverage. You might also want to consider am ATI sunpower. Its almost the same thing for cheaper. The build quality is still very nice and light output is very very comparable. If you're thinking about reselling, a 6bulb fixture (tek elite, or sunpower) will sell easier and faster than the 4bulb pm. Not many people willing to dish out that kinda dough on a 4 bulb fixture.

 

[DustinB]

I have a 4x39w sunpower on my 40B and it's almost too much light. There's only a 2% difference in PAR between the PM and Sunpower. Run the fans at 9v instead of 4.5v.

As far as the tek goes, the PAR difference is supposed to be far greater than that. IIRC, premium aquatics tested the new tek elite against the sunpower and the sunpower put out 20% more PAR. You could only imagine what the difference would be between a standard tek and a sunpower.

 

[soymilk]

I like the 6 bulbs just to have more options. It comes with 2 cords, one controls 4 bulbs and one powers 2 bulbs.

I run 4 bulbs through the day, and run two artinics for 2-3 hours for night time viewing. I like this set up because I don't have to keep track of how much longer my artinics have been running.

2 150w MH is still a very good option in my opinion.

 

[gabe_j]

yeah this is the current grow tank/DT. ihad a 150 over it and i just didnt like the color output from the bulb it was too white.

i didnt know it was only a 2% difference. i mau just the the sunpower. hey trung do you still have that 6 bulb?

 

[soymilk]

Sorry gabe. That fixture is spoken for.

I didn't realize it would go so fast. But ati fixtures are worth every penny. They are very well built.

 

[freespool]

not to hijack but along the same lines:
would the ATI sunpower 48" 4 bulb be good for a 75 gal. with mix corals including some sps?

gabe- from all the research i have done I would go with t5 vs led. Led is nice but upfront way more cash and I think they will be down in price in a few years (meaning fixture will lose value) buy t5 now and sell to upgrade to led in a few years if you want. I have been fond of the ATI fixture and bulbs from my research. I have read though that some people have burnt corals with just 4 ATI bulbs vs a 6 bulb from other fixtures. this has me (and should be you) some what concerned about the 6 bulb with a shallow tank

 

[gabe_j]

yeah you probably have a point. i should stick with a 4 bulb..

 

[soymilk]

Let me play devils advocate here and say.... What if 1-2 years from now you wanna go predom sps. Price difference between 4 bulb and 6 bulb is only 100. Why pay several hundred more for another fixture when 100 more and you can grow anything.

But don't listen to me too much. I just threw a 8bulb ati pm on a 29g shallow reef. Haha (I only run 4 bulbs)

 

[gabe_j]

i see a good chunk around 30-35% of my tank sps but i don see dedicating all or most of this tank to sps. i can always set another one up for that.

 

[freespool]

This is ATIs own description for the 48" 4x54wt fixture:
Common Sizing Guideline: soft coral tanks up to 110 gallons, mixed reef tanks up to 85 gallons and SPS dominated tanks up to 70 gallons. Recommended Tank Depth: up to 30" with carefully planned placement of corals. Power Consumption: approximately 216 Watts.

 

[gabe_j]

yea i think i should be fine with a 4x39watt fixture. the 3 towers scape i'm running now would allow me to create 3 extremely high light situations where i can fade them down to moderate lighting at the floor, then useing ledges or future growth shade for the lower light hungry corals. hmm i wonder if i get dealer prices for ATI... time to start calling around. muahahahaha!

 

[DustinB]

Trust me, the 4x39w sunpower is more than enough. I have a good amount of SPS in my 40B and they are starting to bleach from too much light halfway up in the tank. I had to move them to the sandbed. For a 90 I would go with the 6 bulb because of the height, but it's still almost too much light for my SPS dominated tank.

 

[gabe_j]

how far off are you from the waters surface?

 

[DustinB]

About 10-12". I'd like to get a hold of a PAR meter, these lights are seriously strong. I had bleaching on my 90 when I switched from 2x250w MH to my 6x54w sunpower.

 

[gabe_j]

whoa brighter than 2 250s!? dang thats a lot of light lol

 

[freespool]

the 3 towers scape i'm running now would allow me to create 3 extremely high light situations where i can fade them down to moderate lighting at the floor, then useing ledges or future growth shade for the lower light hungry corals.

do you have any pics of this layout? I will be scaping my tank soon and am not sure how to lay it out so I can have the right layers for different light requirment corals. Tank is only 19" tall so not sure if that is enough hight to make the layer effect

 

[gabe_j]

http://www.marshreef.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=50926
its pic heavy so if you don't have a fast connection it may take a little extra time to load.

 

[soymilk]

Don't rule out getting a used ati. I was able to find my 8bulb ati pm used for about 400. From what I noticed these fixtures hold up pretty darn well.

I need to get my par meter back. I'll shoot out some actual numbers when I get a chance.

 

[gabe_j]

nah i know of a guy selling a 4x39 for 425 new with bulbs.