Actinic lighting. LED, T5 or VHO

[atomic081]

Hey all im trying to figure out whats going to give me the best Actinic coverage for the money. My tank is a 800g and I have 4 400w MH running 20k bulbs spaced on a 8' light rack. I need to put 4 48" actinic lights on the rack. They will be completely aesthetic but im need the most coverage possible. i also dont wana break the bank. Ill spend a little more for LEDs if i dont need to replace bulbs every year. my budget is gonna be around 500ish. so wana keep each one around 125 if possible. Unless i see that something is so superior that its well worth the money.

My thoughts are that LED, while my favorite. Wont cover as broad of a area as i need. (i hope im wrong) I was looking at the Reefbrite Lumi lite.

T5 seem the best, but im not sure what bulbs i would get? Should a do a retro kit?

VHO Super actinic is a longtime favorite of mine from 10 years ago and i know would work well, but i was hoping there is something better.


any suggestions???

 

[GeauxLSU]

Hey all im trying to figure out whats going to give me the best Actinic coverage for the money. My tank is a 800g and I have 4 400w MH running 20k bulbs spaced on a 8' light rack. I need to put 4 48" actinic lights on the rack. They will be completely aesthetic but im need the most coverage possible. i also dont wana break the bank. Ill spend a little more for LEDs if i dont need to replace bulbs every year. my budget is gonna be around 500ish. so wana keep each one around 125 if possible. Unless i see that something is so superior that its well worth the money.

My thoughts are that LED, while my favorite. Wont cover as broad of a area as i need. (i hope im wrong) I was looking at the Reefbrite Lumi lite.

T5 seem the best, but im not sure what bulbs i would get? Should a do a retro kit?

VHO Super actinic is a longtime favorite of mine from 10 years ago and i know would work well, but i was hoping there is something better.


any suggestions???

I run hybrid T5/LED over my tank, coral were healthy and look amazing, but I wanted that actinic/UV pop (especially at night) but didn’t want to mess with my current lighting schedule/setup. I tried doing moonlight mode on my LEDs and it was still too bright for the effect I was going for.

I bought a waterproof LED UVA light strip on Amazon, cost me $18, and I glued it to my canopy. Perfectly supplement and the light runs 485-495NM so I got the exact effect I was looking for.

That would be my recommendation if you are happy with your current lighting solution, just need some more glow.

 

[atomic081]

I run hybrid T5/LED over my tank, coral were healthy and look amazing, but I wanted that actinic/UV pop (especially at night) but didn’t want to mess with my current lighting schedule/setup. I tried doing moonlight mode on my LEDs and it was still too bright for the effect I was going for.

I bought a waterproof LED UVA light strip on Amazon, cost me $18, and I glued it to my canopy. Perfectly supplement and the light runs 485-495NM so I got the exact effect I was looking for.

That would be my recommendation if you are happy with your current lighting solution, just need some more glow.

What would you say the spread is on something like that. Because my tank is 48" wide, I don't know if 2 strips will work well with LEDs. Also I'm 32 inch deep. I'm very interested, price seems amazing.

 

[GeauxLSU]

What would you say the spread is on something like that. Because my tank is 48" wide, I don't know if 2 strips will work well with LEDs. Also I'm 32 inch deep. I'm very interested, price seems amazing.

Oh yeah, you have halides now, that might be tricky (because you can’t glue the lights inside your reflectors, probably get too hot).

I’m getting meh spread, about 12” front to back per strip, but my goal is to accentuate a couple key parts of the tank, not provide photosynthesis, so it doesn’t really affect me.

At the end of the day, it might not work, but it’s cheap enough to try! If you buy XHO or radions you might find out the hard way, like I did, that you’re getting too much PAR for your goal.

 

[atomic081]

Bump. Anyone?

 

[DogsRule]

I have a DIY single LED strip that I use as dawn/dusk for my metal halides. It is basically a 6ft length of aluminium with the LED driver fixed to it. I glued the blue LEDs about 4" apart, which gives good coverage. I'd consider building your own single strip LED for each side of the tank.
IMO, VHOs always gave the best actinic pop compared to T5 or LEDs, but they run hot, use a lot of power & need replaced often, so I just settled for the blue LEDs as I don't run them once the MHs are on. HTH

 

[A. grandis]

I would get the VHOs as the best quality option for your corals IMHO.

 

[oreo54]

http://www.uvlco.com/AquariumT12VHO.html

@ 110W X 4 you will be hard pressed getting anything in LED w/ that much power for cheap..
As to coverage .. that's a geometry issue..

some custom Orphek light bars @ $160 (plus custom charge) is a fair substute for the above.
Something like this:

* MIXING LIST
----------------------------------------
LED UV (410nm) [120°] x16
LED Violet (420nm) [120°] x2
LED Violet (430nm) [120°] x10
LED RoyalBlue (440nm) [120°] x6
----------------------------------------

* SIMULATION DATA
----------------------------------------
Luminous flux : 107 lm
Radiant flux : 14,200 mW
PPF : 49 umol/s
TCP : ‑ K
CRI : ‑
λp : 413 nm
Color : #6033FF

OPP's 2 diode short of the 36.. but you get the picture..
Take out the 2 420's and throw in 4 "regular blue"..
Lens angle will be determined by hanging height ect..
Not sure why there is no "royal blue" in the below list..

The available LED colors are:
6300K
12,000K
410
430
460
490
595
630
660
730

nobody's going to make a custom tube for you..
SB reef actinic bars are more expensive and use 3:1 450 royal blue to 420 violets..
Honestly, ratio should be reversed..

 

[jda]

I still use UVL Super Actinic over larger tanks. First, the come in 6' lengths. Second, I can change half as many of them compared to T5s. Third, I can use them for 3-4 years as supplements only... they last longer and I turn then off when the MH are running since I cannot really see them anyway... just used them before and after for a bit.

The only downside, and this is VERY REAL, is that they need reflectors to be as good as T5s. VHO with just the "internal reflectors" are only about 75% as good as a pair of T5s on good reflectors (think ATI) at the same wattage. If you put the VHOs on reflectors, even if you just bend some yourself out of polished stainless or aluminum, then they are up to par (pun, intended?).

Remember that VHO is twice the power, but also twice the output, as a single T5. ...so 4x VHOs do the job of 8x T5s if you get reflectors for them.

 

[atomic081]

Looks like VHO us the way to go. Anyone have problems getting them. Had a few vendors say they worried they would stop making them in the future.

 

[jda]

People have been promising the demise of mercury bulbs for a decade. I have never seen that UVL has any plans to stop making them. They still get used more than a lot of people know. You can probably call UVL. You used to be able to order full cases from them too.

 

[atomic081]

FYI if anyone ever comes across this doing research. The VHO are worthless with 250w MHs. I cant see a difference when they are on and off. All they do is give a hour before and a hour afterwards of blue light.

Ive bit the bullet now and got 4 48" reefbright XHOs. will post how they look later

 

[GarrettT]

I still use UVL Super Actinic over larger tanks. If you put the VHOs on reflectors, even if you just bend some yourself out of polished stainless or aluminum, then they are up to par (pun, intended?).

Like turning the bulb in the opposite direction so that the VHO reflector is facing the aluminum reflector?

Think this would work on a T5 MIRO 4 retrofit kit using a 660 ballast?