Getting wet again... Lighting my 180 build. What do you think?

F i s h y · Mar 8, 2020

I am planning out my equipment purchases for a 180 gallon (72x24x24) tank. Tank has 2 braces.
I've been out of the hobby 10 years and am going to try something new for lighting. I've had previous MH and T5 lights and loved them but hated the heat. I plan to do a T5 LED mix. Tank will be a mixed reef.

I am planning on using the Aquatic Life 61" 4x80W hybrid fixture with 3 Kessil A360WE

Will this be a good combination?
Should I go 2 36 inch fixtures and 4 Kessil or would this really only be needed for an sps dominate tank?
I dont know how that would look with the braces.
Anyone with pictures of this type of combination?

lpsouth1978 · Mar 8, 2020

I think your plan will work for a mixed reef. If you think you may go more SPS dominant then think about the dual 36" fixtures. Also check out the Noopsyche hybrid. It has some nice features and is designed for the 36" fixtures to be fixed together to cover 72"+ tanks.

F i s h y · Mar 9, 2020

The Noopsyche fixtures are an interesting setup. I wonder how they function long term. Is it common on hybrids for the LEDs to sit on the frame or do other units actually attach them. I'd be afraid of accidentally dropping one in the tank...

Mr Fishface · Mar 9, 2020

So I have a 125g tank. I believe both of these tanks are 6' long with 2 center braces. I used 2 kessil 360we on the sides of the tank with a 4' T5 in the middle. Worked great. I even had a blue acro start to grow on me after I got the water figured out. I had the acro in the area where the t5 overlapped with the kessil for max light. I would think 3 kessil with longer T5 would be awesome. My T5 is an 8 bulb system but I only used 4 bulbs in it. Easier to just have the one plug in on a timer lol.

Hope this helps. I think it would be a great setup that would work well for most things.

lpsouth1978 · Mar 9, 2020

Fishy65 said:
The Noopsyche fixtures are an interesting setup. I wonder how they function long term. Is it common on hybrids for the LEDs to sit on the frame or do other units actually attach them. I'd be afraid of accidentally dropping one in the tank...

I wondered the same thing until I got a hybrid. The LED's do sit on top of the fixtures, in little slots, which are then screwed to the unit to keep them in place.