Hi guys, need some light suggestions for reef tank

[vishal1107]

Hi everyone,
I m starting my reef tank, was dreaming about my 1st reef tank for years. Not m earning so I can.


Setup brief:
4.5ft main tank, 4ft sump with reefOctopus 150int skimmer.
Jabao powehead good filtration..

//Tank is new and still cycling so no reef yet.

Question:
I already spent a fortune so at last I actually bought 2 150W blackbox for light without much survey.
But I really do think I won't get fantastic pop on corals as I was expecting.

Some dealers are saying buy t5 set and a lot of recommendation...
But I wanna know from some of the best so..

Please suggest me, should I buy Orphek OR3 blue light to use with my black box to make by corals pop there colors. Or should I sell my black box and buy t5 instead.


Or else any other recommendations that you wanna give...
Any suggestions are appreciated really...

 

[Cory]

Honestly if your new to reefing id get a used metal halide t5 combo with some radium bulbs and either combo of t5s you like. These lights are proven to grow coral. I actually bought a used cebu sun 3x400 watt metal halide and 4x 80watt t5s. Looks amazing and corals already are growing where my led before (high end one) didnt do nothing.... i paid 250 for this light fixture and new was 2000$. Steal of a deal.

 

[JCM]

I like T5's myself. Halides look the best in my opinion but the heat/electricity are more than I care to mess with. LED's have proven they can grow corals but I'm not a big fan. I love the controlability but I've never seen an LED lit tank in person that I thought "looked right".

I realize I'm in the minority.

 

[kloverguy]

Just throwing this out there, BRS has an openbox 36" Reefbrite 250W hybrid with 2 actinic XHO bars for $650ish. Halides for full spectrum with XHO is a sweet setup. I bought the other open box for my 75Gallon . I don't have it setup yet so no picutres unfortunately. @rtparty recently switched from LED to MH and couldn't be happier.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Honestly, budget is really going to dictate what direction you go. For the most part, you get what you pay for with both LED and T5. T5 has better diffusion and color expression, with less dark spots, while LED has less maintenance and is easy to tweak out of the box, but has potential Hotspot issues and less of that "blanketing" effect.

 

[Smite]

You've got the black boxes and there are many successful reefers (even with light demanding coral) that use them, actually swear by them. Check out the BRS video on black boxes (they go over par and spread and are great reference for how far off the water and in from the edges you'll want your lights). They'll grow coral so don't get too far ahead of yourself. You don't have coral in the tank yet. Once you're keeping coral alive and healthy but can't quite get that pop that the better lights may get you, then I'd revisit putting more money into lighting upgrades.

Here is what I would do in your situation while trying to keep cost down.
- Pass on the LED strip for now. You won't have shading issues right off the bat. If you're seeing major hallow spots, raise you lights. If that doesnt work then start considering adding a strip or another black box ect.
- Decide what coral you wish to keep and research the desired PAR ranges for them.
- Take money saved on the LED strip and rent a par meter from BRS. That takes a lot of guess work out of the settings on LED. I think most fail with LED due to too much tinkering, which is unstable enviroment for coral. Set you lights asethetically pleasing, then adjust your knobs to increase par. Graph your numbers on your rockwork so you can reference it when placing different types of coral.
- Focus on your routine of water changes, watching water parameters for the first few months.


If you only want to keep high light demanding corals like acropora ect, then I would say you'll have an easier time with a T5 from the get go. If you are just trying to keep some easier stuff alive like zoanthids, softies up to LPS then I'd say your lights will be more than adequate.

 

[Billldg]

You don't want to ask me about my tank, as I am over 2 grand on my lighting, LOL!!! ;Hilarious ;Hilarious ;Hilarious

Seriously, it really does depend on your budget. My first light was a Maxspect Razer 200w fixture on a 120 gal 4ft tank, and it was GREAT. I only upgraded on my first tank because I wanted more. For about the same price you can go with a Aquaticlife Hybrid with a couple of AI primes and get fantastic results. Both will run you around $600 dollars though. Again, not sure on the budget.

 

[Sam816]

start with your black boxes and start saving for better lights. halides, T5s and LEDs all have their pros n cons. if u r new i am assuming, sps are not on your list right now. install the black boxes and see the spread. plan rock work so that corals get max light. once u switch to better lighting set up you can move the corals accordingly.
Bio diversity is equally important & that can take months to develop and balance out.
how is power supply in your area? when i was in india we used to get voltage fluctuations and power cuts frequently. i hope you have power back up to run the heaters and wavemakers in case of a power cut.

 

[vishal1107]

oh

You've got the black boxes and there are many successful reefers (even with light demanding coral) that use them, actually swear by them. Check out the BRS video on black boxes (they go over par and spread and are great reference for how far off the water and in from the edges you'll want your lights). They'll grow coral so don't get too far ahead of yourself. You don't have coral in the tank yet. Once you're keeping coral alive and healthy but can't quite get that pop that the better lights may get you, then I'd revisit putting more money into lighting upgrades.

Here is what I would do in your situation while trying to keep cost down.
- Pass on the LED strip for now. You won't have shading issues right off the bat. If you're seeing major hallow spots, raise you lights. If that doesnt work then start considering adding a strip or another black box ect.
- Decide what coral you wish to keep and research the desired PAR ranges for them.
- Take money saved on the LED strip and rent a par meter from BRS. That takes a lot of guess work out of the settings on LED. I think most fail with LED due to too much tinkering, which is unstable enviroment for coral. Set you lights asethetically pleasing, then adjust your knobs to increase par. Graph your numbers on your rockwork so you can reference it when placing different types of coral.
- Focus on your routine of water changes, watching water parameters for the first few months.


If you only want to keep high light demanding corals like acropora ect, then I would say you'll have an easier time with a T5 from the get go. If you are just trying to keep some easier stuff alive like zoanthids, softies up to LPS then I'd say your lights will be more than adeq

 

[snorklr]

keep in mind t-5s degrade over time and need to be replaced regularly (like every 6 mo) ...the cost of constantly replacing them is what drove many people to leds in the first place....and the heat halides throw off probably means you'll need to budget for a chiller

 

[vishal1107]

keep in mind t-5s degrade over time and need to be replaced regularly (like every 6 mo) ...the cost of constantly replacing them is what drove many people to leds in the first place....and the heat halides throw off probably means you'll need to budget for a chiller

Ohh that good to know, thanks. So in long duration it's eventually gonna kill me.. guys any suggestions for OR3s with black boxes ???

 

[mmorriso]

Your black boxes will be fine for the first year at least.

You can spend a lot of money playing with different lights. I’d wait a year until you have developed some more ideas around what you like and don’t like about the black boxes, then make a decision.

An OR3 is a great way to add some pop, but you won’t need it yet.

 

[vishal1107]

Your black boxes will be fine for the first year at least.

You can spend a lot of money playing with different lights. I’d wait a year until you have developed some more ideas around what you like and don’t like about the black boxes, then make a decision.

An OR3 is a great way to add some pop, but you won’t need it yet.

Thanks @mmorriso, great advice, I should probably stick with these boxes for some time as I don't really know in future I may keep only sps corals... Not sure but I know in some times I'll be sure of what exactly to keep in it. That times will try putting some or3 along with it...