I'm brand new to lighting, what should I know before starting out?

[427HISS]

COST'S....

I won't buy a new $600-$800 light that only covers 2' x 2', so add up that cost for your size of tank.

Depends on what you want to spend. There's a few LED manufactures, like said above, the gadgets cost a lot,....a lot.
The LED's may never need replacing. Personally, They don't give the proper spectrum and they give dancing spot lights on the sand, corals and fish as they swim past, even with some of the top manufactures. They do not get hot either. I don't think they are here yet, but sure they will in the future. You can buy cheaper made and low cost lights that don't have fancy extras on ebay, amazon, etc. A lot of people buys these and have good luck with them, but don't seem to last as long. Lower priced electronics.

The BEST,... natural lighting are the halides, but you might,...need a "chiller", (a small refrigerator) as the lights can get too warm for the tank. They give the best coral growth as well. Add a blue spectrum light to turn on first, then last to turn off. You need to buy new bulbs every year.

I like the T-5 tube lighting. They have great color and lower in cost. The bulbs are changed out every year. With mine I replace half every 8 months, then then the others. Some people change out every 12 months.

 

[jda]

Those are the plot charts that you see. You have to kinda look at them with your eyes and see how they look... there is no number than describe them.

You will see some charts from 400 to 700nm and some that are wider. The 400-700 charts are with a human eye instrument and not as good as others. Proteins and pigments will use as low as 350nm and also use IR up to about 850nm for the Emerson Effect. ...so 350 to 850nm is a good range for coral.

PAR stands for Photosynthetically Usable Radiation, but it also is from about 400 to 680nm. There is radiation outside of this range that is good for photosynthesis too. Apogee makes good units. If you have a local reef club near you, most of them have some that the lend/rent to members. PAR meters offer a flat response, even if the spectrum is cut... they are way better than a LUX or Lumen meter. They can be helpful.

Coral need a good mix of UV, violet, blue, green, yellow, red and IR. In the ocean, they get a lot of all of it at shallow depths. Most tanks are lit with more blue and violet but you do need some of the others.

It is good that you are learning this stuff. Most people just get some unit that somebody or another said was awesome and they have mixed results with them.

Here is a chart of one of the most popular MH bulbs, the 20k Radium. You can see output spike in the blue range at 450nm and also violet at 420nm, but also output over the whole spectrum. This is one of the bulbs/looks that LED people try and emulate.

 

[Stigigemla]

Spectral distribution meter as a bit as a spectrometer thats shows You the spectrum of Your light. It just gives numbers of the light intesity and wavelenght in the different parts of the spectrum.
See here: https://www.intl-lighttech.com/products/ilt350-chroma-meter

 

[Stigigemla]

I make led lights and although I use leds with a spectrum I ordered I never thought of imitating the spectrum of a special MH or T5.
I just ordered leds to fit my specification and the factory mixed the fluorescence material to do it. And it worked.
Today with CNC its not so remarkable. You just make Your CAD drawings and leave them to the factory. Get a sample and test if they fit as good as on the drawing and looks that good.
If so its just to order the first 10.
I believe its many years now since the light manufacturers looked at MH or T5. Now they look at other led lights and how they are programmable.
Sadly the programming are taking a lot of the interest. Its there the selling gadgets are. The corals just want light of a good quality and quantity and take up to several months to adjust to a new light setting.
(I only sell the lights in my shop so they are all in Sweden)

 

[hotdrop]

I will keep it simple. I have LED but wished I went with t5.

Lol yeah I feel you I dropped $300 on a hydra 26 for a 24” tank and I think that’s probably still not quite enough. The T5 fixtures are kind of ugly and need to be hung from the ceiling which is their big downside

 

[Punchy]

Tullio Dell Aquila said with just PAR measurements alone, and nothing else, your only getting half the picture on your lighting. He said you need to also include SPD (Spectral Power Density) measurements as well, to complete the picture on your lighting performance, qualities and parameters. Is he the only person on earth that knows anything about SPD?

 

[Punchy]

Apogee makes good units.

Are they the only one's who are making good units or are there any others? Also, how much does a PAR meter cost these days?

 

[Punchy]

Coral need a good mix of UV, violet, blue, green, yellow, red and IR. In the ocean, they get a lot of all of it at shallow depths. Most tanks are lit with more blue and violet but you do need some of the others.

Is this called "full spectrum"?

 

[Punchy]

You can see output spike in the blue range at 450nm and also violet at 420nm, but also output over the whole spectrum. This is one of the bulbs/looks that LED people try and emulate.

Isn't a a much more even pattern closer to natural sun light, without the giant spike?

 

[Punchy]

Spectral distribution meter as a bit as a spectrometer thats shows You the spectrum of Your light. It just gives numbers of the light intesity and wavelenght in the different parts of the spectrum.
See here: https://www.intl-lighttech.com/products/ilt350-chroma-meter

Huh?

 

[Punchy]

I believe its many years now since the light manufacturers looked at MH or T5.

How much different are retro, old-school T5 and Metal Halide bulbs different from a brand new, modern off the shelf example?

 

[Punchy]

. The T5 fixtures are kind of ugly and need to be hung from the ceiling which is their big downside

What kind of mounting options are available for T5 and Metal Halide systems?

 

[Punchy]

There are so many options out there it makes my head spin. I have had all types. Halide, power compacts, VHO, t5, the light before the t5( not sure what it was) and now leds.

I will keep it simple. I have LED but wished I went with t5.

I wonder why other types of lighting are not used over reef tanks, like for example: mercury vapor, high pressure sodium or halogen?

 

[ReefWithCare]

Huh?

Just ignore the technical talk. I can’t believe a newbie question got that technical [emoji29]. This how newbies end up getting info overload and failing ‍

 

[jda]

MV and HPS were very common reefing bulbs a while back. They did not make bluer bulbs like the MH industry did and they fell out of favor with a lot of hobbyists who wanted 10k, 14k and 20k bulbs. You used to see more of them in farming and wholesale tanks, but they run daylight bulbs which are usually too yellow for most hobbyists, but they do grow coral fast.

You can get T5 and MH fixtures in a variety of options, just like any other type of light... sit on the tank, hang, retrofit into your existing hood. There are all kinds.

"Full Spectrum" needs to mean the 350 to 850nm that I have spoken about. However, a lot of LED manufacturers use it to mean "just more colors" when indeed the spectrum is wider, but still not as wide as sunlight or other types of lighting.

You can get spectrum charts for most "fixed" bulbs. The one that I posted is a popular MH bulb - the 20K Radium which is one of the Gold Standards for reef lighting. You can get these for most other MH bulbs, most T5 bulbs and a lot of the pre-programmed LED panels (AB+ from Radion, for example). There is nothing that you can do when you mix your own LED setting by getting into the app. Most good ones are raw with some peaks and spikes and they look jagged. The bad ones are smooth and round the corners and peaks and stuff - these can be a bit misleading. Then, you can use PAR on top of this for a good idea of what is happening.

You are totally doing the right thing by actually learning and not just doing what some fanboy tells you to do. The same people that think that noobies should not be gaining knowledge and learning are probably the same people who would crush you for not doing so after you did fail. Keep on asking the questions.

Here is a smooth chart that should just be used as a guide and probably overlooked - I do not know if they are using bad equipment or trying to hide something. The other chart is a raw chart of a 6500k MH bulb including all of the peaks and valleys and stuff - much more like any light source should be:

 

[Punchy]

I wonder if there are any reef aquarium books available out there that go into lighting in at least a reasonable depth, and not just skim over the subject briefly?

 

[jda]

Some of the older intro to saltwater books cover lighting. What they say is still 100% correct, but most of them were written before even T5s were starting to enter the hobby, so the gear is different, but the coral needs and spectrum things are the same. Advance Aquarist always had good articles about lighting that you can read online.

 

[Dana Riddle]

If you're new to the hobby, I wouldn't spend a lot of money on a lighting system. A reef tank requires dedication to maintain, and they're not for everyone - keep your investment low to see if it's really for you. Many of the 'black boxes' and others out of China have spectral tuning, built-in clocks, etc. for a little over $100 each, and they'll provide enough light for any coral if selective placement is practiced. Bulk Reef Supply rents quality PAR meters, but see if a local club has one for members' use.