Lighting for 48"x24"x10" frag tank commercial grow

BigWillStyle

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Hey guys! First post here after about a year in the saltwater game and 20 years in freshwater/planted aquarium.

I have taken a quick interest in growing coral and with the great community in the LA area I have realized that I would like to start farming coral on a small scale and hopefully grow (pun intended) the business.

I am very open to suggestions but I was looking at the Zoomed low boy frag tank with a 20 gallon custom sump. It will be controlled by an Apex EL with a trident and DOS for reactive dosing and monitoring.

Where I need help is how to light the thing in an financially responsible matter. Would a T5 that is 48" by 8 bulbs wide or two hydra 32s or other LED be good for long time growing? My margins are going to be low at first so efficiently is more important then upfront cost for me. The Blade Grows in 39 inches are also interesting or the 48 if the extra light isnt wasted.
 

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#WelcometoR2R! There are a lot of different ways to go, but you may want to take a look at the BRS YT video on best lighting value. The ReefBreeders took the top spot and that is what is used by many garage-based coral farmers that I am familiar with. Good luck with whatever you choose!
 
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#WelcometoR2R! There are a lot of different ways to go, but you may want to take a look at the BRS YT video on best lighting value. The ReefBreeders took the top spot and that is what is used by many garage-based coral farmers that I am familiar with. Good luck with whatever you choose!
Thank you so much for the suggestion. I saw their most recent and didnt see that light. It seems like a great option! Are T5s just old news in every way?
 

BranchingHammer

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Welcome to the forum!

I'm lighting a low-boy frag tank with a reefbreeders Photon V2+. They have great spread and power and have grown coral very well in my other tanks. If you are able, I would add the Photon V2+ to a T5 hybrid system like Aquatic Life's system with longer brackets for optimal spread. Also depends on what you're growing. I'm focusing on Acros and SPS, so my light requirements and spread will be higher than someone growing mainly soft corals and LPS. However, with Reefbreeders and other LEDs, controllability allows you to have great spread and control the actual intensity of the spread.
 

oreo54

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Thank you so much for the suggestion. I saw their most recent and didnt see that light. It seems like a great option! Are T5s just old news in every way?
No, if you look around all 3 lighting types are used as well as sunshine..
T5, Metal Halide, LED.

I suspect that for just growout mh's would be preferred over t5's for the simple fact of messing with less bulbsfor
ONE thing. There are other reasons I suspect.
They went all Orphek (afaict) but a bit of history.


ADDENDUM: Seems he also still runs Radiums.


BUT keep in mind nothing he did was cheap.
The progression was interesting.
 
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Welcome to the forum!

I'm lighting a low-boy frag tank with a reefbreeders Photon V2+. They have great spread and power and have grown coral very well in my other tanks. If you are able, I would add the Photon V2+ to a T5 hybrid system like Aquatic Life's system with longer brackets for optimal spread. Also depends on what you're growing. I'm focusing on Acros and SPS, so my light requirements and spread will be higher than someone growing mainly soft corals and LPS. However, with Reefbreeders and other LEDs, controllability allows you to have great spread and control the actual intensity of the spread.
That definitely makes sense. I will be doing largely lps at first. Scolys acans and torches. I just noticed that I can get a t5 fixture new with 8 bulbs 48 inch for 120 bucks so even the cheap LED is hard to swallow
 

BranchingHammer

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That definitely makes sense. I will be doing largely lps at first. Scolys acans and torches. I just noticed that I can get a t5 fixture new with 8 bulbs 48 inch for 120 bucks so even the cheap LED is hard to swallow
T5's definitely grow corals and that fixture, if it is high enough quality, would definitely work for your purposes. The only downside to T5s is the bulb changing cost, but you can always replace with LEDs later and for $120 that's a steal. If you don't mind me asking, what is the brand of the T5 fixture and how old is it? You want one with quality reflectors and ballasts, but I've also never owned a T5 fixture, so I'm just speaking from what I've learned, not from experience.
 
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No, if you look around all 3 lighting types are used as well as sunshine..
T5, Metal Halide, LED.

I suspect that for just growout mh's would be preferred over t5's for the simple fact of messing with less bulbsfor
ONE thing. There are other reasons I suspect.
They went all Orphek (afaict) but a bit of history.


ADDENDUM: Seems he also still runs Radiums.


BUT keep in mind nothing he did was cheap.
The progression was interesting.

Based on what I am seeing in the video it seems like the T5s would be the cheapest option hardware wise. Would the power draw be that much more?
 
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T5's definitely grow corals and that fixture, if it is high enough quality, would definitely work for your purposes. The only downside to T5s is the bulb changing cost, but you can always replace with LEDs later and for $120 that's a steal. If you don't mind me asking, what is the brand of the T5 fixture and how old is it? You want one with quality reflectors and ballasts, but I've also never owned a T5 fixture, so I'm just speaking from what I've learned, not from experience.
I was looking at an amazon unit that Tidal Garden uses in that video. There is a variety of models. Now I need to figure out to get the 4 6 8 bulb model. I dont see a disadvantage to going 8 and just using what I need. I can buy a par meter and dial it in based on # of bulbs.
 

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#WelcometoR2R! There are a lot of different ways to go, but you may want to take a look at the BRS YT video on best lighting value. The ReefBreeders took the top spot and that is what is used by many garage-based coral farmers that I am familiar with. Good luck with whatever you choose!
My Reefbreeders Photon 48" grows my coral like crazy! Had Kessil's before that were good but the Reefbreeders is so much better IMO.
 

oreo54

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Based on what I am seeing in the video it seems like the T5s would be the cheapest option hardware wise. Would the power draw be that much more?
That, unfortunately, is wide open for debate.
One a small scale it probably wouldn't add up to much of a difference.

The closest option would be Chinese black boxes. At 110W on full or as "normally" used about 70 watts and using
at 1W =1.5W t5 you could save some $$'s in electricity but 3 boxes could run $450 to replace say a 6 tube
t5.

Keep in mind your 6 tube will cost say $150 plus $120 for a change of bulbs to all reef centric (not totally necessaryif they come w/ like 6500k bulbs) plus a $20 timer

But yea overall it is cheaper to go t5. How much is dependent on a lot of things..



no built in timer



$90 each.

NO they are not 165Watts.. 110 approx.
 

BranchingHammer

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I was looking at an amazon unit that Tidal Garden uses in that video. There is a variety of models. Now I need to figure out to get the 4 6 8 bulb model. I dont see a disadvantage to going 8 and just using what I need. I can buy a par meter and dial it in based on # of bulbs.
I would go with the 8 bulb fixture if you can for better spread.
 
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If I can get a reefbreeder V1 without moonlight working, would that be a good option? I can see one local for 200
 
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That, unfortunately, is wide open for debate.
One a small scale it probably wouldn't add up to much of a difference.

The closest option would be Chinese black boxes. At 110W on full or as "normally" used about 70 watts and using
at 1W =1.5W t5 you could save some $$'s in electricity but 3 boxes could run $450 to replace say a 6 tube
t5.

Keep in mind your 6 tube will cost say $150 plus $120 for a change of bulbs to all reef centric (not totally necessaryif they come w/ like 6500k bulbs) plus a $20 timer

But yea overall it is cheaper to go t5. How much is dependent on a lot of things..



no built in timer



$90 each.

NO they are not 165Watts.. 110 approx.

I am running a Apex so timer is not important. How effective are these fixtures? Would 2 give sps coverage? any par measurements?
 
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YOYOYOReefer

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if its not for looks but for strictly growing out sps frags and bang for the buck i would go with 10 k halides.

would not think twice about it.
 
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if its not for looks but for strictly growing out sps frags and bang for the buck i would go with 10 k halides.

would not think twice about it.
how many would be needed to cover the tank? I can always do this and I have a prime in the corner for showing/photoing coral. I have an extra prime
 

oreo54

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I am running a Apex so timer is not important. How effective are these fixtures? Would 2 give sps coverage? any par measurements?
They have their weakness.
Most would recommend a lens swap ( or go bare,just remove the lenses ) to 120 degrees
Par is generally not an issue.
Spread can be.
Raising the mounting height easily smooths some of that. Some versions actually seemed to have 60 degree lenses.



Do a deeper search though.
 

YOYOYOReefer

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you could use a bigger reflector like a lumenbrite and do that tank with just 1

i would go with 1 400 watt to get started
 

oreo54

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how many would be needed to cover the tank? I can always do this and I have a prime in the corner for showing/photoing coral. I have an extra prime
Geometry dictates 2 over a 48*24" area.
Depends how even you want the coverage or how much light spill you will tolerate.
Or is reflector square or rectangular.
Even 1 400 w will cost a bit
$150 for an electronic ballast, $60-80 for bulb, $150 reflectors
for example.
Oops ballast is like $250 but you could get a diy magnetic for about $70.

Or go cheap Chinese direct ada knockoffs.
Double ended 150w 10 or 20000k.
Ballast,bulb fixture $150

$300 300w good coverage.
Check to see if you have a bulb replacement source though.
 
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YOYOYOReefer

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he said he wanted it to be cheap and to grow sps, so ya tar ballast , 400 watt 10k bulb, if spending money put it into a good reflector , the reflector footprint wont be 48 wide ,but the tank is only 10 inches deep so hang the halide high and milk the spread... there are tons of used halide ballasts and reflectors from older reefers and weed growers . guarantee if you try you can get the reflector and ballast very cheap

im also partial to t5 but its more expensive annually on bulb changes.
 

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