Lighting for a 100g tank
- Thread starter JJSins
- Start date
- Tagged users None
I own 4 g5 x30s and I would still go with the 6 bulb t5 fixture. Only system I have that actually grows sps well has 2 g5 and 4 t5 bulbs and didn’t grow sps well till after I installed the t5s
OP
OP
JJSins
Active Member
Thanks for the advice, doing some research and watching a couple BRS videos, the 48" SunPower High Output T5 Light Fixture - ATI caught my eye and was going to run 8 bulbs as they recommended. Knowing that you are fimilar with t5 lighting, would they set up work on a ( 47.2"×23.6"×16.1" ) ?
IMO 8 bulbs over 16” deep tank will be a lot. But with a dimmable fixture you can use a par meter to check to make sure not to much light. I guess if tank will be set up only sps wall to wall 8 bulbs may be ok. I’ve never ran sps only tank so most the time I’m only looking for 100-150 par on sand which gives me 250-300 at top or so. Some sps keepers want more like 350-450 or even higher but then on sand would be 250 and lps would not be happy. My tanks are 24” or deeper
minus9
5000 Club Member
Here's one fixture that would cover your tank, just need to pick the bulbs. ReefBriteHalideXHO
terraincognita
Valuable Member
I just got the Aqualife Hybrid T5 LED Lighting system.
gonna run 4 T5's and 2 AI Hydra 32's This is over a 4ft new build of mine
gonna run 4 T5's and 2 AI Hydra 32's This is over a 4ft new build of mine
OP
OP
JJSins
Active Member
Thanks for your reply really helps me out but if you dont mind me asking, how come you didnt just run all t5’s just curious. is hybrid better ? or does it make the tank have better color ?
OP
OP
JJSins
Active Member
what if i raise the light a little ? or will it still be a lot ? how can i make that lighting work for the tank ?
now would this setup be good if i got the same 48” L but 22 - 24 deeper ?
Yes 24 “ deep would be better for 8 bulb. But would work if you did 16” deep and had par meter to check par and raised light to make it in spec
blasterman
Valuable Member
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2019
- Messages
- 1,730
- Reaction score
- 2,020
You can light that tank easily with a couple Viparspectras, which are basically high end black boxes.
The issue with them is they need to be mounted high and you have to often ad hoc your own mount. BRS covered them in that video. I will take a Vipar over an AI 32 hydra anyday.
I love the growth of T5 and the built in "coverage by default" but I can't deal with the static look. Price though for a basic fixture now can't be beat.
The issue with them is they need to be mounted high and you have to often ad hoc your own mount. BRS covered them in that video. I will take a Vipar over an AI 32 hydra anyday.
I love the growth of T5 and the built in "coverage by default" but I can't deal with the static look. Price though for a basic fixture now can't be beat.
terraincognita
Valuable Member
I don't have experience to say whether or not the coloring will be better or worse.
However T5's with LEDs or Metal Halides produce better results in color and growth from what I've been able to internet research lol.
I had an existing Hydra 32, so thinking just with how to incorporate that light + add t5's kinda was the only choice.
I'm not a fan of metal halides just for the look, however never used them either.
Get a T5 Hybrid. I did opt out on the "dimmable" version since T5's aren't made to be dimmed. It reduces the life cycle of the light.
Going to run my T5's on a 7-8 hour timer with LED's ramping for 3-4 hour (up and down) with an 11 hour light schedule total.
I know people do quicker ramps like 30 minutes, but to me, the difference between sunrise sun, and 2 hour later sun is very dramatic.
Also LED's are just great for precise and exact par/intensity control. You can adjust each light in the spectrum 1% at a time, it doesn't get more pin-pointed than that.
OP
OP
JJSins
Active Member
That is something I would be interested in doing just watching a brs video on how they mixed up the bulbs and it had a a blue spectrum look with a mix of white which looks nice to me. I was going to run (4) blue plus t5, (2) actinic t5, and (2) coral plus t5s to have a mixed color which looks nice for display and after watching brs they said it works just like leds but i can be wrong. Do you think that would be just like LEDs or you like the feature of the ramping up option with the LEDs ?
OP
OP
JJSins
Active Member
Would hybrid light be the best, or will a 8 bulb t5 do the same thing ? i was going to use (4) blue plus t5s, (2) actinic t5s, and (2) coral plus t5s for a mix of everything. I’m looking for amazing growth and after researching wall to wall sps is a pain haha. let me know what you think ?
terraincognita
Valuable Member
I think you could accomplish it with 8 T5s or a hybrid.
there’s certain things in this hobby that sometimes are more preference
long term 10 years plus T5’s will probably be cheaper idk how long even the best LEDs last
then again who knows 10 years from now what this hobby will look like
there’s certain things in this hobby that sometimes are more preference
long term 10 years plus T5’s will probably be cheaper idk how long even the best LEDs last
then again who knows 10 years from now what this hobby will look like
IMO yes you can accomplish this with either 8 bulb t5 or say 4-6 bulb t5 hybrid. I choose hybrid so I could adjust the leds bluer or whiter for my preference on how I want the color and then use the t5 for the growth that I want because t5 is proven great growth over the years. With only 8 t5 you have no control over the color but if that is not important to you then it don’t matter
Yes but IMO it always comes out whiter then I like. I’m not looking for that windex blue color but do like some blue in there so the corals color pops out more
Well most likely if you did that the strip would then yes only be for color where as the hybrid set up leds also contribute to the par in my system.
Similar threads
