lighting upgrade question

[patcalh]

i have a 120 gallon 4x2x2 with a wood canopy that sits on top of tank. there is only 7" from water surface to bottom of hood. I am currently using 2 of the original 48" fluval marine lights and a 4 bulb corallife t5 48" fixture all are very old and starting to make noise as well as not adjustable including the fluvals you cannot use the blue for night lights with a timer because they have a manual switch to switch from daylight to just blue so i am looking to upgrade.

i am very seriously considering using 3 of the newer fluval 3.0 marines (i have one of the 3.0 freshwater lights on wifes tank and like it). what other lights would be recommended for such a tight mounting height (max is 6" with the thinnest lights possible). price is also a concern 3 fluvals is about $700 vs 1 kessil ap9x for over 800. i have mostly soft and lps may add a few sps but they could be mounted high in tank for stronger lighting.

I DO WANT TO GO ALL LED NO T5s and WILL NOT REMOVE CANOPY

i would also like to be able to do sunrise sunset and moonlighting without needing multiple controlers and timers etc

 

[sam2110]

I had the fluval 3.0 a while back, my sps struggled. They were mounted at the very top. I ended up adding T5 to compensate. Nothing struggled after that.

I used the sunrise on the fluval 3.0 and a timer timer for the T5s, sunrise was midday till 1300, then the T5s came on at 1305. Same principle with the sunset. No controller needed.

 

[stephj03]

Do you require buying new or are you open to used?

 

[patcalh]

Do you require buying new or are you open to used?

i would prefer new but would consider used if it was an excellent deal (buying used electronics used around saltwater just seems pretty risky)

 

[stephj03]

48" ReefBreeder Photon V2+. Best bang for your buck going all LED and right at your price point.

ReefBreeders

reefbreeders.com

You owe it to yourself to try more than what Fluval can offer you IMO

 

[wavyreeef]

I have 3 white Aqua Illumination hydra 32s brand new with HMS mount kits for a deal if you’re interested.

 

[wavyreeef]

I have 3 white Aqua Illumination hydra 32s brand new with HMS mount kits for a deal if you’re interested.

Mix it in with T5 hybrids

 

[sam2110]

Orphek LED bars? Not bad price either

 

[patcalh]

48" ReefBreeder Photon V2+. Best bang for your buck going all LED and right at your price point.

ReefBreeders

reefbreeders.com

You owe it to yourself to try more than what Fluval can offer you IMO

these lights need to be mounted way to high for my canopy brs recommends 16" height for these

 

[patcalh]

Orphek LED bars? Not bad price either

again they are made to be mounted way above my canopy height

 

[patcalh]

I had the fluval 3.0 a while back, my sps struggled. They were mounted at the very top. I ended up adding T5 to compensate. Nothing struggled after that.

I used the sunrise on the fluval 3.0 and a timer timer for the T5s, sunrise was midday till 1300, then the T5s came on at 1305. Same principle with the sunset. No controller needed.

I realize the fluval lights are not the strongest lights par wise which is why i was looking at using up to 3 of them together but they do appear to have good spectrum and build quality of their stuff is usually decent. my understanding is that the same app runs the marines as the freshwater which i like that setup on my wifes freshwater tank. my biggest concern is if 3 of the 59 watt 48" lights would give enough light to the bottom of the tank.

really wish someone like brstv would actually test these lights like they do all the more expensive ones to see how they would compare to others and also how well they work when used in multiples

 

[720 Reefer]

these lights need to be mounted way to high for my canopy brs recommends 16" height for these

BRS recommends 16", but only for the optimal spread from edge to edge. 7" above would still be fine, you will just have a bit more PAR in the middle versus the edges. You may just want to use lower percentages than they recommend. No matter what LED you put that close to the water, you are going to have some "hot spots". I agree that the Photons are by far the best bang for your buck. Nothing else compares to the spread and PAR output for the price.

 

[sam2110]

I realize the fluval lights are not the strongest lights par wise which is why i was looking at using up to 3 of them together but they do appear to have good spectrum and build quality of their stuff is usually decent. my understanding is that the same app runs the marines as the freshwater which i like that setup on my wifes freshwater tank. my biggest concern is if 3 of the 59 watt 48" lights would give enough light to the bottom of the tank.

really wish someone like brstv would actually test these lights like they do all the more expensive ones to see how they would compare to others and also how well they work when used in multiples

OK, I have a par meter and I happen to know what the par from 1 fluval sea evo 3.0 was on the sand...... OK mine was a 32 watt. On a 18 inch deep tank directly under the light on the sand I had 60 par, the edges I had 20 - 35 par. In the center around 2 inches below the water directly under the light I had 315 par.

Hope that helps a bit

 

[oreo54]

I realize the fluval lights are not the strongest lights par wise which is why i was looking at using up to 3 of them together but they do appear to have good spectrum and build quality of their stuff is usually decent. my understanding is that the same app runs the marines as the freshwater which i like that setup on my wifes freshwater tank. my biggest concern is if 3 of the 59 watt 48" lights would give enough light to the bottom of the tank.

really wish someone like brstv would actually test these lights like they do all the more expensive ones to see how they would compare to others and also how well they work when used in multiples

Physics wise 3 fluvals is at least equiv. to a Corallife 4 tube t5ho.

 

[stephj03]

these lights need to be mounted way to high for my canopy brs recommends 16" height for these

I hate to break it to you but BRS would say the same thing about Fluval lights if they reviewed them.


If you're happy with them, stay happy and get more. Seems like you were already decided when you started the thread asking for suggestions....

 

[oreo54]

PAR for 1 Fluval at 18" is listed as 63..
Single t5ho 67..

 

[patcalh]

thanks for all the answers