Stepping up from a 40b to a 180 which I will be picking up this weekend. Wondering what everyone was doing for lighting ? I do know that I want to go with led and not t5s pics would be appreciated. Thanks in advanced
Pics are of my current 40b
Are the or3s controllable ? And also I like the way that looks how is it attached to the tank ?On our 125 we started with 4 AI Hydra 26s, then added a couple of Orphek OR3 LED strips on either side instead of T5s to supplement them. Build quality on both has been great, no issues. Just setup an 80 gallon frag tank on the other side of the wall, adding more OR3s again for that system. They're easy to attach to a frame/canopy or to each other using a perpendicular brace (Orphek makes one, or you can DIY one for a good bit less like the one pictured made out of aluminum that also holds our AI Hydras)
The OR3 bars are just a simple on/off. Each model (I believe there are 4) is already tuned to a particular slice/intensity of the spectrum based on the selection and number of each type of LEDs included. Think of them like T5s without needing to replace the bulbs every 6 months. Our ramp up/down is done on the AI Hydras since those are adjustable and we use the OR3s as supplemental lighting for just a short portion of the day. I used the hinged brackets that these came with and screwed them to the outside edges of the aluminum rectangle that also holds our Hydra 26 lights. I can post another pic of the bracket shortly. The aluminum rectangle is suspended over the tank using a frame that I was given by a fellow reefer that's made of aluminum square tubing.
