vote for which lights to get here

Xclusive Reef · Oct 12, 2016

Can you please vote on which lights are best for a (90 gal 48x18x24) ? On my list I have a t5/led combo, do T5 lights get super hot? I am not looking to get a chiller. I will have mixed corals and few fish 5-7 fish.

1- http://www.ebay.com/itm/MH-48-Metal...726343?hash=item19eb1cf6c7:g:3CsAAOxyKsZRse6j

2-
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coralife-Aq...315221?hash=item3f67bc0615:g:zoYAAOSwNRdX9t0X
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-A...906236?hash=item3f6c2e313c:g:2ioAAOSwLnBX8BJ6

3- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Arctic-T247...413500?hash=item1eb9a1e3fc:g:s5YAAOSwMgdXy19g

4- OTHER (under $500 to cover whole tank)

VOTE 1 , 2, 3 or 4

clownsrcool · Oct 12, 2016

I vote # 4- I would get a 48" 6 bulb ATI sun power fixture. Look for used one locally if it's a bit out of your range. It's an extremely common fixture and lots trade hands.

T5s do not get overly hot and I had the exact fixture I recommended over my 90 and it did quite well. I only needed fans running every so often in the hottest months of summer to keep temp stable. No chiller required. On my new tank I have T5/LED hybrid and my fans never even run. Turns out the biggest source of heat on 90 was actually my return pump. I'm actually still running my heaters on my new tank and it's hot as heck outside.

I'm not familiar with #1 fixture. With T5s and MHs even more so, the reflectors make the fixture. I'm not sure how good those MH reflectors are. BRS did some pretty indisputable testing that shows some manufacturers have the bulbs positioned outside of the sweet spot of the reflectors and it screws with the light distribution.

For your #2 option (2) T5s is just not going to cut it. That LED fixture also is going to give you aesthetic appeal only and be way too underpowered and not a complete enough spectrum to make a difference.

#3 I know nothing about but looking at it you are going to have to use (3) of them mounted front to back to be anywhere close to effective. Not worth the money or disappointment I think you will have.

My suggestion can be upgraded even further later on when money is available to add fixtures like a reefbrite Actinic strip or 2 and turn that into a class leading fixture. I have the ATI LED Powermodule Hybrid and kind of wished I'd have just gone the 8-bulb with (2) Reefbrite fixture route and pocketed a little money.

Don't get me wrong I love my fixture but for the money I spent I think hat option would have actually packed more of a punch LED wise and ended up costing me less.

Xclusive Reef · Oct 12, 2016

I also just found a local selling 2 kessil 160s with controller for 400 bucks.. what you think about kessil?

Xclusive Reef · Oct 12, 2016

clownsrcool said:
I vote # 4- I would get a 48" 6 bulb ATI sun power fixture. Look for used one locally if it's a bit out of your range. It's an extremely common fixture and lots trade hands.

T5s do not get overly hot and I had the exact fixture I recommended over my 90 and it did quite well. I only needed fans running every so often in the hottest months of summer to keep temp stable. No chiller required. On my new tank I have T5/LED hybrid and my fans never even run. Turns out the biggest source of heat on 90 was actually my return pump. I'm actually still running my heaters on my new tank and it's hot as heck outside.

I'm not familiar with #1 fixture. With T5s and MHs even more so, the reflectors make the fixture. I'm not sure how good those MH reflectors are. BRS did some pretty indisputable testing that shows some manufacturers have the bulbs positioned outside of the sweet spot of the reflectors and it screws with the light distribution.

For your #2 option (2) T5s is just not going to cut it. That LED fixture also is going to give you aesthetic appeal only and be way too underpowered and not a complete enough spectrum to make a difference.

#3 I know nothing about but looking at it you are going to have to use (3) of them mounted front to back to be anywhere close to effective. Not worth the money or disappointment I think you will have.

My suggestion can be upgraded even further later on when money is available to add fixtures like a reefbrite Actinic strip or 2 and turn that into a class leading fixture. I have the ATI LED Powermodule Hybrid and kind of wished I'd have just gone the 8-bulb with (2) Reefbrite fixture route and pocketed a little money.

Don't get me wrong I love my fixture but for the money I spent I think hat option would have actually packed more of a punch LED wise and ended up costing me less.

That light is a bit more thank I want to spend. On eBay it's well over 600 bucks.

clownsrcool · Oct 12, 2016

Bulkreefsupply sells for $540.95 brand new including shipping. Item# 207774

You are looking at the dimmable version. You don't need that it's pointless. Reduces the lifespan of the bulbs and serves no purpose for coral growth.

clownsrcool · Oct 12, 2016

You can prob find that like for under $300 from someone selling used. I think I ended up selling mine for $250 when I upgraded. That's practically stealing that light.

clownsrcool · Oct 12, 2016

nycluis718 said:
I also just found a local selling 2 kessil 160s with controller for 400 bucks.. what you think about kessil?

I'm sure you want others to chime in too so you don't have to keep hearing from me =) but I have experience here too. This all depends on what kinds of corals you plan on keeping and what kind of tank you envision having. There is no way (2) of those will sufficiently light a 48" tank. I'm assuming your tank is 24" tall too and most aquascapes only come up to about halfway up the tank. Your par drop off will be extreme at the bottom sandbed and where most of your corals will be. I wouldn't do less than 4 of those fixtures if you are wanting lots of SPS that is. I had a A350 over my wife's 60g cube (24x24x24) and par was much lower than I thought and it realistically only sufficiently covered a 15x15 section of the tank.

I've had a lot of high end fixtures (radions, kessils, sun power and LED Powermodule) I wished I would have went right to what I really wanted from the start and avoided the costly trials and never being satisfied with the others.

Just my $.02..... I'll shut up now.

Xclusive Reef · Oct 13, 2016

More votes please

Xclusive Reef · Oct 13, 2016

clownsrcool said:
I'm sure you want others to chime in too so you don't have to keep hearing from me =) but I have experience here too. This all depends on what kinds of corals you plan on keeping and what kind of tank you envision having. There is no way (2) of those will sufficiently light a 48" tank. I'm assuming your tank is 24" tall too and most aquascapes only come up to about halfway up the tank. Your par drop off will be extreme at the bottom sandbed and where most of your corals will be. I wouldn't do less than 4 of those fixtures if you are wanting lots of SPS that is. I had a A350 over my wife's 60g cube (24x24x24) and par was much lower than I thought and it realistically only sufficiently covered a 15x15 section of the tank.

I've had a lot of high end fixtures (radions, kessils, sun power and LED Powermodule) I wished I would have went right to what I really wanted from the start and avoided the costly trials and never being satisfied with the others.

Just my $.02..... I'll shut up now.

Good write up man.. here is another factor. I can't hang lights, I need to have some type of bracket on top of tank. With 6 t5 bulbs I would be a little nervous that light could be too close to water 3-5 inches.

clownsrcool · Oct 13, 2016

Can you build a canopy and basically hang your lights from that?

Xclusive Reef · Oct 13, 2016

clownsrcool said:
Can you build a canopy and basically hang your lights from that?

i can try and see what it will look like but I was going after a clean look. also with a "canopy" i don't want the lights to produce more hear being in a box. I will have to play around with it. in your opinion do these 6 bulb ATI fixtures produce a lot of noise? like buzzing or humming.

clownsrcool · Oct 13, 2016

No noise. The fans are very quiet and you can't hear them running at all. A canopy doesn't have to be huge and bulky. Look around for ideas from others and find a style that looks nice and goes with your style. I would also just make the canopy 3 sided and leave the back completely open. That solves your heat issue. As far as the noise question goes too I don't think my answer is specific to ATI fixtures only either. I would imagine they are all silent. I have seen other people's tanks that use other brands and they are silent as well.

clownsrcool · Oct 13, 2016

I don't know what your overall tank style is, whether you like a modern style cabinet or a more traditional looking one but look into floating canopy builds too. To me that is extremely slick and modern looking and basically serve to just hide the fixture behind something that goes with the overall design of your tank instead of having an unattractive fixture out in the open. They can be mounted to studs in the wall behind the tank instead of resting on the tank like normal. That's how you get the illusion of it floating. Then it can be much thinner too since it just needs to be tall enough to cover the fixture and provide a place to mound it too. You can leave the top open since the canopy will likely be above eye level and you won't ever see it from the top down anyway

JaimeAdams · Oct 13, 2016

I'm surprised no one mentioned https://sbreeflights.com/
I would stick a pair of 16" over a 90 any day. Especially for the price.
ATI makes an excellent fixture. If you are leaning towards a 6 bulb ATI I wouldn't hesitate.
I actually have a fixture similar to the Metal halide T-5 combo over my tank currently and have no issues with it. However you seem to have heat concerns that I do not have so it may not be the best option for you.

Xclusive Reef · Oct 13, 2016

JaimeAdams said:
I'm surprised no one mentioned https://sbreeflights.com/
I would stick a pair of 16" over a 90 any day. Especially for the price.
ATI makes an excellent fixture. If you are leaning towards a 6 bulb ATI I wouldn't hesitate.
I actually have a fixture similar to the Metal halide T-5 combo over my tank currently and have no issues with it. However you seem to have heat concerns that I do not have so it may not be the best option for you.

where did you get the fixture from? pics?

JaimeAdams · Oct 13, 2016

It looks pretty close to the one you found on E-Bay. I got this particular one from one of our club members. I also had the same basic design from Aquamedic. I don't run a chiller, but I do have an A/C in that room so I have never noticed any issues with heat. I was actually just looking at a video of the Reef Brite Halide Hybrid, that looked super nice, but not sure on the price.