What does everyone use to light their 72" tank?

AllAboutThatWrasse

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I am in the process of selecting the equipment for my next tank (Red Sea 750) and it's just under 6'. I'm a big fan of T5's but if I went that route, it would be about 5" short on each side. It would be great to hear some ideas and hear what you guys are running. Thank you
 

jason2459

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80 watt T5s are a perfect size for a 6' tank. Or a couple 32" fixtures and a couple 80 watts T5s even better IMO.

I went extreme on the LED coverage using some very knowledgeable and successful reefkeepers as an example as I really don't know that much about lighting other then what looks pretty to my eyes which could be different to each individual.

My build and learning as I go thread for my lighting and I couldn't be happier with it
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r...nd-t5-installation-testing-and-review.292314/
 

cdmckinzie

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We have a 72" Current Orbit Loop led light fixture and the wave and flow pumps that go with it, they can all be setup together to work in sinc.
 

reefrottie

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I bought the new Zetlight from Bulk Reef Supply. I LOVE these lights, especially for the price. I use 2 over my 220 and the coverage is great.
 

Forsaken77

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We have a 72" Current Orbit Loop led light fixture and the wave and flow pumps that go with it, they can all be setup together to work in sinc.

I actually was planning on using that whole setup for my 180 build, but didn't like all of the wires that have to connect everywhere. Plus the feed mode doesn't stop the return pump, it reduces it to 30% power. Between the manifolds and display boxes, it was just too much.

However, I would suggest just the 72" Current USA Loop LED light. They make some nice mounting brackets, of which you need 2 for the 72 model.

Myself however, I use 3 Aqua Illumination Primes. They each cover 30 inches and my tank is FOWLR. So I'm not concerned with coral lighting.
 
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AllAboutThatWrasse

AllAboutThatWrasse

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Thanks for all the replies!! I have a 4' up and running now so I've never had any concern about not being able to light the ends of the tank also since it's much shallower. I think I will go with the 8 bulb 60"ATI fixture in hopes that with hanging the light higher off the water than mine is now, I could achieve good coverage on the ends.
 

cdmckinzie

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I actually was planning on using that whole setup for my 180 build, but didn't like all of the wires that have to connect everywhere. Plus the feed mode doesn't stop the return pump, it reduces it to 30% power. Between the manifolds and display boxes, it was just too much.

However, I would suggest just the 72" Current USA Loop LED light. They make some nice mounting brackets, of which you need 2 for the 72 model.

Myself however, I use 3 Aqua Illumination Primes. They each cover 30 inches and my tank is FOWLR. So I'm not concerned with coral lighting.
What do you mean all those cords? 2 wave pumps and one flow pump will plug directly into the light hub which plugs into the controller. I know that's 4 cords but you use that many cords anyway, no matter if u have it plugged into the light or another controller, right? Or am I missing something. And I know it only slows down the flow pump to 30% when it's set at feed mode but you can just shut off the pump if you want with the remote. I like that the lights and wave pumps can be set to recreate cloudy days, light storms, heavier storms, and the pumps will use different patterns to make the water have more waves for those storms.
 

Flippers4pups

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3 mars aqua 165w units. Couldn't be happier not changing t5 bulbs anymore! Corals doing very well (sps dominated)
 

Forsaken77

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What do you mean all those cords? 2 wave pumps and one flow pump will plug directly into the light hub which plugs into the controller. I know that's 4 cords but you use that many cords anyway, no matter if u have it plugged into the light or another controller, right? Or am I missing something. And I know it only slows down the flow pump to 30% when it's set at feed mode but you can just shut off the pump if you want with the remote. I like that the lights and wave pumps can be set to recreate cloudy days, light storms, heavier storms, and the pumps will use different patterns to make the water have more waves for those storms.

Oh, I contacted Current USA about this setup and they told me the light has a manifold, display unit, and power supply. Then they said the pumps have their own manifold, display unit and can be powered by the lights manifold. Then they said the DC return pump is basically separate from everything else, control-wise, and it has its own manifold and power supply.

So I guess I got someone who didn't know the products. I know you can plug 2 pumps into the light manifold and a third that is a constant flow. So if you have 3 powerheads, where does the return pump plug in? Or would you have to use 2 powerheads and the return?

You're actually the only person that I know of that is using the whole system. So if possible, could you explain it a little better because you seem to know more about it than Current USA does.
 

Bigfishy1

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I had 3 G2 radions on my 210 which was 72'' and 24'' front to back and 29'' tall and I did not run at full power. The tank looked great and all my coral grew like crazy.
 

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