lighting a 4' front to back tank (500 gallon)

[46bfinGA]

I am thinking about buying 2- 8 lamp tek lights for my 500. The tank is 4' front to back so I would center up the lights on the tank and lift them a bit to spread out the light. Dimensions on my tank are 8'x4'x2'.

Will this work ok? The tank is going to be full of softies and I really dont want more wattage then this. I actually have 2-8' 6 lamp fixtures that I was going to put side by side. but I like the looks of the Tek lights better then what I have. Are there any T5 lights out there that are around 36" wide that would spread out the light a little better?

Any thoughts?

[Harleyguy]

With just softies, and a 3" sand bed I think you will be fine

[46bfinGA]

Not too worried about having enough light for the corals. More interested in having enough spread to light up the tank and still look good. The fixture is 48"x20" and the tank is 48" front to back. All my rock will be placed in the middle of the tank in a few islands. I didnt know if anyone has tried this on there larger tanks. I definitely don't want to spend the cash and buy 4 fixtures.

[Elliott]

each Tek 8 bulb fixture is 20" wide. So with two fixtures you're covering 40" of your 48" area, when you raise them up a bit I'm sure the spread will cover the remaining 4" on each side.

but are you looking at the 72" length? isn't your tank 96"?

they look like nice fixtures btw

[FishTruck]

These babies have a 48 by 48 inch spread. Not T5s, but an option. (Not a cheap option either).

http://www.aquariumobsessed.com/

Infinity XR6- Twin 2 x 400 Pendant

[Elliott]

Fishtruck, you have expensive taste great fixture!

[46bfinGA]

Yeah my tank is 8' long so I will install the fixtures in the center of the tank end to end. I cant seem to find any fixtures wider then 20" that have more of a spread to them. I really would like to stick with about 12-16 bulbs max. Maybe I should just DIY a fixture made out of aluminum angle,but that is still pretty expensive once you start buying all the Reflectors,endcaps,standoffs,ballasts,etc..........The Tek fixtures look really nice that the major plus to those.

[46bfinGA]

Originally posted by FishTruck
These babies have a 48 by 48 inch spread. Not T5s, but an option. (Not a cheap option either).

http://www.aquariumobsessed.com/

Infinity XR6- Twin 2 x 400 Pendant

Yeah you buy them for me for Christmas!

No way I would ever spend $6000 on 2 lights. Im trying to spend as less as possible on this. The Tunze setup,Dart NW skimmer,etc....has allready cost me an arm and a leg.

[Elliott]

ahh, end to end, then you are trying to cover 48" with a 20" wide fixture, that may be difficult.

but, if you are planning to place your rock/corals in the middle under the lights, no problem! would also look nice as your eyes would be drawn to that area

[Harleyguy]

Get the lights, and worst case, later on add 2 more...It's only money...

[46bfinGA]

Before I bought two I would probably just install a couple light movers and have them slide front to back a couple feet. But I think these lights will do fine on this tank if I mount them in the middle. Hell Im running a 36" 4 lamp T5 light on a 6' 125 right now.I like the way it looks.

[ricks]

46bfinGA,

I definitely don't want to spend the cash and buy 4 fixtures.

And a 500 gallon reef don't go together very well..

The Tunze setup,Dart NW skimmer,etc....has already cost me an arm and a leg.

Before your finished all your appendages and wallet will be missing. heheheh..

You can low budget it, but the maintenance cost will still blow your hair back...

I'm not trying to be negative, heck it's almost Christmas.. And I still don't have your new chiller picked out...

Happy Reefing

[Jar*Head]

I think you will need more than 8 bulbs fixture.... I plan to have the same dimension tank with 3x400w and 4x4bulbs fixture along the side...

[Elliott]

I'm looking into light movers for my next tank, makes a lot of sense to me, appears to be a way to light a larger area more economically.

[46bfinGA]

I dont want to use a ton of electricity to run this tank. Thats why I sold my beckett skimmer and got the DartNW,same reason I scrapped the closed loop that I bought and got the Tunze. Maybe I would be better off building my own fixture and running the bulbs from front to back.Spread 12-16 lamps evenly across the tank? Problem with that is I just sold all my Retrofit stuff to buy some nicer fixtures. Oh well Im going to try the fixtures and just have to live with me decision. Wouldnt be the first time Ive bought something that didnt quite turn out right.

[46bfinGA]

Originally posted by Elliott
I'm looking into light movers for my next tank, makes a lot of sense to me, appears to be a way to light a larger area more economically.

I found some relatively inexpensive ones online in some of the propogation/hydroponic websites. Im thinking this would be the way to go instead of dumping a ton of money into lights on big tanks. I may order a couple and see how they do.

[46bfinGA]

I have found chain driven light movers that are around $100 and then the self propeled trolley ones that are around $200 each. Im not sure which ones are better or more dependable.

[Elliott]

jnarowe uses this one:

http://www.lightrail3.com/lightrail.php

[reef / aholic]

Originally posted by 46bfinGA
Wouldnt be the first time Ive bought something that didnt quite turn out right.

We have all been there!!!

[yaktop]

Originally posted by Elliott
jnarowe uses this one:

http://www.lightrail3.com/lightrail.php

use the same one and has worked flawlessly for about 7 months now. 5 watts had to beat.

[46bfinGA]

Would one light rail be strong enough to hold a 48" Tek light? Or would I have to have two per fixture? I was thinking I could cut a 6' track in half and use one for each fixture. Then just buy another drive motor for the second track. Would end up costing me around $350 though. Might be better off just buying another fixture........too many decisions to make on these big tanks.

[Kent E]

You can gang the lights together and have them on the same rail. That's what I did. I light a 450 gallon with 500 watts (2-250 XM 10k) Sps grows great.

[ricks]

For viewing, don't you get dark non lit shaded areas. And real bright areas at the same time. Doesn't that make the reef look out of balance as far as light goes??? Just curious, I've seen these before and most of the reef is dark as the light moves to the far side.

[46bfinGA]

Well my 2 lights would be moving front to back only about 2 ft on a 3' track if I decide to go that route. So I would guess there will not be many "dark spots". Im going to try the fixtures without a track at first and see how I like it. The track can always be added later down the line if I dont like the outcome.

[Elliott]

Originally posted by Kent E
You can gang the lights together and have them on the same rail. That's what I did. I light a 450 gallon with 500 watts (2-250 XM 10k) Sps grows great.

wow! can you post a pic?