ALT (Another Lighting Thread)

[salmon alley]

I know once you've satisfied the coral requirements that ultimately the choice of lighting comes down to personal preference. I thought I had made a decision, but now I'm reconsidering ( i.e. obsessing), and wouldn't mind some input.

I want my new tank to be mixed corals: Some choice Acros and Montis. Lots of Echinophyllia, maybe some Favia, and perhaps a zoo or two.

The tank is 48" x 24" x 20 " tall (it's a custom w/ starphire front).

My original idea was to have a single 250W DE MH in a lumenarc relector traverse back and forth on a light mover. Flanking the MH on each side was to be 2 x 54 W T5 to provide supplemental actinic and base light for when the MH is on the opposite side of the tank. Now I'm worried that the tank will be very uneven when the MH is on one side.

I love the color of the 250W Phoenix 14K when fired by an HQI ballast, but wanted a little more fluorescent pop.

My criteria for selecting lighting:

1- Appearance. I want the corals to pop, but I don't want the tank to have a blue look.
2- Elec consumption. I'm trying to be power conscious and keep the wattage down
3- Glitter lines- gotta have em'

I'm ready to entertain/discuss suggestions.... have at me.

[hahnmeister]

Look at my tank if you havent already (red house), but something tells me by your post that you have already. FWIW, I dont mind it one bit. The supplimental T5s keep the tank from having any true 'dark spots'.

I use the ushio 14,000K, and 4x54wattT5s (but my tank is 48x30x21"h), with two G-man true actinics, and two ATI blue+ bulbs. So the tank is very blue when the halide is on the other side, but this is kind of cool. I get to have 'actinic viewing' half the time, and then a minute later, that area is under a 'dayblue' look.

I have messed around with the combos, and you could as well. I did a pheonix for the halide, and then 2x actinic03, and then one fiji red/purple bulb, and a GE 6500K. These T5s suppliment the pheonix where it is lacking (actinic, red, daylight)... so the tank is purple/day when the pheonix is away, and then very blue when it comes over. It might be what you are looking for, but I dont think you can do it with just two T5 bulbs... with 2x54wattT5s, you might be able to try ATI's procolor and an actinic... that might work. OR an actinic03 and a GE6500K.

[salmon alley]

Hi Hahnmeister-

Thanks for the reply!
As you suspected, I have seen the pics of your tank, and also read through your thread on the Wisconsin reef forum.
I noticed that you're running your MH pretty close to the water (3-4"?)...I wonder if I were to raise it up to 6-8" if that would increase the light spread and help to reduce darker areas. Have you experimented with this at all?
Also, I think I wasn't clear enough in my original post, in that I plan to have 2 x T5s on each side of the MH (total of 4), so I'm hoping I may be able to incorporate one daylight bulb to also reduce darker areas in the absence of the MH.

[hahnmeister]

I did raise the light actually... not because of dark areas, but because the spot under the pendant was too intense for some corals. The spread isnt so bad because the tank is 21" tall, and I have the T5s filling in anyways. It really isnt a huge concern. The light levels at the opposite end of the halide at any given time are just not as bright... but they arent exactly dark. Those blue+ are pretty bright. Considering my tank is 30" front to back, and I cant complain, I wouldnt worry about the spread too much on your tank being 24" front to back.

[waterpologirl]

Seriously, If you really want to be power conscious go with T-5s. (ducks)

Really, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep the corals I wanted, but look at these tanks:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...5&pagenumber=1

Obviously, I haven't used either, so I can't actually SAY that T-5's are better, but I can say that they are better if you want to be power conscious.


And shimmer lines? I know how you feel. Thats why I'm getting one of those fixtures with high powered LEDs. Shimmery and low wattage.

Now, I know I am going to get in trouble for this post because I don't have the experience to make an informed statement, but I just wanted to make sure you know your options. I know I would be kicking myself in a couple months if I had chosen MH without understanding the benefits of T5s.

[hahnmeister]

If you check out my red house, you will see that I am actually considering replacing my 250watt pendant with 6 or 8 T5 bulbs... just for a while to compare. They arent more energy efficient, but there is something about the way they can color in a coral.

A halide on a light mover is still the most effective output per watt system available.

[waterpologirl]

Tell all the people who say decreases in their energy bill that they are not power savers.

If your saying that MH have more output/watt, then yes.