The BIG question

[acroreef123]

I am currently upgrading to a 50 gallon(36L,18W,18H) AGA breeder and the one question that I cant seem to answer is what lighting to use I want it to be nice so I can keep a few speceis of Acropora but I still want it to be modest(meaning I dont want a 5000w MH extravaganza on my tank) I have managed to narrow it down to these two contenders, the 36in. 8x39w T-5 tek lite
or the Outer orbit from Current that has a 150w MH and two 96w PCs. so Ive decided to let yall decide, so cast your vote and help me out. The outer orbit can be found at
www.current-usa.com/products/outerorbit.html
and the T-5 tek lite on www.reefgeek.com on the home page under the fetured items stuff.



Acroreef123

[snslarison]

Niether. TEK is too expensive, and the orbit fixtures are crap. JMO.

[thrlride]

I said orbit just because I like MH better than T5.

[Ruu]

I wouldn't go with the Orbit because it is not all that bright to put over that tank (it would be OK, but you could do better for the same money, and it is only a single 150W halide over a 3ft tank, so it will be horrid uneven). I wouldn't go with the 8XTek because it expensive (you realise that the reefgeek price doesn't include the 8 bulbs to go with it dont you?). The tek would be brighter, and given these two choices, I would go with a 6xtek and call it a day.

Dave

[acroreef123]

money is not a problem, I know that the tek lite dosent come with the bulbs. why would you say go with the 6xtek lite when I can afford to by the better 8xtek lite, that sounds kinda foolish to me. I dont think it would be uneven because it also has two 96w PCs to lite the edges.
What other fixtures would work, I cant have an external ballast.


acroreef123

[chadfarmer]

1 metal halide for every 2 feet (you will have 1 foot of shadow on the tank)

i have a 58 and am thanking about the 8 bulb tek or just put another 250w on it cant make up my mind yet

[Ruu]

Originally posted by acroreef123
...why would you say go with the 6xtek lite when I can afford to by the better 8xtek lite, that sounds kinda foolish to me.

acroreef123

Two reasons really:

1) Because you said you wanted modest lighting, and an 8 bulb t5 fixture over a shallow tank like that is overkill for "few speceis of Acropora" (sic).
2) Because the 8-bulb Tek light is wider than the tank you specified. But i'm sure that the acros that you want to keep on the outside trim of your tank will appreciate the extra light.

If you have the cash, then Giesemann make some sexy as hell fixtures.

Dave

[acroreef123]

the reason I said "a few acropora species" is because thats all I thought I could keep, could I have and acro/sps dominated tang with the 3x39w Tek lite?

BTW, thanks for all the help so far guys.

[besl]

You may also want to do a search on Outer Orbit (made by Current) for further opinions. I just completed a similar thread:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=660125
and found very favorable experiences with Outer Orbits.

[Nuhtty]

6x39w Teks

[acroreef123]

sorry, meant to say the 8x39w tek.

[spankerbob]

The one thing you have to keep in mind id the heat generated by the MH, I put them over my tank and the temp shot up to 84, I now have to run a fan 14 hours a day over the sump to keep it down to 80 and I have to add 2gallons of water every day. I alos have t5 over my sump and the heat is far far less. I do like the light you get from the t5 but the MH visually looks more like true sunlight to me.

[jman77]

Neither .... Tek is too much money. Orbit's MH hood...sucks.. too little light.

Look into the Aquamedic Oceanlight MH with T5's
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Oceanlight-T5

[acroreef123]

I was planning on going with somthing similar to that oceanlight but I cant have an external ballast box.

[dynamixone]

^^^^^^^

[acroreef123]

does anyone know of a fixture that is 36in. with two 150w MH and internal ballast?