Lighting For 180g

A

adamo

New Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2014
Location
Ontario
Hi,
I have 180g and wondering which lights to buy, i am doing FOWLR and possibly coral in the future but for now i was looking at either led or t5 fixture. I have 2 T12 daylight bulbs and a rgb led strip on their as of now and need to upgrade. How would i set up it up because i know they don't sell 72" fixtures so would i have to buy two 3 foot fixtures? Also which is more recommended t5 or led?
Thanks
 
AdInfinitum

AdInfinitum

Super Active Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Location
Thorndale, Ontario
72" is a pretty standard length for a fixture??? Both of mine are.

T5 is the proven standard for coral growth but led is the way of the future and showing more and more success everyday. In fact the only thing that may make you second guess led is if you were planning a hardcore SPS tank, which clearly you aren't at this point.

Since fish don't really care about light I might be inclined to get a few led fixtures your budget is the limit but there are reasonable options from the Chinese led's that many are happy with to high end fancy stuff. But you could get enough units to light the tank to your satisfaction for looks now and add more units and lower them closer to the water when you're ready to up the intensity and move in to corals.

IMO
 
A

adamo

New Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2014
Location
Ontario
Thanks for the response I am going to end up going with led's do you recommend any 72" fixtures? Also Teebone how many of those fixtures would i need for my set up? Thanks
 
reefgeek

reefgeek

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Location
Barrie, Ontario
Great idea going with leds adamo, the ones you pointed out should be fine for a fowlr setup but would likely not suffice for keeping corals. For its price though it wouldn't be a big deal replacing it in the future should you decide to add coral to the display. You may want to ask the seller to send you some pics of the fixture over a live setup as the colour rendition of leds varies depending on the make, model, wattage ect (make sure you like the look before you buy).

Some of the led fixtures out there that would support corals run into the $500.00+ range for a unit that would only cover 1/3rd of your display. I myself am building my own led fixture but this generally isn't a good idea unless you are fairly confident in your electrical theory.
 
A

adamo

New Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2014
Location
Ontario
Okay thanks mike for the response i am going to keep on shopping around. As for now i just got 2 koralia 1500 powerheads and a mag 9.5 for the skimmer so i am in middle of setting that up. One question how should i set up the power heads?
Thanks
 
teebone110

teebone110

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Location
London, Ontario
Website
www.thefragtank.ca
adamo said:
Thanks for the response I am going to end up going with led's do you recommend any 72" fixtures? Also Teebone how many of those fixtures would i need for my set up? Thanks
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depends on what your looking to accomplish, if you just want to provide a light for your fish and some easy corals, then the led fixture you identified might be okay.

I know some guys have used up to 8 evergrow units for a large sps tank , but you could probably get away with 3, I think they span 24"

If your good with DIY, many of us have built our own units from suppliers like rapid led or aqua style.
http://www.aquastyleonline.com
You could probably build something decent with 24-36 LEDs spread out equally, then you could add more later if needed
 
theyangman

theyangman

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 22, 2013
Location
London, Ontario
I never understood the "buy for today, upgrade later" mentality.

This is an expensive hobby hands down. Wasting money on something that you KNOW you are going to have to upgrade again later is a great way to slow down your progress even further.

Take your time, buy it right, buy it once.

ATI for (t5 HO) is a well respected brand in the reefing community and I know more than a few of us that run them.

As for LED's that is where the water gets murky.

Think of your long term goals, and go from there. Plan ahead, and buy what you need to get there.
 
4

4Hummer

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2014
Location
Kitchener, Ontario
Ive been eye balling These, Great Reviews on ReefCentral, Good Price, loaded with Features, plus you can customize the LED bulb combination.

www.ledzeal.com

I Emailed Alex at Led Zeal and asked what he suggested for a 72" Long tank This was his recommendation

"For your tank, here are 3 solutions for your reference.
Plan A: choose 2 pcs Malibu S200 (36'') and install with bracket.
Plan B: choose 2 pcs Malibu S150 (24'') and install with hanging kits
Plan C: choose 1 piece Malibu S400 (60''), two installation ways available.

Malibu S150: US$249/unit
Malibu S200: US$309/unit
Malibu S400: US$459/unit"
3(15).jpg
 
kapelan

kapelan

Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2015
Location
Kitchener, Ontario
Jewel said:
I'd grab that 60 inch ATI fixture, It's a proven light. I've had LED and would never go that route again. T-5s all the way.
Click to expand...
Probably you had bad experience. I've switched to LED a couple of years ago and no way will go back.
With LED you can set any spectrum you wish as from this video:
Can you do this with t5?
Moreover it's only one time investment - no needs to change bulbs every year.
Moreover to add power with LED you do not need a new fixture - just add LEDs or increase power from controller.
 
Jewel

Jewel

Guest
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Location
Wingham Ontario
Yes maybe over kill for FOWLR but it would save on an upgrade later, I found the Maxspect Razor didn't promote Coraline, Infact all of my Coraline died off after switching from T-5s
 
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