Led Light Question

[new2reefing]

Hey All,

Im hoping to upgrade my lights, but I am short on cash. One of the ballasts for my t5ho broke leaving me with 2 working bulbs, so I was considering buying the mars aqua 300w led for my 65 gallon 36" wide tank.
Only problem is I don't currently have the $250 for the unit.
What do you all think of the 54W bulbs as a temporary solution?
How many would you suggest for a 36" length x 18" wide by 24" deep.
Anything else I could use as a temporary solution while I save for the 300W

 

[new2reefing]

Also. What ratio of colours should i aim for?
Some have 12 blue, 6 white others have the oposite or reds and greens mixed in

 

[Kman]

Also look at the Evergrow LED. I have a few of these and they work quite well.

http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c231289/p17722567.html

If you want to do a temp solution or stick with T5 the below option is cheapest at $129.95.

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/LET-36-2x39W-Miro-4-T5-High-Output-Retrofit-Kit.html

 

[new2reefing]

Thx Kman,
The evergrow are basically the same as the marsaqua 165W units, which would cover aprox 2' of the aquarium.
The marsaqua ones are also only 150CAD on aliexpress.
The 300W marsaqua is 100 x 3W and is 36" so I could get away with 1 and costs $250 cad incl shipping.

But the other options I could do in the mean time is say two of these
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pc..._7&btsid=38c1c314-7f5c-4ecb-8e70-f4940a543097

The third option would be to buy a used 4 bulb t5ho for $100 (may try talking him down to $75)

Forth option would be to buy a ballast for the broken two bulbs and try my luck at electrical work. This is probably the cheapest of the options, but I have little experience in electrical.

 

[kapelan]

wrong way.
It is not a temporary solution, it is direction in which you will stuck at least for a couple of years.
So be ready to spend for t5 bulbs the same amount of money every year.
Somewhere on the forum recently was Maxspec Rasor 160W 33" long.
This fixture looks amassing.
this one:
http://thefragtank.ca/community/threads/maxspect-razor.18126/

 

[new2reefing]

I do get the long term part. But the main point is the current lac of funds. I could use a temporary solution that would give me a full year to think about another upgrade and cost $100 now and 200-300 in a year, or deal with 2 bulbs untill i can afford the led.
Also i would still go with the marsaqua long term. 300w for 250 to me beats 275 for 160w. From the reviews they're well built and work great.
So in terms of short term basically its repair ballast for $30 and buy new bulbs(ones i have are old) or 54w bulbs. Or used t5 guy used 2 months(aparently) which comes with bulb.
Also the most light demanding thing i currently have is a toadstool leather which seems fine so far

 

[kapelan]

54W bulbs are 48"

 

[new2reefing]

Sorry i mean 54w led bulbs. There 18 × 3w led's built into a bulb. I see them often in reef pics. Mainly was curious on peoples thoughts on them