What Bulbs To Get ??

[MiniMoose]

Hello I'm somewhat new to the saltwater hobby and it's time to get new t5 bulbs and have no idea what do get I have a 130 gallon tank with a 6foot long light that takes 12 bulbs 6 on each side with so many bulbs to chose from I have no idea what ones to get??

 

[unibob]

I am assuming the bulbs it takes are 60" bulbs.

I recommend and stock ATI.

60"

http://beanbagfrags.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=20_63_64_68

36"

http://beanbagfrags.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=20_63_64_66


If you need some input on bulb colour combos, feel free to send me a PM.



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[reeferkeeper420]

36" i believe.

 

[unibob]

36" i believe.

You are probably right, I was thinking 6 on each side width wise. I guess 12 wide would be a bit too wide lol.

Either way I have lots of them too


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[MiniMoose]

Yup36" and have no idea on what colours to pick lol any ideas I like it a little more blue

 

[unibob]

I would go 3 blue plus, 2 coral plus, 1 purple plus per side.

This will give you a blue look, but also good colours on your corals.


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[MiniMoose]

Sweet thanks for the help I might just do that

 

[MiniMoose]

Would it be smarter to just upgrade to led ? To get all the bulbs I need it's around 400 lol

 

[Nonuser]

Wow close to $40 a tube!

I would think a 6ft tank would cost a little bit of money going led's

There is someone here selling a light that you could use and it's only $1,500

Prolly a great deal.

I have no idea maybe someone with more $$ knowledge will drop the truth on you.

Good luck

 

[Kman]

I prefer LED as my primary source of lighting with supplemental T5 or run just LED. It is not cheap for startup cost of LED but in the long run it is better as it is cheaper to run with way more programability. The replacement cost of T5 on a large tank is crazy in my opinion. For me if I ran all 60" T5 I would be spending $240 every 6 months or so for replacement. Depending on how long you run the T5 for you will have to replace them every 6 months to 12 to maintain proper spectrum. I would stick with the ATI bulbs as they hold their spectrum more then the other T5 brands so will last a little longer with better spectrum. You do get what you pay for in a bulb.

Each lighting option has prows and cons so I would google the pro and con of MH,T% and LED and figure out what options you want. If you don't want to spend the money on LED take a look at MH as an option as well. They are more plug and play to use then LED and are tried and true. Unless you don't care about the cost of bulb replacement then T5 will work just fine.

I myself when selecting new hardware I plan for the future and what I want to keep. That way I am not limited in what I can keep and would have to buy another set of hardware because of it.

What do you plan on keeping?

 

[scubasteve]

ya those new t5 led bulbs look great but nobody has really used them long term yet.... im telling ya tho it sure got the t5 guys roudy lol. i myself left t5 shortly after i started and went led. It has been 3 yrs now of bulb $ and power $ now getting spent on additives, food and coral. i doubt ill ever switch to anything else controlability is crazy these days

 

[MiniMoose]

I'm thinking I'll just get kessil a360s I'm going to get 4 of them

 

[unibob]

I'm thinking I'll just get kessil a360s I'm going to get 4 of them

Send me a PM if you want me to order you some.


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[Nonuser]

I'm thinking I'll just get kessil a360s I'm going to get 4 of them

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Kessil-AP700-LED-Fixture-w-built-in-WiFi.html

So the AP700?

 

[MiniMoose]

No the 360s

 

[Nonuser]

too bad those are the

No the 360s

newest ones that just are coming out. It would have been sweet to hear the review on them. also having something brand new is cool. But I guess you'll be fine with the good old 360s