Upgrade season - Need Suggestions (LIGHTING)

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JumboAg99

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I've had a 90G standard Oceanic RR tank for about 7 years with a custom canopy on it that houses a pair of 250W MH 14K hamilton's and a pair of T5's. The "custom" is a stock oceanic canopy with a 2x8 extension built all the way around to keep the MH bulbs farther from the water to a) keep the tank cooler and b) keep the bulbs from detonating.

Its impossible to clean this setup regularly. It looks gorgeous when I tear it down and clean it annually, but I'm tired of the rest of the year it slowly looking like s* b/c its impossible to get into the tank to do weekly maintenance to keep it spotless.

I'm going to get rid of the canopy altogether and replace it with some pendant lighting hanging from the ceiling.

I'd just bought new bulbs (single ended moguls) and I'd rather stay with those than go double HQI's (there's something about getting a sunburn in my own living room that doesn't sit well with me).

Looking for brand/product ideas. Ideally specific terms I can search on Amazon to buy (God bless Prime!). I want to stick with 250W MH single ended... My electronic ballasts are fine so I want to stay with them....

Minimum I need two 250W single end capable pendants (or one dual) that I can ceiling mount. I'd also like to keep a pair of T5's to augment the lighting w/ some actinic/blue+, but that's not mandatory. Alot of that will depend on how the MH's look hanging from pendants and how much a T5 bar fixture strapped across the top of the tank will block out that lighting. I'm worried I may have to ditch the T5's b/c a fixture that sits across the top of the tank might block out too much of the MH light.

OK DFWMAS... Want suggestions. ready set go...
 
250s, check...T5s, check...cieling hang fixture, check...want some moon lights? Sure ya do...

http://coralvue.com/lumen-brightt5led-fixture/

That said, I would personally look at LEDs if you are upgrading anyways, these are the ones I am looking in to but I have the reflectors linked above and they work great.
 
fancy/pricey and bells and whistles I dont need. I also am concerned when they dont at all list tank sizes/depth recommendations on their site (that I can find.) Not necessarily against LED tech, but not willing to spend $1500+ for a pair of fixtures (best guess reading their comments for a 90G) just to go LED when I can buy a pair of pendants and stay with the ol' standby of MH for a couple hundred bucks.

Funny you bring up moonlights.... Hamilton has a 250W capable fixture w/ an LED moonlight bar on it that caught my eye.
 
If you're not looking for fancy LEDs you could look at DIY kits. You'll save a small bit in energy costs, but the major savings is no bulb changes. Once you look into LEDs for the first time it's only a matter of time before you switch because now what seemed like an absolute must in maintenance (bulb changes every six months) isn't. Those LEDs look tempting after just a few bulb changes reaches the total cost for the replacement.

If you don't want to pay fixture prices, look at DIY LEDs. I'm sure you could talk to someone about a price to put them together for you as well if you didn't feel like learning the trade... it doesn't take too much time so it's a matter of someone already having the material and experience.

After looking at many MH pendants and not wanting to pay the "fancy" price maybe look at this: http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/7901/product.web
Or the ultra cheap no T5 option: http://www.fishneedit.com/250w-metal-halide-pendant-lig.html
 
Lighting have improved drastically in the last few years, if you are changing the lighting you will be able to sell your existing stuff to help offset the cost of a decent LED setup. There are lot's of choices and if you buy a ready made unit they can advise on how many unit's you should use. LED's are pretty powerful and it take a fraction of the wattage to getthe same result's as MH....I'm in the process of building my LED setup right now. [smilie=smile.gif] Here a link to show the reefkoi led unit's, which are very reasonable. and can be hung from the ceiling or you can revert your canopy to it's original size and install them in there. Even hanging, the light is pretty much directed downward. viewtopic.php?f=100&t=25991&start=560

Cheers.
 
You don't have to stick to Amazon. I know that Premium Aquatics is having 10% off Thanksgiving Weekend and they have free shipping for I believe over $175. I ordered a TEK 48" T5 fixture last year and 6 T5 bulbs and they gave me an extra 10% off and free shipping. Some of the other online vendors will be having big sales next weekend also.

If you get a chance, go by DNA and look at their metal halide setup in the side room. They have blue LED strips attached to them. I'm not sure if it is part of the pendants or if it is something they build to add on to the pendants.
 
OK OK.. making no promises but I'll look at going with LEDs. Its going to be more $$ than I was planning so I probably wont be able to do it until next month but I'll look into it.

Top recommendations appear to be either the Echotech radion or the Aquaillumination SOL. Looks like you get more for the $$ with the radion.

A few questions: how far above the tank do they need to be? How much airflow do they require to stay cool? Should I drop mount them from the ceilling or remove the "extension" from my canopy and mount them into it (will that put them too close to the waterline and risk salt/humidity damage?

If I do this, I'm leaning towards dropping them from the ceiling so I can remove the canopy all together. Looks like it'll cost me about $1600 for a pair of the radions, a bit more if I go the SOL route (I assume I need 2 with a 48" wide tank).

What else do I need to know/buy accessory wise if I go LED? If I do go LED, how on earth do I phase out the old lights and phase in the LED replacements without causing damage to everything in my tank from the sudden lighting change?
 
I run the ai sol blue I have mine about 12" above the water. Depending on the depth front to back two should work fine if thank isn't to deep front to back




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@JumboAg99 wrote:
What else do I need to know/buy accessory wise if I go LED? If I do go LED said:
Both of the units you are looking at can be controlled. Once you install them you turn the intensity of the leds down. Everything I've seen on the SOL says to start them out at 30%. Check out Reefkoi's LED's. He has a unit for $499 that covers a tank 48"x24"x32".

http://reefkoi.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20&products_id=2460

His lights usually get really good reviews.
Click to expand...
 
my father in law is ordering from this place they have minimum order so he will be buying extra. It doesnt list the exact type of cree led just that they are cree led. some of the latest crees are xp-g and xm-l. xp-g's are used on the new eco-tech fixture i havent seen anyone with xm-l's yet. I am including a link to this factiry direct buy my father in law is doing compare the specs yourself. they dont list exactly what power supply brand is used but everything else is listed. If i were going LED i would surely buy i diy kit and just put it together but if you want it all done already this would be an option.
http://bsled.en.alibaba.com/product/480742676-210629663/productdetail.html he siad they were around 300.00 each

of course if anyone has experience with this particular company i would like to know what you think since my father in law is about to order 5 and keep 2.

Final thought ////// Radion is sweet!!!!
 
You need to becareful as their is fake Cree LEDs and some fixtures I have seen use them


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