Which lights for 8' tank

H

hoopsdaddy

Premium Member
I am sure you are all getting sick of the LED vs MH questions but after reading for the last couple weeks, I still cant come up with a good decision.
Want to start planning on what lighting to put on the "new to me" 8 footer I just got. Tank is 96x24x27 Mixed reef is the plan. Conditioned tank room so heat will not be an issue.
I love DIY so that is an option on the LED side or MH side. I love the AI Sol, but dont know how many of them I would need and if it is really worth the up front cost yet.

So should I go with 4 - 250W MH with T5, AI SOl blue (and how many), or DIY CREE LED kit (please spell out specifically what to get).
Also, when I am looking at a LED kit what do I really need to have vs. what all the options are.

Thanks to all in advance for your advice.
 
You would need six ai sol on my 48" long tank I ran 3 ai sol if you ran then parallel with the tank.

On big tanks depending what you want to keep if a majority sps tank I would go mh


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They way I told you to run the sols is length wise. Some people like Steve's LEDs I personally would use cree LEDs


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What corals are you gonna keep also are you going to run a canopy.

If not a canopy you prob can run 4 but it will have to be raised higher to get the spread but at the ends of the tank it will have really low par so you will have to go with lower light corals


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Hi,
To keep cost down and cover more spectrum's, you could do the kit from steve and add in a few T5's to round it out. There are also a few more spectrum specific led's on the market now, that you could implement into your build. You just can't beat the versatility and controllability of led's imo. If you do research you will find that the led's that steve sell's, and the cree's are so close, you might save 3 cent's over a years time. [smilie=lol.gif] Steve also will be offering cree's soon at a savings over other places, he sponsors our site and provides a nice discount to us. Do your research, don't invest in something that you have to change out later because it doesn't perform like you read about. There are several folks that have spent a lot on AI's to later find out the missing spectrum's did not satisfy their coral's need's fully and then had to re-spend money to change their lighting system back over again. [smilie=smile.gif]

Cheers,
 
Am thinking mixed reef. Zoa's, Acans, Duncans, Blasto's, and some monti- cap/digi and a few milli's since they are my favorites.

I will have 2+ feet of space at the top of the tank. It is going to be a built-in with a tank room behind it.
 
Thanks kuyatwo for your advice and opinions. They are much appreciated. Read through your tank build and it is amazing. I am amazed at how many times you have changed lighting. Ending up almost right back where you started at with MH/T5. Is your light DIY or did you buy it assembled?
Ron C. Thanks for your response also. So your suggestion would be to do the Steve's Led for a tank my size and then supplement with T5 or would you say do 2 of Steve's LED kits and just get some of the other color's of LED available and mix them in....?
Sure appreciate you guys helping me out.
Also, I am going to the big MACNA event in Dallas. I am pumped and looking forward to this event. I have only been to one event like this and it was the event held at OKC by their reef club. It was last year and I really enjoyed it.
 
No my current light is a sfiligoi it is a manufactured system. Since my tank is majority sps I went back to a proven lighting system.

I am gonna add a couple DIY light strips as you can't beat led rb coloring.

If you can find used led fixtures that would be the way I would go. Since your only gonna go few sps.

In my opinion on large tanks mh with led or vho actinics are the way to go. The coverage and initial startup price is cheap. Since you are going few sps you could even go iwasaki 14k 175 watt bulbs. They put out more par than majority of 250 watt bulbs.

My personal experience and couple other dfwmas members that I know that ran LEDs and switched back to mh or t5's if you go majority sps I would definetly do your research first.

If you love zoas and softies definitely go leds in my opinion


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@hoopsdaddy wrote:
Thanks kuyatwo for your advice and opinions. They are much appreciated. Read through your tank build and it is amazing. I am amazed at how many times you have changed lighting. Ending up almost right back where you started at with MH/T5. Is your light DIY or did you buy it assembled? Ron C. Thanks for your response also. So your suggestion would be to do the Steve's Led for a tank my size and then supplement with T5 or would you say do 2 of Steve's LED kits and just get some of the other color's of LED available and mix them in....? Sure appreciate you guys helping me out. Also said:
I would personally do the led's if you are able to source at least 6 different color's, if not then led's with t5's supplementation for the missing spectrums. Maxspect's have the best led fixture out now with 6 different led's, the Ecotech radion is the next best fixture out with 5 different led's, I even rate the new Pharos led's over the AI sol's. [smilie=smile.gif] I would not buy a used led setup that just has 2 color's especially if you plan on acan's, a lot of folks using two color led's setup's have reported that their acan's all turn orange and some sps just will not flourish due to the inadequate spectrum coverage. You will always have those that jump on the bandwagon with the new "hotness", and are then disappointed when the results that the pretty brochures promised them, doesn't materialize. Do your research and keep in mind that we are trying to replicate the sun, common sense would tell you that it's not possible to do that with two led colors that are very specific with their wavelength output. It may "look good" to our eyes but that is a poor way to judge lighting. A correctly chosen led system will allow you to keep anything you want and allow maximum flexability and "tunability". As always....YMMV. [smilie=wink.gif]

Cheers,
Click to expand...
 
Ok, Ron C, If I do Steve's LED kit and and then add T5 to get the other spectrum that I want/need, what T5 unit would you recommend? Are we talking something like 2 of the Nova Ex pros with 2 bulbs or 4. I would think 2 6 bulb units would be to much would you? Or, if LEDs only, what should I add on to Steve's kit or get from somewhere else that would cover all the light spectrum that corals need?

Also, kuyatwo what T5 set up would you suggest if I went with 4 MH pendants with T5? Also, what size MH bulbs would you run? I am leaning toward the 250's because if I do decide that I want more SPS than I think, I want them to do well and not be starving for light. Finally, what brand of bulb would you recommend for the MH and T5?

And, thanks you guys for being so much help so far in this process!!
 
You can source led's from stevesled's.com, rapidleds.com or ledgroupbuy.com, these are the more popular places. For the t5's I would use a DIY setup that with a least 4 quality bulb's. Keep in mind that a proper diy led setup for that size tank, is gonna cost you quite a chunk of money to do correctly, and even more money if done incorrectly. [smilie=smile.gif]

Cheers,
 
Honestly I was talking to my wife about it last night and she is going to go with me to MACNA. It will be around that time that we are looking to buy lighting for the tank anyway and I can show her all the available options. I was talking to her about price and we would like to keep it under $1500 for lighting. She knows it will be expensive so that is good. Can I do a quality DIY LED build that would be very good/excellent for that type of $ or should I just plan on MH/T5 and look into LED's 3-5yrs down the road?
Steve's LED kit for my tank, plus 2 48" T5 x4 all DIY I feel like I can do that for under $1500. I was even thinking 2 of Steves kits for my tank and then do what you said and research what other color specturms I would want/need and add them to the list. If I am wrong with my thinking I would appreciate someone telling me. That is why I am here is to get some good advice.
 
Also consider bulb replacement cost, on average every 9-12 months. Even being concervative thats ~ $700 over 3 years before even thinking about electricity and possible cooling needs. So pay now and do it right or keep paying later. [smilie=lol.gif] Big tanks require big wallet's, if you don't do them right, you will get frustrated, burned out and out of the hobby in less than those three year.

1. T5 - $30/yr
2. MH - @$50 EA = $200/yr

Cheers,
 
agreed, that is why if at all possible we would like to do the LED's. Overall the cost will be cheaper in 2-3 years.

"I was even thinking 2 of Steves kits for my tank and then do what you said and research what other color specturms I would want/need and add them to the list. If I am wrong with my thinking I would appreciate someone telling me. That is why I am here is to get some good advice."
 
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