125 Gallon reef tank lighting

K

kingfishson

Reefing newb
I am going to upgrade my 30 gallon tall to a 125 gallon and the tank that I want only has strip lights in the canopy (like 50 watts) and I want to grow SPS,LPS and soft corals I was thinking 3 150 watts MH and some T-5s for blue light.des anyone know where Ian get 150watt MH's also is it bad if the brace on the tank is directly under a MH.
 
have you looked at any videos on you tube to see how they have theres set up? I also have a glass center brace, but I think all it would do is absorb most of the bulbs lights since the glass is not crystal clear( well mines not)
 
I think a lot of these fixtures are hard to comment on. Leds are still relatively new in our hobby and most of these ebay fixtures are Chinese made or no name and no one on here has specific experience with that unit. Unit. You can go out on a limb and try something new and let us know or you can check out, oh geez, units, that others have used.
 
kingfishson said:
what do you think of 3 of these lights
Aquarium LED Light 144W Full Spectrum 48 x 3W Reefblok Coral Reef Grow Fixture | eBay
right now in my 30 gallon I have
CABBAGE LEATHER CORAL
GREEN FINGER LEATHER CORAL
MUSHROOM CORALS
MONTIPORA
FROG SPAWN x2
TUBE CORAL
BRAIN CORAL
mix zoanthinds
XEZINA
Rose Bulb Anemone x2
pink anemone
Click to expand...
While those would probably work, I personally don't like the way they are built. I especially don't like the fact they have no fans.
With a 6' tank (you need 3 fixtures), this looks like a much better setup.
Three Units Evergrow Dimmable Full Spectrum 120W LED Light for Reef Aquarium | eBay
 
SarahSmile said:
I think a lot of these fixtures are hard to comment on. Leds are still relatively new in our hobby and most of these ebay fixtures are Chinese made or no name and no one on here has specific experience with that unit. Unit. You can go out on a limb and try something new and let us know or you can check out, oh geez, units, that others have used.
Click to expand...
so what are units that others use?
 
ccCapt said:
While those would probably work, I personally don't like the way they are built. I especially don't like the fact they have no fans.
With a 6' tank (you need 3 fixtures), this looks like a much better setup.
Three Units Evergrow Dimmable Full Spectrum 120W LED Light for Reef Aquarium | eBay
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, I don't think that I can afford to buy all 3 , im only 14 so I just wasted a year of cutting grass to get a setup with every thing BUT a light so right now I have a little over $300 to buy a light with but I still have another month till ill need a light so hoppfully the grass grows fast and I might have $400 for a light. have any ideas for a fixture?. I guess t5 and MH would work also if they are in my price range. thanks in advance.

also what do you run on your 125?
 
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Dude, go with a MH fixture. They grow corals really well. And, if you are looking to save money, check your local craigslist. Have one of your parents (or both) go with you to buy stuff. You'll save a lot of money that way. But, make sure you check the stuff out to make sure everything works before you buy it. And, if it needs something (like a ballast) you can order one online for cheapish (but, if there is something wrong with the fixture, get your parents to haggle them down on the price). Best of luck!
 
kingfishson said:
Thanks for the reply, I don't think that I can afford to buy all 3 , im only 14 so I just wasted a year of cutting grass to get a setup with every thing BUT a light so right now I have a little over $300 to buy a light with but I still have another month till ill need a light so hoppfully the grass grows fast and I might have $400 for a light. have any ideas for a fixture?. I guess t5 and MH would work also if they are in my price range. thanks in advance.

also what do you run on your 125?
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You won't really find much for $300 that will support any type of coral. The LED's will support everything.

I bought my LED's a few years ago before they came out with the dimable feature and multiple color diodes. Mine are just like these.
TaoTronics 120W Aquarium Coral Reef Tank White Blue LED Grow Light White | eBay
 
I have one of the 120w LED on my 36". My tank is only about 4 months old so can't comment on the Corals. But for the mounting I decided to mount on top like this on the canopy I built. This way it keeps the LED (DRY).
 

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kingfishson said:
What can you grow with them ,SPS,LPS ect
Do you have 3 of them?
Can you mount them to a canopy?
I think that I will go with those lights.
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This is my tank using those LED's. You can see what they can grow. ;)
fts_3-11-13.jpg


I have 3 mounted inside my canopy. I also use 2 72" VHO SuperActinic bulbs.
LED-l-r_11-25-11.jpg
 
Thank you for posting that, Im definitely going with 3 of those lights. How long have you had that tank and how long have you had that light going on it. I will post pictures when I get my tank going.
 
kingfishson said:
Thank you for posting that, Im definitely going with 3 of those lights. How long have you had that tank and how long have you had that light going on it. I will post pictures when I get my tank going.
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I upgraded to the 125g about 5 yrs ago, but it started as a 50g about 25 yrs ago. I've had the LED's about 2 yrs. I ran 3 175w MH's before the LED's.
kingfishson said:
Also how would I adjust the corals under my t5ho to LED
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If you have a good quality T5HO fixture now with your 55, you may not need to acclimate them at all. Maybe just cut the amount of time the LED's are on at 1st to maybe 4-5 hrs a day. Gradually jack that up till they are on for 7-8 hrs.
 
damn, the dimmable versions of those lights are only $112. I am tempted to try and make the jump to LED's now. My wife found a 125Gal for sale up the street with a nice stand for $350- The only reason I hadn't made the jump from the 90 was because we don't have $700-900 for a 6' MH/T5 light
 
I just picked up a tank to day and the canopy on it is only 5in of the water could I still mount it the way you have it or will I have to mount it on top like rrBigDog.
 
Mine are 6" above the water. I wouldn't want them any closer. You need room to be able to feed the fish and also room to get in the tank for cleaning/water changes. You also don't want them too close and have water splashing on them.
I don't recommend using a glass top. It can lower your pH due to less than optimum gas exchange and the water surface. I wouldn't use egg crate for the reasons I mentioned above. They will be too close to the water.
 
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