New Lights? I might buy today...

Lizardgi

Lizardgi

I used to have lizards
Hello,

Sorry to be a pain, I already posted this in the lighting forum bit it might get more visibility here. (Ironic kind of...) If all goes well, I may order these today as they'll be here before the weekend!

Soo...

I'm still heavily researching upgrading lighting for my 125 gallon reef. While I really want to go LED, I would need at least 3 Ecoray 112d fixtures on my tank costing $550 each from the LFS, and online prices aren't that much better.

I'm looking more into the T5 systems, mainly at the Current Nova Extreme Pro 72" with 12-39w bulbs for a total of 468 watts of light. Would this be enough to pretty much have anything in the tank, including SPS and clams?

The 5 year cost for everything, including initial cost, electricity, and new lights (yearly) for the LEDs are $2472 for the LEDs and $2844 for the T5 fixture. I like the idea that the T5 can be adjusted with different bulbs and has a MUCH lower initial cost. I'll also get better coverage on the tank without any shows for the bars on the tank.

Also, can these be hung?

Thanks!
 
468w/125g = 3.74 watts per gallon so no thats probably not enough for what you want to keep.

I do believe the Novas can be hung above the tank but ususally you can find that information if you search for it online.
 
my friend has that light on a 180 and she has sps lps zoas shrooms softies and clams.her tank is over a year old .clams are up in the mid to top of tank.no sandbed clams.And she is fragging stuff monthly to keep swimming room for the fish
 
Thanks for the replies! It looks like they do sell a hanging kit, but Drs. Foster and Smith only sells with the metal arms - $95 might be a little to steep for some wire and pins. I'll keeping looking...
 
How come you didn't include Metal Halides in your research?

Watts per Gallon is irrelevant but it will help you to obtain a rough estimate for adequate lighting. ( I wouldn't base any long term decisions or large investments on this)

Metal Halides produce the most PAR which determines the success and growth of most corals. They also penetrate deeper than T5's.
It takes A LOT of LED's to get good PAR in your tank... not viable in a large tank imo unless your willing to invest big $$ (hopefully in a few years maybe >_<)

T5's you can spend a lot on bulbs.... with that many bulbs you may find yourself spending a good chunk of change replacing bulbs...

Best choice imo is a MH/T5 fixture with MH Daylights and T5 Actinics to supplement color.
 
I've mostly been afraid of MHs due to the high electricity cost as well as the cost of replacing the MH bulbs each year. (probably comparable to replacing the T5s)
 
If you go with MH lights, I can only assume that you'd get supplemental T5s to go with them. So you can figure that to be about 1070w, so double what you'd be paying in electricity for the T5 only fixture. And it'd be around $50-80 to replace each MH bulb, depending on the brand.
 
I'd love to go LED, but the initial cost is just way too much, and I still might need an additional T5 strip to cover any shadows. I may just go the T5 route and stick more with softies.
 
You have enough light for everything.My advice is to keep SPS in the top half and eveything else anywhere.Another thing I would do is replace the bulbs around the six month mark or before going heavy into SPS corals.Good bulbs can increase light 30-40 percent.
 
How much for T5's? I'm buying a 600 led fixture for my tank u would need two for yours and it would be MORE than enough light...jus sayin...
 
Thanks for the LED links Dana. The issue with the 125 gallon is that it has 2 cross braces and therefore 3 "sections" above the tank. I don't think I could get away with having only 2 LED units, I would have to go 3 - one for each section.
 
I also have a brace down the middle of my tank....idk u could go with 3, 400 dollar fixtures? Idk GL with your dilemma. Jus thought I'd throw it out there. Can't wait to order my fixture on the 15th! :)
 
Thanks! I'll be looking forward to seeing your LEDs. I'm going to keep doing research the rest of the night. I may end up getting one LED fixture to start with, and use it in combination with the current dual 48" T5s I have now.
 

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