Looking for lighting suggestions for a 125Gal 6ft tank

[jmarket]

I am looking for lighting suggestions for a 125Gal 72" tank. I plan on keeping fish and corals but I am ok if there are some that I cannot keep becuase of lighting. Any suggestions and links would be appreciated. I looked at the light in the link below because a friend has the same light just not 72" and he has had no issues with it for the 6 months he has had it. I did a few searches and have found mixed reviews on this brand.

http://www.aquatraders.com/72-inch-4...re-p/52327.htm

Thanks in advance for a suggestions

[DownwardDawg]

There are tons of threads on here about Odyssea lights. They are junk. I have one on my 29 gal tank and it only still works because of my electrical training. I have changed all the ballasts, the plug, grounded components to frame, and re-wired most of the internal wiring. We had no idea what we were buying when we purchased this light. LFS talked us into it. It's not UL listed which should throw up a huge red flag. That means it does not meet minimum safety requirements in the US.

[ghrorick]

I have a 48 inch and it lasted almost a year. Mine had "individual reflectors", which do not look like the reflectors on my other cheap t-5 catalina setup, the Catalinas at least stuck out a little ways around each bulb.That one does not have individual reflectors as far as I can tell which means it is better suited for a fish only tank. I'd keep looking, maybe even try the selling forums or craigslist in your area if you are looking for something that is not going to break the bank cost wise. I did have one of their metal halide units for 6 yrs and although it was not the nicest unit on the market it did work well for me.

[jmarket]

I dont see the selling forums

[den75]

Originally Posted by jmarket

I dont see the selling forums

You need to be a member for at least 3 months and have a minimum of 50 posts before you can see the selling forums

[DownwardDawg]

Originally Posted by jmarket

I dont see the selling forums

I think you have to be here for 30 days or have like 90 posts or some kind of magic like that.

[sirreal63]

Avoid the cheap fixtures if you want to be serious about keeping corals. If you shop the correct T5 components, proper ballasts, reflectors and bulbs then compare the price to that $179 piece of junk, you will ask yourself how they can sell it so cheap. It is because the components are not of quality and you have no real warranty. When it comes to lighting there are good choices and bad choices, make good choices because with time the difference in quality pays off.

[jmarket]

Originally Posted by den75

You need to be a member for at least 3 months and have a minimum of 50 posts before you can see the selling forums

That sucks

[jmarket]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

Avoid the cheap fixtures if you want to be serious about keeping corals. If you shop the correct T5 components, proper ballasts, reflectors and bulbs then compare the price to that $179 piece of junk, you will ask yourself how they can sell it so cheap. It is because the components are not of quality and you have no real warranty. When it comes to lighting there are good choices and bad choices, make good choices because with time the difference in quality pays off.

Any suggestions?

[sirreal63]

Will you have a canopy?

[jmarket]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

Will you have a canopy?

No canopy and I am not planning on any SPS corals.

[sirreal63]

That makes it a little easier then. Soft corals and LPS don't have as high of light requirements but LPS on the sand still need appropriate light levels. You are looking for a fixture with individual reflectors and not a flat reflector. I hate to recommend "Current USA", "Fish Need It" or "WavePoint" but they will do what you are looking for and are more budget priced and capable of doing what you want. The biggest problem is the 125 is so narrow and getting enough bulbs over it is fun. A 6 bulb fixture will be enough but you may find the price difference between the ones above and a TEK isn't very much. and the stock bulbs that come with the less expensive fixtures are usually pretty bad. The bulb, the ballast and the reflector are what makes T5 work, when we skimp on any of those components the light quality is sacrificed.

Something else to consider, this hobby is addictive and though you may not want higher light corals, clams or an anemone now, you may 6 months or a year from now and that is where spending a little more for capable equipment helps, you won't be replacing it for something better. I had to learn this the hard way and have a closet full of lesser equipment collecting dust.

[bluewater921]

dont know what kind of budget you are on but for around 600.00 you can get some nice LED fixtures and avoid the changing bulbs and you could keep just about anything with them ..

[jmarket]

Originally Posted by bluewater921

dont know what kind of budget you are on but for around 600.00 you can get some nice LED fixtures and avoid the changing bulbs and you could keep just about anything with them ..

I would like to spend half that.

[jmarket]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

That makes it a little easier then. Soft corals and LPS don't have as high of light requirements but LPS on the sand still need appropriate light levels. You are looking for a fixture with individual reflectors and not a flat reflector. I hate to recommend "Current USA", "Fish Need It" or "WavePoint" but they will do what you are looking for and are more budget priced and capable of doing what you want. The biggest problem is the 125 is so narrow and getting enough bulbs over it is fun. A 6 bulb fixture will be enough but you may find the price difference between the ones above and a TEK isn't very much. and the stock bulbs that come with the less expensive fixtures are usually pretty bad. The bulb, the ballast and the reflector are what makes T5 work, when we skimp on any of those components the light quality is sacrificed.

Something else to consider, this hobby is addictive and though you may not want higher light corals, clams or an anemone now, you may 6 months or a year from now and that is where spending a little more for capable equipment helps, you won't be replacing it for something better. I had to learn this the hard way and have a closet full of lesser equipment collecting dust.

I have noticed that not a lot of companies sell 72" or maybe I am looking at the wrong sites.

[zvonmonet]

95% of the people on here just either have money growing on trees or they are just sooo against Chinese products.

I ordered 2x 48" t5 HO from aquatraders and honestly i love it. NOTHING WRONG WITH THE FIXTURE. (maybe i am the lucky one) but honestly for that price you will get a working fixture. It came with a timer and bulbs. The bulbs are crappy but thats the only thing you need to replace.

Now i ordered chinese LED fixture from another site and just love it. While people on here tried selling me on purchasing $800 fixtures while i got mine for a total of $170 shipped. Can't comment on quality yet as i just set it up.
But the specs and colours are just amazing.

its a gamble, but look at everything you have at home. Most of the items are from China.

[zvonmonet]

Please tell me where you found LEDs for a 72" Tank for $600

[jmarket]

Originally Posted by zvonmonet

95% of the people on here just either have money growing on trees or they are just sooo against Chinese products.

I ordered 2x 48" t5 HO from aquatraders and honestly i love it. NOTHING WRONG WITH THE FIXTURE. (maybe i am the lucky one) but honestly for that price you will get a working fixture. It came with a timer and bulbs. The bulbs are crappy but thats the only thing you need to replace.

Now i ordered chinese LED fixture from another site and just love it. While people on here tried selling me on purchasing $800 fixtures while i got mine for a total of $170 shipped. Can't comment on quality yet as i just set it up.
But the specs and colours are just amazing.

its a gamble, but look at everything you have at home. Most of the items are from China.

For a reference can you send me the links to the products that you purchased?

[sirreal63]

T5 bulbs are 60" at the longest, no 72" ones but that really doesn't matter much, the 60" ones light a 72" tank just fine.

I bought several Odyssea lights over the years when I did planted tanks, both PC and T5, not one of them I ever bought lasted and I had to open them up and fix them when they died. The wiring is very poorly done, sometimes loose connections and routing that was dangerous. The ballasts are junk and are usually the first thing to go. You have zero warranty with these fixtures, that may not matter to you but it is always a gamble, some people have no problems with them, most do, it is only a matter of time.

You can get the Chinese LED's for about 180 bucks each and three of them would work. They at least have a warranty as long as you don't mind shipping them back to Mainland China for repairs.

[jcw]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

I hate to recommend "Current USA", "Fish Need It" or "WavePoint" but they will do what you are looking for and are more budget priced and capable of doing what you want.

I have a current extreme pro over my 125g and I grow most sps no problems. In fact, there was a mini explosion in growth after switching from the AI sols which I will never use again...

Bad thing about them is they use (12) 3 ft bulbs. not only is that not very cost effective when it comes to bulb replacements, there is a slight dark area an the center which adds to the two dark strips if you have 2 braces across the top of the tank. Not really noticeable at first of second glance but something to think about when placing sps.

To the OP, I agree affordable 6ft fixtures are hard to come by. Maybe consider doing a DIY LED. there are complete kits they sell from companies. This may be the most cost effective with the best result.

The other thing might be the reefbrite led strips or XHO strips. for a fo, you'd only need 2?

[Triton_Z]

Originally Posted by DownwardDawg

There are tons of threads on here about Odyssea lights. They are junk. I have one on my 29 gal tank and it only still works because of my electrical training. I have changed all the ballasts, the plug, grounded components to frame, and re-wired most of the internal wiring. We had no idea what we were buying when we purchased this light. LFS talked us into it. It's not UL listed which should throw up a huge red flag. That means it does not meet minimum safety requirements in the US.

Agree completely with Dawg. The fixtures are shoddy and do not represent a good value. I should have done my research before buying the 48" Odyssesa fixture from AT. I had the ballasts overheat and smoke up my house on the initial start-up. Inspected the ballasts and appears they have no over current protection.

Buy used or save for some quality fixtures. I would like to have been able to recommend the Marineland fixtures I have on my 210, but they failed and required repairs within the 1st year.

I am using 2 48-60" Reef Capable MarineLand LED fixtures. They are staggered. Both fixtures managed to melt the DC power jack in the enclosure close to a year of operation. Marineland supposedly fixed the melting power jacks in later production, but I just drilled out and installed a new set of metal coaxial jacks of the same size to repair. Would I buy these again? No. The color is fine for my purposes, but the quality is less than I expected.

Do you have a reef club nearby? Check your local Craigslist for some used fixtures and I think this will get you closer to your budget. There's likely a few people selling their T5 or Metal Halide fixtures when converting over to LEDs. Sunlight Supply sell some top quality fixtures. Maristar and TekLight are the two brand names.

Good luck.

[jmarket]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

T5 bulbs are 60" at the longest, no 72" ones but that really doesn't matter much, the 60" ones light a 72" tank just fine.

Maybe I will just see what I can find that is 36" and get two. Guess it wouldn't be a bad thing in case one light goes out I would still have a 36" working.

[DownwardDawg]

Originally Posted by jmarket

Maybe I will just see what I can find that is 36" and get two. Guess it wouldn't be a bad thing in case one light goes out I would still have a 36" working.

A 36" bulb costs almost as much as a 60" bulb. It's about $3.00 difference. You would buy twice as many 36" bulbs to light the tank as you would 60" bulbs. I'm going with T5's for my actinics. I'm using 3 metal halides with a T5 in front and a T5 in the back. My tank is 72" long and I'm using 60" T5's as per Grim's advice.

[sirreal63]

Nothing wrong with doing that, many people do, just keep in mind that 39 watt bulbs only cost a few dollars less than 80 watt bulbs which can add twice as much to the yearly bulb replacement budget. Doing 2-4 bulb 36" fixtures means replacing 8 bulbs at approximately 23 bucks each, or a single 4 bulb 60" fixture means replacing 4 bulbs at approximately 27 bucks each.

Lightest is always the single biggest headache as far as equipment goes. I have changed lighting more times than I want to remember. Those of us who are saying to get the best you can afford are only doing so because we have already played the game, know the outcome and learned the hard way. I am fairly sure that everyone wants to see you succeed, become addicted and enjoy the hobby for what it is.

[jmarket]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

Nothing wrong with doing that, many people do, just keep in mind that 39 watt bulbs only cost a few dollars less than 80 watt bulbs which can add twice as much to the yearly bulb replacement budget. Doing 2-4 bulb 36" fixtures means replacing 8 bulbs at approximately 23 bucks each, or a single 4 bulb 60" fixture means replacing 4 bulbs at approximately 27 bucks each.

Didnt think about the pricing of the bulb replacement Anyone have a good link to a good diy led project with great instructions?