T5 HO fixture for a 72" sps tank

[Chipie]

Any recommendations for a T5 HO fixture for my mostly sps tank ? It's 72"X24" X24" . I see a lot of 6 bulb fixtures but i'm not sure that it's wide enough for a 24" wide tank. Would a 6 bulb Powermodule be good enough for my tank? I can't afford the sunpower right now .

[Chipie]

I have to add that my sps are all on the upper half portion of my rocks(which are pretty high) and i have lots of lps and polyps on the bottom portion.

[khaosinc]

when I had my 225 (same dimentions a little deeper) I was happy enough with the nova extreme pro. had a second cheapo light over them as well. not the highest end fixture, but you can by 2-3 of them for what you buy 1 of the really good ones for.

[Chipie]

I already have a 36" Nova extreme pro that i'm not using right now. I was really happy with it on my 65g sps tank before i upgraded to this 180g tank. But the 65g was just 18" wide and 21 inches deep. I guess i could just buy another36" Nova extrem pro but i'm kind of worried about coverage and how much light would get to the bottom.

Right now i have a Aquamedic 72" 3X250w+2X150w fixture and i just hate how it warms up the room and tank.

[Chipie]

How about the 8 bulb 72" Tek fixture. would it be better than the 6 bulb 60" ATI Sunpower. Anyone?

[cmaxwell39]

I would personally go with the ATI fixture. The tek fixtures (unless it is one of the new tek elite that just came out) do not have active cooling so you do not get optimum performance out of the bulbs.

Also 6 bulbs will be all right if you place your light over your rockwork and don't mind having a little lower light areas front and rear. To cover the tank fully from front to back you are going to want 8 bulbs. That would put you into a powermodule however, as the sunpower only comes in 4 or 6 bulb fixtures.

[raynist]

If you can't afford a sunpower how would you afford a powermodule which is the more expensive fixture?

I have a 72 inch constellation on my tank and have no problems with sps on my 180.

[RaKe]

I have an ATI Sunpower over my 72" with no problems for my SPS

[The Grim Reefer]

I'd do 8 lamps whatever you decide to do

If you are serious about SPS I would at least stick to the Tek light 60" unit.

[madmike]

I have a 6 bulb sunpower over a 30" wide tank and think it is plenty for sps or anything else for that matter... I have a gig and a haddoni as well as a 12"+ clam and all are doing great... although my tank is only 20" high. I was able to put 500 par on the sand with the fixture about 4" above the water... I had to move it up to about 12" off the surface to not bleach everything.

[Chipie]

Originally Posted by raynist

If you can't afford a sunpower how would you afford a powermodule which is the more expensive fixture?

I have a 72 inch constellation on my tank and have no problems with sps on my 180.

Sorry, i meant Powermodule. How many bulbs in your constellation raynist?

[Chipie]

Originally Posted by RaKe

I have an ATI Sunpower over my 72" with no problems for my SPS

I'm not worried about the lenght, i have sps on both ends but i more worried about the width. Is your tank 24" RaKe ?

[Chipie]

Originally Posted by The Grim Reefer

I'd do 8 lamps whatever you decide to do

If you are serious about SPS I would at least stick to the Tek light 60" unit.

I'm kind of surprised. Isn't the Sunpower way better in terms of par? I tought the 2 more bulbs only gave me more coverage.Am i wrong?
Would i be able to put SPS pretty much everywhere in the tank with the Tek?


Thanks for the help everyone. It is appreciated.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally Posted by Chipie

I'm kind of surprised. Isn't the Sunpower way better in terms of par? I tought the 2 more bulbs only gave me more coverage.Am i wrong?
Would i be able to put SPS pretty much everywhere in the tank with the Tek?


Thanks for the help everyone. It is appreciated.

I mean as a minimum fixture. I would do the ATI but I would want 8 lamps too. With 6 lamps over the rocks SPS will be fine but forget about clams or any other high light critters on the sand.

[Chipie]

Originally Posted by The Grim Reefer

I mean as a minimum fixture. I would do the ATI but I would want 8 lamps too. With 6 lamps over the rocks SPS will be fine but forget about clams or any other high light critters on the sand.

And with the Tek 8 bulbs, do you think would i be able to keep a clam on the bottom? Thanks for helping.

[scott11]

Sorry to go off your topic, i am setting up a tank of the same size and have a similar question

I have access to plenty of 4' T5 bulbs. What does everyone think about 8 4' bulbs centered, and then a bulb or 2 offset for better coverage at the ends?

The tank is 72", but one end loses 6" for the overflow- so dealing with 64" of tank, 48" bulb so 16" uncovered- 8" and 8"

How much spread can I get off a 4' bulb 5" off the water? Will that 8" on each side be ok? I will have sps, but I can keep that more in the center

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally Posted by Chipie

And with the Tek 8 bulbs, do you think would i be able to keep a clam on the bottom? Thanks for helping.

Lower light clam, not Maximas or Croceas, at least I wouldn't try them.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally Posted by scott11

Sorry to go off your topic, i am setting up a tank of the same size and have a similar question

I have access to plenty of 4' T5 bulbs. What does everyone think about 8 4' bulbs centered, and then a bulb or 2 offset for better coverage at the ends?

The tank is 72", but one end loses 6" for the overflow- so dealing with 64" of tank, 48" bulb so 16" uncovered- 8" and 8"

How much spread can I get off a 4' bulb 5" off the water? Will that 8" on each side be ok? I will have sps, but I can keep that more in the center

Do the 8 54 watt lamps staggered about 6" each way. You will get a fade effect and pretty even looking light. Just no high light critters in the last 6 or 8 inches at each side.

[scott11]

i would agree that would be best, but I have 2-4' fixtures, 4 bulbs each, and I also have 4-4' individual reflectors.
Should I do 2 reflectors staggered at the front, and then 2 between the fixtures, or will I be unhappy w/ coverage?

[SHOmuchFUN]

Why couldn't you get away with doing the 60" 6-bulb TEK retrofits with new reflectors and Icecap 660's?

I'm planning on doing the 5' 80w bulbs in stagger on either end. I wouldn't put clams on the ends of the tank and I would cheat the light a bit towards the front. It should be plenty within a foot of either end and as long as you aren't putting anything in the back of the tank (who does that anyway?) you'll be gravy.

[Chipie]

Originally Posted by SHOmuchFUN

Why couldn't you get away with doing the 60" 6-bulb TEK retrofits with new reflectors and Icecap 660's?

I'm planning on doing the 5' 80w bulbs in stagger on either end. I wouldn't put clams on the ends of the tank and I would cheat the light a bit towards the front. It should be plenty within a foot of either end and as long as you aren't putting anything in the back of the tank (who does that anyway?) you'll be gravy.

Not sure if that answer is for me but i don't have a canopy. If i was to use a retrofit, i'd have to build one i guess. But those retrofits are almost as expensive as the fixtures.

[SHOmuchFUN]

Originally Posted by Chipie

Not sure if that answer is for me but i don't have a canopy. If i was to use a retrofit, i'd have to build one i guess. But those retrofits are almost as expensive as the fixtures.

Yes for you (and others that have tried hijacking).
The retrofit is a few hundred dollars less than the ATI Powermodule (with bulbs). But if you have to build a canopy, you'd probably be close to breaking even.

[raynist]

Originally Posted by Chipie

Sorry, i meant Powermodule. How many bulbs in your constellation raynist?

7 rows of bulbs.

Total bulbs are 14. To cover the full 6ft length there are 2 3ft bulbs per row. I would say this is the downside to this fixture as buying b
new bulbs would be expensive, but the fixture is very low profile and sits wight on top if the tank.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally Posted by scott11

i would agree that would be best, but I have 2-4' fixtures, 4 bulbs each, and I also have 4-4' individual reflectors.
Should I do 2 reflectors staggered at the front, and then 2 between the fixtures, or will I be unhappy w/ coverage?

Try it and see what you think. Use Blue lamps or actinics in the staggered retros, should look cool.

[SHOmuchFUN]

Originally Posted by raynist

7 rows of bulbs.

Total bulbs are 14. To cover the full 6ft length there are 2 3ft bulbs per row. I would say this is the downside to this fixture as buying b
new bulbs would be expensive, but the fixture is very low profile and sits wight on top if the tank.

That's an all around expensive fixture. It's almost $1000 WITHOUT the 14 bulbs you need to buy for it