If budget wasn't an issue, what is the best lighting for sps?

[currentking]

Originally Posted by sunilp

Ok, after reading this thread a few times, consensus is the t5 is the way to go. I have narrowed it down to the ATI2613 60" 4x75W LED & 4x80W T5 LED-Powermodule** 160-250. Will this be sufficient for my 175 bow tank? Too bad my GHL Profilux can't control it.

Take a look at the new Geisemann Matrixx 2 T5 fixture due out in September. its a nice light if oyure into T5's

[tofucube]

Originally Posted by wmilas

So, I think I may be uniquely qualified to answer this question. I mostly lurk now a days but some of you older gents might remember me. I have a 660 gal display (120x36x30) and another 800ish gallons behind it in the wet room. sump, frag tanks, ect.

wow...very well said.

[Big E]

Originally Posted by wmilas

Read my post. About as unbiased as it gets

Yep, you nailed it.

This should be a sticky at the top of this forum.

[EcoTech Service]

Obviously I'm biased, but as a long-time hobbyist this is one of the nicest Nano SPS tanks I've ever encountered which was setup with a G1 Radion fixture. The pics speak for themselves, worth a look!


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[jschultzbass]

Everyone loves the ATI hybrid and it is a great light but I really like the Pacific Sun Pandora hybrid as well. It only comes in 4 bulb T5 but has twice the LED power.

[jda]

I don't understand why people bet on the exception. Oh well... another topic for another day.

150W HQI are no joke. They are probably not that good for tanks more than 20-24" deep, but they put out as much light as a 250W Mogul Halide. You can also get 14K phoenix bulbs with them and change them every 24 months. They are very impressive for lower wattage solutions.

[swk]

For the price of either of those units, they better be.

[sirreal63]

Originally Posted by jda

I don't understand why people bet on the exception. Oh well... another topic for another day.

150W HQI are no joke. They are probably not that good for tanks more than 20-24" deep, but they put out as much light as a 250W Mogul Halide. You can also get 14K phoenix bulbs with them and change them every 24 months. They are very impressive for lower wattage solutions.

While I wouldn't normally suggest 150's on a 175 bow, it is certainly a doable thing with 3 great reflectors, 10K bulbs and some T5 supplements.

Palting has shown how well they do work on his 28" tall tank.

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by mikeatjac

Hands down a Radium 400 watt. There is something special about that bulb.

This!!!!!!

[GroktheCube]

If budget was no issue, I'd run 250w or 400w radiums along with T5s or VHOs.

I know the fixtures themselves aren't that expensive, I paid just as much for my 8x54w + 2x BML strips, but the tank is in a second floor bedroom. The heat generated by 800 watts of MH lighting would drive my AC bill through the roof.

I've contemplated trying 250w radiums even so. I'm pretty happy with my lighting, but it just can't quite replicate "that look".

[grigsy]

Heat from metal halides really wouldn't drive your AC bill up. Plus, they are much a much better lighting solution versus LEDs. After using Radions, metal halides are a way better lighting solution - especially for SPS.

[tofucube]

Originally Posted by EcoTech Service

Obviously I'm biased, but as a long-time hobbyist this is one of the nicest Nano SPS tanks I've ever encountered which was setup with a G1 Radion fixture. The pics speak for themselves, worth a look!


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You guys make great LED light and no offense, but for a tank that size, you can go with a 150W MH and still use less power than a Radion Pro @ 170W

All a matter of preference I guess.

[tofucube]

Let's not forget the fan on the Radion Pro is also running 24/7 even when the lights are not on. That's additional power consumption right there.

[meshwheel]

tofucube,
I did not look at his thread, but bear in mind I highly doubt he's running that fixture at 100% all channels.
He's "MAYBE" running half that. My Reefbreeders photon 32 is 230 watts max. I run 45/45 % for 4 hours a day. Thats less then 115 watts for 1/3 of the daylight period on a 65 gallon tank......

[jdmneon]

if money isn't an issue you can get enough PAR/growth out of any lighting setup

T5's/LED's/MH/Sunlight

honestly if money isn't an option it's kind of an arbitrary and unimportant choice since if you pour enough money into the best fixtures on the market or custom fixtures for any of these options what you get will be fantastic

[Ztrain]

If money was no option I think this setup would produce more PAR than Halides.

[sirreal63]

PAR is mostly irrelevant, more is not really better. PUR is massively more important.

[Drae]

Photosynthetically useable radiation...

[tofucube]

Originally Posted by meshwheel

tofucube,
I did not look at his thread, but bear in mind I highly doubt he's running that fixture at 100% all channels.
He's "MAYBE" running half that. My Reefbreeders photon 32 is 230 watts max. I run 45/45 % for 4 hours a day. Thats less then 115 watts for 1/3 of the daylight period on a 65 gallon tank......

You have a valid point. I ran Gen2 Radion Pro in the past and it was cranked up at 100% for most of the day excluding a brief period of ramp up/ramp down so assumed that an SPS tank like that would require full intensity to get the coverage and par. Mine was on a 24" x 24" x 24" cube mainly sps.

[hedgedrew]

Look i love the radium look. Lack of violets and blues and other spectrum makes things look great. But does it bother anyone the lack of violet? I put a reeflux 12 or 20k on or aqua connect and coral seem to respond relative. Ad for sure the blue spike in radium is not as peaky , right or wrong , as these others. Also after few months or sooner on hqi at least the bulbs get to be a nasty grey. Why do people try to supplement with vho for the violets and uv and just not get bulb with better curves. . ? I use them too.

[moondoggy4]

Originally Posted by Big E

Yep, you nailed it.

This should be a sticky at the top of this forum.

This is a sticky quote for sure.

[screamingibis]

Originally Posted by grigsy

Metal Halide +T5 is great for SPS.

I think that is the best you can do, especially if you are talking SPS.

My Hamilton Cebu Sun blew my Radions out of the water.

After trying LED's for a couple years, I went back to the Cebu Sun and couldn't be happier.

[sneeyatch]

I don't really think there is a "best" option out there. All kinds of light set-ups have their benefits and drawbacks.

I've used halides, T5's, VHO's, PC's and LED's along with different combinations of them.

IMO, my favorite has got to be metal halide simply due to the fact that they help eliminate the hard shadows created by LED's, but so do any of the linear fluorescent lamps out there.

Intensity - halides, LED's, T5's. They're all good.

Right now I'm using LED's and am happy with them.

If budget weren't an issue and I had the space to do it, I want to do Solatubes with supplemental actinic lighting one day.

[wmilas]

Originally Posted by hedgedrew

Look i love the radium look. Lack of violets and blues and other spectrum makes things look great. But does it bother anyone the lack of violet? I put a reeflux 12 or 20k on or aqua connect and coral seem to respond relative. Ad for sure the blue spike in radium is not as peaky , right or wrong , as these others. Also after few months or sooner on hqi at least the bulbs get to be a nasty grey. Why do people try to supplement with vho for the violets and uv and just not get bulb with better curves. . ? I use them too.

I run the 400 watt Radiums so they don't grey out. I have heard that the 250 hqi's do. They DO shift though.. from blue more towards yellow. The "magic" starts to fade at 6ish months and is gone at 9. That's why I change at 9.

I DO have an issue with the lack of violet. As I stated in the booklike post of mine this is where t5's excel. You can get that violet spike right where you need it by playing with the bulbs. Its easier to balance the fluorescence too by altering the ratios of bulbs as you hit the individual spikes needed for the coral you are keeping. Even with VHO's I can't get the violet I want... or at least not enough of it that the Radiums don't overpower.

Btw this is a big deal. This is why some peoples tanks look like fluorescent monsters and others don't. You need 3 things.

1) You need the right spikes for YOUR coral. Your coral depending on species could be completely different than that display tank you viewed that looked awesome under the same lighting.
2) You need the right ratio so you don't overload the fluorescence with reflective lighting. That usually means LESS reflective lighting and less PUR than you initially thought.
3) You need time for healthy coral to start to "glow". It takes time for that pigment to develop if it hasn't been getting the wavelength it needs.

The optimum viewing for this is NOT the optimum growth speed. That's why you may turn up the PUR during the day for 4 hours then back it off for viewing at night.

If you do any diving you'll notice that oftentimes you don't see the same glow in the ocean as we do in our tanks. We can exaggerate it in our tanks. In the ocean the high PUR levels can overload the emmisive light and mask it.

This is just my experience btw. I could be completely full of #%#$^@. I don't think so though.

[Eric Boerner]

Originally Posted by Allmost

sorry ?

we use the incorrect term here, it is NOT UV.

technically, it is Violet light. 400-450 nm Wavelength.

Below it, is UV. Ultra Violet. which will kill given enough exposure. will also make us blind !

Is this just your opinion?

From one of my colleagues:

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00350022

You can sample a few of the pages.