Lighting Advice

BigMack46 · 10/03/2014, 09:18 PM

I have a 75g ******* tank that I restarted after a long time in storage... Lots has changed since I last had this tank set up... I need some lighting advice - I use a hood, so suspended lighting isn't possible - what's a good high end light that works well under a hood?

MinnFish · 10/03/2014, 09:28 PM

Welcome back. What are your plans, reef or fish only? This will have a huge impact on what lights.

shesacharmer · 10/04/2014, 06:18 AM

If you want coral then you have to decide which type of coral in order to choose the correct lighting. If you want SPS then you will need the very brightest, controllable lights, which are for the most part the most expensive lighting. LPS require moderate/bright lighting and the soft corals require somewhat less than that. You thought you were asking an easy question, right? Once you decide this then finding the proper light to work with your hood will be an entirely different challenge!

If you stick with your hood, I assume you don't mean canopy, then you will probably steer away from metal halide due to the amount of heat they produce. That leads you toward T5 or LED or a combination of the two. Chances are with a hood you will only find room for one fixture and LED fixtures can come in the smallest of profiles and also produce the least heat. Just make sure you don't get the ones which use 1 watt LEDs because they are generally only adequate for soft corals and some LPS. A better bet would be to find one with 3 watt LEDs which is dimable.

E46Twist · 10/04/2014, 11:32 AM

A good LED unit would run cool and give you a lot of controllability. Or go for the tried and true THho setup. Again we need a few more details to give the best answer.

10/03/2014, 09:18 PM	#1
BigMack46 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 10	Lighting Advice I have a 75g ******* tank that I restarted after a long time in storage... Lots has changed since I last had this tank set up... I need some lighting advice - I use a hood, so suspended lighting isn't possible - what's a good high end light that works well under a hood?

10/03/2014, 09:28 PM	#2
MinnFish Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Home of 10,000 lakes Posts: 917	Welcome back. What are your plans, reef or fish only? This will have a huge impact on what lights. __________________ 33G Long, 4x54 watt T5, Tunze 6025, Tunze Osmolator ATO, Tunze Streamfilter 3163 Posts about moving an oversized fish to a bigger tank. Is like hearing every stripper is just working to pay for colle

10/04/2014, 06:18 AM	#3
shesacharmer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Central NH Posts: 1,241	If you want coral then you have to decide which type of coral in order to choose the correct lighting. If you want SPS then you will need the very brightest, controllable lights, which are for the most part the most expensive lighting. LPS require moderate/bright lighting and the soft corals require somewhat less than that. You thought you were asking an easy question, right? Once you decide this then finding the proper light to work with your hood will be an entirely different challenge! If you stick with your hood, I assume you don't mean canopy, then you will probably steer away from metal halide due to the amount of heat they produce. That leads you toward T5 or LED or a combination of the two. Chances are with a hood you will only find room for one fixture and LED fixtures can come in the smallest of profiles and also produce the least heat. Just make sure you don't get the ones which use 1 watt LEDs because they are generally only adequate for soft corals and some LPS. A better bet would be to find one with 3 watt LEDs which is dimable. __________________ 75 gal, LR w/refugium, 79 deg, PH 8.0, sg 1.025, amm 0/nit 0/nit 0, Calcium 420, dKH 8.3, mag 1300, Phos 0 Current Tank Info: A work in progress... Last edited by shesacharmer; 10/04/2014 at 06:23 AM.

10/04/2014, 11:32 AM	#4
E46Twist Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Columbia,MO Posts: 328	A good LED unit would run cool and give you a lot of controllability. Or go for the tried and true THho setup. Again we need a few more details to give the best answer.