150g High lighting question

[Unclebuck134]

I am currently in the planning stage for my 150 gallon High reef set up. Non drilled tank.

My real worry is lighting. I am worried that i will not be able to effectivly light the tank because of the depth. I want to stay away from metal halide mainly because of the cost. Does anyone have experience with a tank of this depth? will i be able to get away with standard t5 lighting? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

And while im here any other problems/difficulties i should run into with a tank of this depth? i know aquascaping will be difficult but im ok with that. just want to see if i have any suprises in store.

Thanks very much for the input

 

[marcah]

t-5 wont be strong enough to get to the depth of a 150 high.. you will need either metal halide or LED's.. T-5's are good only to 18 to 20 inch depths.. wish I could have given you a different answer but I learned the hard way also.. Now if you are only going with soft corals you could probably get away with them keeping only low light need corals near the bottom half, but that would be pushing it..

 

[Smitty]

With a tank that deep, you could go with led lighting. Led's are able to penetrate the water just as well as mh's, with less heat and energy.

 

[Unclebuck134]

i was affraid of that....Which of the two options do you think would be better?

 

[ErinCahir]

I had a 150 tall... and MH.

 

[marcah]

well over a couple year period LED would end up being cheaper but in the short term metal halide would.. LED's dont need replacing for years while MH need to be replaced every 8 months or so not including the large difference in cost to run each..

 

[Smitty]

I used to have mh's over my tank, and switched to led's, and couldn't be happier. I think you should look into them. They can be pricey at the beginning, but due to the fact that the bulbs don't need changing for at least 10 years, and they use so less power than mh's, you'll actually save money over time.

 

[Unclebuck134]

i am leaning towards LEDs. Any recomendations on a system that somone has done well with?

 

[marcah]

over a 150 I would look into AI or something similar.. you would need 3 modules over a 150..

 

[marcah]

here is a link to AI's
great comapny to deal with http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/LED_Lighting/AquaIllumination_Sol_LED_Light_Systems/

 

[Unclebuck134]

well i guess i have some thinking to do....thanks for all the input

 

[Smitty]

I have the ecoray 60d led fixture over my tank...it's not as fancy as the AI's, but it gets the job done.

 

[Jmck]

It all depends how wide your tank actually is. I think you may be able to get away with 2 modules. But I would be looking at a single module that would span the entire tank that you can program as one.

All depends how much you are willing to spend to get your lights.

Also, with your tank most likely being 4ft in length, 2 modules would be the correct amount.

 

[marcah]

Sorry,I was thinking the high was 72 inch like mine .. The x-high was 48 inch, if it is 48 inch then you could possibly get away with two modules.. you can call reefgeeks and tell him what you have he can give you great info on what to get..

 

[Unclebuck134]

yeah its 48x24x31....i looked up the AL LEDs wow they are expensive...im kind of inbetween on the MH and the LEDs. I know ill save $ in the long run with LEDs but the initial cost might be out of my range right now. My thought is im going to go with (2) 400w metal halides and some led moon lights to start. the way i look at it is i can always change it in the future.....

 

[Jmck]

I have a Maxspect G2 lighting which is great.

Not the best LED but does a good job. I would still suggest LED over MHalide, but they are both great.

 

[old 5k0ol]

I don't know if you're a DIYer at all, but GU10 leds are very cheap and very easy to wire. I know they've been used with great success with shallower tanks. Might be a good idea to look into. I think on ebay Gu10s from china are 6-7$ a piece