im looking at a aquaticlife t5 fixture on marinedepot.com. my tank is 36 inches wide and i believe 26 inches deep. 65 gallon. right now just fish only with live rock but eventually want coral. ive heard its not a particularly typical size for a coral tank because it is so deep. will these lights do the job in the beginning? i am on somewhat on a budget. and bulb wise i see there are different colors ; blue plus, coral plus, purple etc... should i have 1 and 1 or 2 of the same? any info will help thanks
lighting question
- Thread starter one800nak
- Start date
kbuser92
Breeder
Thats fine for everything except anemonies and sps with careful placement. I like 2x12,000K ATI bulbs and 2 of their Superblue Plus or whatever, the 420nm Actinics. 460 nm will be more purple, but the blue will make colours pop more on oranges and greens, blues and purples, where the 460 may not hit the oranges as much. The daylight bulbs go from 6500K-20,000+K. Yellow-blue spectrum. Most use a 10,000-14,000K for T5's, it's a real nice, pure white. When you get above they get bluer.
If you wanna keep sps in the future, I would look towards a 250w metal halide supplemented with T5 actinics.
CEBU SUN 36" 1 x Mogul Base Metal Halide +T5 + LED Lighting System by Hamilton Technology* - AquaCave.com
Thetes others with a heftier price, too. If you would like to use something with less heat, EcoTech makes the Radion, which can be hooked up to a controller with the MP powerheads, but those are really pricy. You can talk to Dennis about those if you want, his last tank was a model tank for EcoTech.
If you wanna keep sps in the future, I would look towards a 250w metal halide supplemented with T5 actinics.
CEBU SUN 36" 1 x Mogul Base Metal Halide +T5 + LED Lighting System by Hamilton Technology* - AquaCave.com
Thetes others with a heftier price, too. If you would like to use something with less heat, EcoTech makes the Radion, which can be hooked up to a controller with the MP powerheads, but those are really pricy. You can talk to Dennis about those if you want, his last tank was a model tank for EcoTech.
i see some fixtures have 2 bulbs and some have 4 or more. is more better?
kbuser92
Breeder
For the HQI 1 is plenty. For T5's you want at least 2. If you get 4, I would get 2x10,000-12,000K and 2 420nm with the HQI being 16,000-20,000K. If its just 2 T5's, get the 420nm bulbs.
For just T5 and no HQI, I would get 6 bulbs with 2 at 10,000-12,000K, 1 at 14,000K, 2 at 420nm and 1 at 460nm. But you can play around with spectrum to find the best colours. That should get you a good start with either of those. But again, if you go with just T5, you likely wont be able to keep much SPS or anemonies.
For just T5 and no HQI, I would get 6 bulbs with 2 at 10,000-12,000K, 1 at 14,000K, 2 at 420nm and 1 at 460nm. But you can play around with spectrum to find the best colours. That should get you a good start with either of those. But again, if you go with just T5, you likely wont be able to keep much SPS or anemonies.
Reef79
Reefing newb
I went with Tao tronics cheap but really bright led's my 180 is 24" deep and you can grow any lps on sand bed and acro half way up. Around 140.00 on eBay no heat no temperature fluctuations you would probably need two to cover 36" I have three on 6'.
AnthonyTheNewbie
Reef enthusiast
Or, you can look into a Oddysea T5 4 Bulb fixture. Comes with 2 10,000-12,000k whites, 2 420nm Actinics, and 4 moonlight leds.
Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting - a Four Bulb one.
Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting - and a Four Bulb with a digital timer. Only problem is this ones recommended for freshwater plants (so you may have to either change the reflectors or paint them with a chrome paint)
Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting - a Four Bulb one.
Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting - and a Four Bulb with a digital timer. Only problem is this ones recommended for freshwater plants (so you may have to either change the reflectors or paint them with a chrome paint)
BL1
.............
The odyssea fixtures don't have individual reflectors. With that being said, if you go with that brand 6-bulbs would be the minimum I'd go with for a tank 26" deep.
AnthonyTheNewbie
Reef enthusiast
Then he'd have to paint them, and yeah 6 bulb would probably be better for such a deep tank. Let me see if I can find something on e-bay for you.
AquaticLife 36" 6 Lamp T5 HO Aquarium Light Fixture with Timer 5 71 | eBay - Theres one for pretty cheap.
LCD Timer 36" 234W 6x39 Fluorescent Actinic T5 HO Aquarium Light Fixture Marine | eBay - A little more pricey, but better output (watts).
AquaticLife 36" 6 Lamp T5 HO Aquarium Light Fixture with Timer 5 71 | eBay - Theres one for pretty cheap.
LCD Timer 36" 234W 6x39 Fluorescent Actinic T5 HO Aquarium Light Fixture Marine | eBay - A little more pricey, but better output (watts).
BL1
.............
It has nothing to do with painting them, cheap fixtures like the odyssea ones comes with a single reflector in them. Higher quality fixtures have reflectors around each individual bulb. Each bulb having its own reflector directs more light into the tank meaning better penetration and higher PAR levels.
kbuser92
Breeder
+1 Brian. Painting with chrome would help a little, but its individual reflectors that are important. Those odyssea fixtures arent really meant for big reefs, either.
P.S. I live in Nebraska and can tell you how long chrome would last with that much salt...
P.S. I live in Nebraska and can tell you how long chrome would last with that much salt...
Marinne13
Northern Reefer
I have a coralife 36' T5 HO I would sell you...4 bulb 156 watts with lunars
might not be enough wattage for a 60 though, thats only 2.5 watts oer gallon roughly
might not be enough wattage for a 60 though, thats only 2.5 watts oer gallon roughly
AmberSunrise
Reef enthusiast
I had the 4 bulb Aquaticlife with built in timer and moonlight LEDs for several years and it was great at growing my corals. I ditched the cheap bulbs it came with and upgraded to ATI or Giesmann. I think It was just around $200
The LED lights would go dim and start to flicker about once a year I would replace those but they werent expensive.
The LED lights would go dim and start to flicker about once a year I would replace those but they werent expensive.
This light looks good. I just found it on amazon. How long have you had yours?
kbuser92
Breeder
Watts isnt as important as PAR. Usually they go together, but theres other variables.
BL1
.............
Yes it's different for any type of lighting T5, LEDs, or MH.
That light looks fine but remember if you order from eBay you're not going to have customer support like you would from a vendor. And it's also a no name brand without extensive reviews like established companies.
what size tank did ou have that aquaticlife fixture on?
Similar threads
