Choosing lighting for a cube

zanoshanox

zanoshanox

Active Member
I have a 38 gallon cube like tank, its like 20 inches deep..24' long. I have soem MH fixtures here, some mh/pc combox, and some t-5 only ones. I am so cought up in each one that I don't have the time to research each brand and find the best one. So I was wondering which one all of you guys would go with. i wanna keep everything, including SPS and clams. CALLING ALL EXPERTS...lol, ok, here we go...
1.) 24" 150 Watt HQI Metal Halide Fixture + T5 Actinics BY JALLI....? $349.99
pros: 1 x 150 Watt XM (DE) 10,000K, included 2 t5 actinic bulbs

2.) 24" 1x150w HQI Current USA Sunpod Metal Halide $245.99
pros: 14 k HQi bulb, 6 moonlights

3.) 24" Tek Light: 4-24W T5 HO Fluorescents $229.99
pros: just 4 bulbs, cheap, only 94, not sure what i can keep, although i think they're good

4.) Coralife Aqualight 150 watt 14k $259.99
pros: nice design, hang on tank, not sure what i can keep. i wont need actinics

5.) 24" Outer Orbit HQI Metal Halide Extreme Dual Actinic $339.99
pros: once again-nice design, well balanced setup, inclided moons actins and HQI
 
zanoshanox

zanoshanox

Active Member
daaannng....Someone give me some input...Im like 50% sure im goin with the t-5 fixture but i would like to hear from everyone elses experience, as I have no experience with any of these fixtures.
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
I just bought a sunpod 20 inch for my 37 gal cube. its 30 inch deep, and is doing a great job. The LEDs on it are really bright.
 
dennycrane

dennycrane

Member
I just bought a Sunpod (20" 150X1 14k) as well. Gets here the 19th, so I can't speak as to the quality, but I did loads of research and they seemed to have the best quality, least problems and happiest consumers. Hopefully, I'll be one of them! For me it came down to the Sunpod and the Finnex 20" (HQI 150X1 10k + actinics). In the end, there wasn't enough info on the finnex and it was more expensive. Plus, I figure 14k is just as good as 10k with actinics.
 
zanoshanox

zanoshanox

Active Member
Wow it seems like everyone is liking their sunpods...I really like #2's design with all the moonlights and stuff...But i kinda want the t5's cause ive never tried em before but im just not sure yet. Maybe ill just gett5's for the 46 bow.
 
dennycrane

dennycrane

Member
Well, now I can speak to the quality of the Sunpod...very, very nice. I couldn't be more pleased and with the 14k, you don't miss the actinics one bit.
 
hummel

hummel

Member
I have the coralife version of #5 and like it. I have the 250w hqi over my 60 cube. I think the outer orbit has the halide ballast in the unit and the coralife has it externaly. I like the coralife simply becasuse of the external ballast for heat reasons. I don't run a chiller and like to keep things cool. I'm sure that unit is just as good. If you don't have room for a ballast or just want to keep things a little cleaner I'd go for #5. Just my opinion, good lighting for what you want to keep.
Mark
 
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