Coralife Aqualight Pro...Is this the best???

[lvtofish]

I am just starting out with a 75g tank and want to have a reef tank with anemones, fish and eventually a clam. I am understanding that you need to invest the most into your lighting since this is what keeps everything alive. I am wanting a lighting system that has all lighting in one hood and easy to use. This system also has the lunar lighting. Is this the best I can get or is there something better for my tank. It is 48" lond and 18" deep. My LFS told me I could do a 36" light instead, but I don't think this will get the light to all the places I will eventually have marine life. What sugguestions does everyone have??

 

[lvtofish]

I should clear up a couple facts. I do have a hood that encloses three sides of the top of the tank. The exact light I am looking at is 48"Coralife Aqualight Pro HQI Halide Lunar Light.

 

[saltwaterdave]

What kind of light is this? VHO or MH? What wattage are we talking here? It could be both mh and vho.Just need some more information to help you out.

 

[hurt]

I could be wrong, but a friend of mine has a coralife aqualight Pro, it is the 36in with one 150w HQI MH along with 2 65w pc actinics.

 

[jamie814]

I run a 72" coralife aqualight pro on my 210 reef and keep everything from clams to shrooms under them and they do great. Depending on the length on the fixture they have from 1-3 150 watt HQI metal halide bulbs 2-4 atinic blue power compacts and the lunar lights all in the fixture. I have had my fixture for about a year and wouldn't replace it with anything else. Tip: Get the coralife (new) or Newtek digital timer to go with it.

 

[lvtofish]

The specifics on this light are 2 x 96w Compact Fluorescent Actinics, 2 x 150w HQI Metal Halide and 3 Blue Moon Glow LED Lights.

 

[vi3tb0i]

i think that is enough for a 75gal

 

[rubberduck]

i have the 48" and i ove it!
i got it from the great auction site and it was great
I RECOMEND IT

 

[lvtofish]

Just purchased my light!! Can't wait to get the live rock! Thanks for all the info... :jumping:

 

[fishy7]

Hi, Lv
I am setting up a 215 and I'm not sure what I want to keep. I want something easy and simple so my LFS recommended the 72" Coralife Pro HQI. It comes with 3 150 watt 10k MH, 4 96 watt true Actinic blue and 4 1 watt lunar blue moon glow.
Tank demensions 72.5X24.5X29
This is the latest on the market and he says I can keep what ever I want, with no issues. I hope he is wright.
Good luck souns like you are moving in the right direction.

 

[snailheave]

i have the 48" and it's god-like. if you can elevate it to the proper height the coverage is excellent.

 

[saltwaterdave]

Originally Posted by FISHY7
Hi, Lv
I am setting up a 215 and I'm not sure what I want to keep. I want something easy and simple so my LFS recommended the 72" Coralife Pro HQI. It comes with 3 150 watt 10k MH, 4 96 watt true Actinic blue and 4 1 watt lunar blue moon glow.
Tank demensions 72.5X24.5X29
This is the latest on the market and he says I can keep what ever I want, with no issues. I hope he is wright.
Good luck souns like you are moving in the right direction.

I would invest in more lighting. Then again it depends upon what you have in mind for your tank.

 

[fishy7]

Hey saltwaterdave,
Little help here, :help:
I have been sifting through threads and i have read you need a min of 2 watts per gallon. I am running about 4 w/g.
I've read people running much more w/g but at what point is it overkill?
It's like buying a processer...400MHz vrs 533MHz. Is there a difference, technically yes, but can you see a noticable "big" difference, probably not.
A little confused......?????

I appreciate your opinion, it's good to hear what people are thinking.

Anyone like to chime in and share their opinion on this setup?

 

[hurt]

Is there a difference, technically yes, but can you see a noticable "big" difference, probably not.
Oh yes, without a doubt you will see a difference. Some corals/anenomes require intense light. Without it, they will most likely die slowly.
The wpg and/or lighting source all depend upon what type of corals you wish to keep. If you want to have sps, clams, and anenomes, I'd go with MH as your light source. If you just want softies and lps you can easily get away with VHO or PC. On my 55g I have 720 watts, or roughly 13 wpg. It's an sps tank though. So, it's just a preference of what you wish to keep in your tank.

 

[fishy7]

Hey Hurt,
Thanks for the post and I get what you are saying.
My first question is:
What is overkill? 10-15-20-25 watts per gallon?

assuming you can have to much light.
2nd:
I am running MH but I am only getting 4 watts per gallon based on size of the tank. My LFS says this is sufficient. Is it?
3rd
What is a good average 4-8-15-24 watts per gallon?
I want something easy and simple so my LFS recommended the 72" Coralife Pro HQI. It comes with (3) 150 watt 10k MH, (4) 96 watt true Actinic blue and (4) 1 watt lunar blue moon glow.
Tank demensions 72.5X24.5X29
Thanks for your help?

 

[hurt]

Fishy7,
IMO, the wpg rule is not necessarily a good measure. I'm concerned with the intesity of the light source. For instance if your tank is deeper than 25 in, you should go with 400w MH, from
18-25 inches I would go with 250's, and below 18 in 175's. But you could have a tank that is 30 in deep and keep acro's or clams on your very top rocks just 7-8in below the surface. But on the bottom of your tank-28 inches or so you would not be able to keep clams, or acros. It just depends on how far away from the light source your "animals" are. The deeper the tank, it is harder for light to penetrate. But again, it all depends upon what type of "animals" you wish to keep. If you want to keep anything, get MH's.

 

[hurt]

Fishy7,
What is overkill? 10-15-20-25 watts per gallon? assuming you can have to much light.

I'm not really sure on that one, I would guess above 20wpg. The thing is to achieve a higher wpg, you will have alot more heat in order to accomplish this. My tank while it is mainly an sps tank, I do have some shrooms and zoos on the highest rocks with no ill effects at all (13wpg).
I am running MH but I am only getting 4 watts per gallon based on size of the tank. My LFS says this is sufficient. Is it?
How deep is your tank? And what "animals" do you wish to keep?
What is a good average 4-8-15-24 watts per gallon?
It all depends upon your light source (MH, VHO, PC, T5) and what "animals" you wish to keep.

 

[saltwaterdave]

Originally Posted by FISHY7
Hey saltwaterdave,
Little help here, :help:
I have been sifting through threads and i have read you need a min of 2 watts per gallon. I am running about 4 w/g.
I've read people running much more w/g but at what point is it overkill?
It's like buying a processer...400MHz vrs 533MHz. Is there a difference, technically yes, but can you see a noticable "big" difference, probably not.
A little confused......?????

I appreciate your opinion, it's good to hear what people are thinking.

Anyone like to chime in and share their opinion on this setup?

Hurt's post is a pretty good example. The watts per gallon "rule" isn't a rule at all.So just throw that out of your head.........WPG doesn't matter.
What matters most is what do YOU want to keep. You wouldn't want to place any corals that need less intense light near a 400 watt MH.Just as you wouldn't put a clam in a dark spot in your tank.
A(I know you are gonna have 3) 150 watt MH isn't going to be enough light for lets say clams and sps in your size tank.I would go with at least 250's and VHO'S. Pc lights do not last as long as VHO'S and aren't as bright.If you get yourself an icecap 660 ballast you can run 440 watts of VHO'S in any kind of combo's you want.Add in your 250 MH'S and you will be good to go.
You get up in the 400 watt MH'S and heat becomes a BIG time issue.It can be dealt with but a chiller makes it easier. Because I would run 3 250's and then a combo of VHO'S.
HTH
David

 

[fishy7]

Thanks for the clarification on the WPG. Being new, it is easy to get confused with all the information available. There are so many little rules and sayings and everyone has their "own" rule. Not a bad thing but has a way of making things convoluted.

I get it.....

Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into getting an icecap and see about running more intense MH's.
Appreciate the help and suggestions.

 

[jamie814]

https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/data/smilies/mrknowitall.gif[/img] Pleae note that HQI metal halide bulbs produce about twice as much light as a standard metal halide bulb. So a 150 watt HQI metal halide bulb (what the aqualight pro uses) is equal to a 300 watt standard metal halide bulb.
I have been keeping clams in a 210 reef that is 29" deep (23" deep on top of of the sand bed) for over a year now with no ill effects with the 72" aqualight pro.