DECISION TIME!!! lighting, green lit

jonnywater

jonnywater

Member
I've been green lit by "other people" to upgrade my lighting. Also the company that I purchased my Orbit light for 209 dollars back 4 months ago, is willing to give me full credit for it and pay for shipping on both the new and the old light.
Now I can go the Outer Orbit Halide system with 2 x 150 watt HQI - 2 x 130 watt actinics and 6 lunar lights for a 400 dollar difference
Or I can go with the new Sunpod by Orbit with 2 x 150 watt HQI and 9 lunar lights and 9 blue lights for a 270 dollar difference. However I do not know that much about the Sunpods. I dont know if the 9 blue lights act the same as the actinics?
Also I would like some reassurance from people that adding halides will DEFINETELY, but like 3-5 times, increase the growth of my corals? The only reason that I say that is because I am not looking to get rich, I am already pretty well off. I just want to start propagating corals and get rid of them for 5-10 bucks and keep them in the hobby and from getting torn off the reefs.
 
reefreak29

reefreak29

Active Member
omg what happened in just 2 days your whole way of thinking just changed :scared:
any how i heard the orbits are good you will see a remarkable difference in just 24 hrs
 
kingspade

kingspade

Member
i would go with the coralife aqualight pro, reasons being that the orbits have INTERNAL ballasts and add weight and heat to the fixture and tank. the coralife uses 3 EXTERNAL ballasts causing less heat and weight. also i believe they are more slimline that the orbits. here is a pic of mine, i just hung them yesterday. i am very pleased with the look of them, i cant vouch for how they grow coral as i am still cycling my tank therefore have no livestock. i think you would be happier with the coralife fixture. oh and second pic doesnt look that good because my water was still cloudy from the new sand.

 
jonnywater

jonnywater

Member
My animals, clams and corals are all doing fine. I am looking to add some loc-line to my PH's (MJ 1200) with a Y off with a spray nozzle right at the beginning of one end and then adding 6 inches of lock line tube to the other side of the Y and aim it sideways towards the front of the tank. On both ends.
My opinion really hasnt changed that much. My corals are still SPECTACULAR, I just want more growth out of them. That is the primary reason for the addition. I started using C-Balance a few days ago and it is keeping EVERYTHING in perfect harmony including my calc at around 480 (where I want it) and my alk at around 11. GREAT product. Anyways, I just want to know if the coral growth will go up?
I just want more growth. I have fragged each of them several of times and they alway recover and grow back. The Coralife is a little higher then I want to go. The difference would be about 569 bucks.
 
J

jupoc911

Guest
most soft corals do very well under flourescent lighting. I actually can also keep montipora under my lighting as well. I was debating the same thing as you are bur found no need to swith my lights.
 
jonnywater

jonnywater

Member
Same here. I have been keeping clams for about 6-8 weeks now also. My montiporas are doing fine as well. I was just wondering about the growth benefits of the whole thing. Since I am wanting to keep frags circulating throughout the hobby and do it rather often.
 
kingspade

kingspade

Member
Originally Posted by jonnywater
The Coralife is a little higher then I want to go. The difference would be about 569 bucks.
not to sound like a ---- or anything but in you first post you wrote that you are "pretty well off" why would spending a few extra bux bother you?? besides i dont think you will like all the weight of the orbit fixture sitting on or tank OR hanging it from you ceiling. i am no where new "well off" and i spent almost a grand on my lights, not to mention all the pump, powerheads, sand heaters and everything else i bought at the same time. i think you would be much happier with the coralifes.
 
jonnywater

jonnywater

Member
Well, like the first post said - I was "green lit" by people. Hense I have someone watching over my money. I am only allowed to spend an amount if I authorize it first based on the hobby. Corals and stuff like that I can pretty much go wild and get whatever I want. When it comes to the 100 or 1000 dollar range, I need to ask first. No I am not a kid or anything. I am almost 30. Trust fund stuff.
With my tank, heaters, skimmer, filter, circulation, sand, rock, corals, light and fish - I am MAYBE in the hole about 500 dollars. I just do a lot of searching and dont mind getting stuff used.
Tank with stand - 75 dollars
AquaC Remora - 109
Light - 209
Rena Top Cal heater - 12
Live Rock (bits free and cheap here and there 70 pounds total) 30 bucks
Live Fiji Pink Sand, 4 bags 12 bucks a bag
Corals, Have 7 and never topped 20 dollars for any of them
Frags, 3 of them and never topped 5 bucks
Fish - percs were free and the black cap basslet was 31
MJ Powerheads - 25 with shipping
Emperor 400 bio wheel - 36 dollars
Whatever all that equals.
Oh and the clams. I got the derasa for 15 bucks because it wasnt fairing well in the LFS tank - doing MIGHTY fine now. The Squamosa I traded some frags in and ended up paying around 20-25 for him.
 
dogstar

dogstar

Active Member
As far as coral growth goes, the thing you need to think about is par and K rateing of the bulbs. Corals do better under higher par value and lower K rateings, As far as the fixtures you mentioned then IMO get the one that also has the 2 PCs. I suggest 10k or 14k MH bulbs for the inverts and actinics for you. Too make the color of the tank look nicer. And you can use timers for a dawn/dusk effect. Hows the BTA?
 
jonnywater

jonnywater

Member
Well I have weighed all my options and decided to go with the 72" Orbit 3 x 150 HQI for my 48" tank. LOL. I know it sounds weird, but it should make sense in the long run. In about 6 months I am getting a custom 190 made that is going to be 6 feet long. So I assume buy the 72" now and just remove one of the HQI bulbs for that period of time and hang it from the ceiling for the time being. That way 6 months from now I am not spending another 800 dollars.
 
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