lighting for a 75g reef

[kniquy]

I thought that i would post this here instead of the equipment because i figured you all would be more particular about your lighting with a reef tank.
I am looking to get rid of my 250W MH and change to a T5 set up. Maybe i am crazy to get rid of the MH or maybe not but they are horrible to keep my water temp down during the summer. Plus the bulbs are more expensive to replace.
I was originally looking at a complete T5 unit with fans, programable and with moonlight. I am not sure if i am better off buying a complete unit or should i piece it together and just have my own separate timers to operate. I am figuring the latter would be better in case one light decided not to work i could change just one light vs a whole unit. This is going to be mounted inside my hood. Any thoughts??
What kind of set up would i --need to keep a vast array of corals - I don't want to be limited because of my lighting. I had been considering a 6 bulb unit. 3 actinic and 3 10 or 12 k's
Any good brands i should look at any i should stay away from?? I probably don't want to spend more than $350.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I am installing a 6 bulb T5HO setup with UV LED T5HO light bulbs with individual reflectors. I'm using two Workhorse 7 ballasts... each ballast can support four 54w T5HO bulbs - so just in case, you could add two more bulbs.
If you can buy reflectors cheap/used then a retrofit unit would probably be the best deal.
I personally prefer T5s over anything else for the moment, however LEDs are coming a long way with their technology. I would maybe save up $500 and buy a retrofit LED kit from Rapid LED... or you could wait a few years for the technology to get better.

 

[vettitude]

I just installed a 4x54W T5 fixture on Friday. It has built in fans and LED moonlights.It replaced an old Odyssea CF fixture.
I am surprised by the heat that this fixture gives off. It is mounted inside of my canopy. I have the back of the canopy open to help with ventilation. When all 4 bulbs are on, my temp goes up about 2.5 degrees. It throws more heat than my old fixture. Not sure why. I thought that T5 makes less heat than CF. My tank temp at night is 80.6 however I range up to almost 83 when all bulbs are on. Not good right?
Do you run exhaust fans for your lights or a chiller to help with temp (especially since you had MH)?
Thanks

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vettitude http:///t/393022/lighting-for-a-75g-reef#post_3498835
I just installed a 4x54W T5 fixture on Friday. It has built in fans and LED moonlights.It replaced an old Odyssea CF fixture.
I am surprised by the heat that this fixture gives off. It is mounted inside of my canopy. I have the back of the canopy open to help with ventilation. When all 4 bulbs are on, my temp goes up about 2.5 degrees. It throws more heat than my old fixture. Not sure why. I thought that T5 makes less heat than CF. My tank temp at night is 80.6 however I range up to almost 83 when all bulbs are on. Not good right?
Do you run exhaust fans for your lights or a chiller to help with temp (especially since you had MH)?
Thank you
The problem is that you are running a fixture inside a canopy. Fixtures should be left out in the open air - there is no need for a canopy with a fixture. T5 should make a little less heat than CF's, although if there is no where for the heat to go (IE Inside a canopy) then yes, it will put heat in the water. If your tank temp gets up to 83F during the day, then adjust your heater up to it so that it stays at a constant 83F.
I have had plenty of halides in the past, yes, they were all retrofits - and mounted inside canopies. They were on average placed about 1ft above the water line and were very well ventilated. I had a lexan cover to filter out a little true UV light ... the cover did not sit on top of the water, but it did create a barrier for which the fans didn't cause too much evaporation. I've also ran algae scrubbers and put fans on there - to increase evaporation. If you do have glass tops on your tank - take them off.
I have run fans in my sump before - and in my current setup I have made sure my sump area is well ventilated to keep moisture from building up as well as to increase gas exchange to help stabilize pH.
If you have SPS corals, you will want to get your temp down to 78 to 79F. Most SPS corals don't like warmer temperatures.

 

[vettitude]

I never thought of it that way. That's a great idea.
I have no SPS now. Don't think I would consider them (even though I want them bad) until I upgrade the lighting again. Presently just beginner corals ricordea and shrooms. A few clowns and tangs as well. Will these tolerate the 82-83 degree temp?
Thanks for the response.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Should be able to without problems.
Ive had some successful reefs run anywhere between 84 and 86 F before without issues from softies and lps.

 

[vettitude]

Could my new lights have caused me to have a brown algae/cyno problem? I was thinking that this new fixture with new bulbs could have led to a change in my tank yesterday. Been running for a little over 2 weeks with everything perfect.
Yesterday when I got home from work, I saw obvious signs of algae and cyno growth (brown forming on sand, red forming on glass in back of tank). Had actinic on for 8hrs and whites came on for 6 of those hours. I reduced actinic by 1 and white by 1. Gonna skip feeding today and do 10% water change. Is there anything else I can do? I do not over feed. Only 1 tiny pinch (tiny) once per day of small pellets. I also changed the flow pattern in the tank to have more flow in the area where the brown was forming on the sand.
I can't think of anything else.
Thanks!

 

[snakeblitz33]

Lights over a reef simply gives anything photosynthetic the ability to grow and reproduce...
Cyanobacteria, hair algae, and other forms of algae are caused by poor water quality. You can have a sun lit tank and pristine water conditions without any problems. However, once your nitrates and phosphates and other compounds in the tank build up, it causes problems.
Take care of your water quality first.

 

[vettitude]

That's the puzzling part. I test on Tues, Thurs, Sat. All results say water quality is good. I took water samples to 2 LFS' and both told me that my water quality tested out great...although 1 of them said nitrates was 2.5. Otherwise, they said water looks fine.
Maybe not enough flow? Return pump 700gpm, one koralia Evo-750 & one koralia Evo-550.
Water change scheduled for tomorrow. Did not feed yesterday.
Anything else I should check/do?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Test results are in accurate when it comes to these problems.
Since cyanobacteria and hair algae regularly use nitrates and phosphates out of the water column for their growth and reproduction, the water test results will be highly inaccurate. I know for a fact that your water quality is bad because of the presence of cyanobacteria and hair algae.
Make sure you are stirring up a lot of detritus before a water change, make sure you are using good clean water and quality foods, make sure you have enough filtration (chemical filtration and protein skimming and macroalgaes) to handle your bioload/feeding regimen.

 

[kilofey]

Have you considered LED at all? They dont produce any heat and cost pennies to run. They also last about 10 years (give or take). So with the cost of t5 bulbs and electricity to run them, in the long run, theyre actually cheaper. They also produce better color and incredible shimmer (imho). They are also known to penetrate the water better than t5 and mh too.
To give you an idea on how much itll cost over their 10 year life span, on my 75 gallon reef, together, my two 150w kessil brand pendants cost around $700 (including gooseneck mounting brackets that hold them over the tank). After replacing my mh with them, i immediately saw a drop in my electric bill. If you calculate the cost of replacing those bulbs, and the hassle of trying to remember when to replace them.... i think LED is the way to go. I havent had any corals die because they get too much or too little light. I have soft, lps, and sps and everyone is happy and growing.
I hope this helped. I thought it couldnt hurt to mention.

 

[vettitude]

Thanks Snake. I agree. Test results are misleading. The proof is on my sand. I didn't know abut stirring up the dit, so I will do that tomorrow when I do my water change.
Could I ask your opinion on maintaining a sand bed? It has a lot of growth an inhc or so down. It is a deep sand bed 3-5 inches. Have the Nassirus snails (8) and a sand sifting start, plus 10 Astraea and 10 hermits. Some people say stir and or sift through your sand. Others say don't touch. What do you think?

 

[vettitude]

I have the LED's at the very top of my Christmas list. I hope Santa will cooperate. Do you have any pics of yours?

 

[kilofey]

I have the LED's at the very top of my Christmas list. I hope Santa will cooperate. Do you have any pics of yours?
Sure give me a sec and ill post some (cant post pix on my phone)
Btw, uncle sam always cooperates for me lol. Every year my tank will be getting something new and fancy with my tax return. Last year was my leds, the year before was my skimmer, this year possibly an entire new set up (125 gal) and one more led pendant. My 75 gal was used and looks kinda ghetto and has been resealed before so you can see a really silicone bead. Since its been resealed before, ive never fully trusted it

 

[kilofey]

^^^^^ all lights off in the room

^^^^^^ lights on in the room

i have 2x A150w "ocean blue" kessil led pendants (shown in the first pic). i also have 1x 54w daylight t5. it is a super old bulb, i just use it to tweak the color to my preference, since its at least 2 years old, i dont think the corals really benefit from it. i picked up the t5 fixture for 40 bucks on craigslist
ps- please excuse the algae on the walls, im nervous about taking a razor blade to it and risk scratching it

 

[kilofey]

oh.... heres my tank as i was setting the leds up. the ugly half was my mh, the pretty half is my leds. the camera distorts the mh a tad, its not QUITE as ugly as it shows, i think it was 175w 15k bulb
regardless of the camera, the difference is undenyable! i stare at my tank all the time now, before id just pass it and smile... now i watch it during every commercial break lol

 

[vettitude]

Wow!
Nice pics, Awesome tank, awesome lighting.
I can really see a big difference!
Have you used the plastic scraper yet? It works pretty well!!!!

 

[kilofey]

Wow!
Nice pics, Awesome tank, awesome lighting.
I can really see a big difference!
Have you used the plastic scraper yet? It works pretty well!!!!
Thank you, the difference really is incredible, i was all goo goo eyed the first month after getting my new lights, i kept finding new things i never even knew was in my tank XD
I havent tried the plastic scraper. Is there a brand name for it so i can find it online?

 

[vettitude]

I have a Kent scraper. Like $15 at the LFS. let's me get into tight places and bottom of glass without too much intrusion into tank. It telescopes to 30" something inches. I can't get to some places with my magnet cleaner, so this does the trick.

 

[kniquy]

I definitly see your point in the electrical and bulb changing savings. I just cringe at the though of spending $700 on lights, but your take does look great. My question is - I have my tank in my living room so i have a nice stand and hood to match. I want to be able to install my lighting inside the hood. Can those Kessil lights be mounted inside the hood? still need to do some more research on the LED's - it almost seems like the way to go.