Lighting Questions

[yannifish]

Hello, everyone.
I've finally decided that this summer I want to upgade from my crappy stock lighting to good lighting. I am thinking T5's, just because I don't want to get into the cost of halide. I don't necessarily plan on keeping corals, but I want it to be an option.
So, what do people think of the Coralife Lunar Aqualight HO T5? It is a four bulb fixture, and I like the look of the mounting legs. They don't look flimsy at all, which I like because I really don't want to hang the lights.

 

[nikesb]

i would get a wavepoint fixture over coralife. if you want even better, get a TEK fixture. they have optional legs too.

 

[1guydude]

TEK!!!!! I want one real bad lol

 

[yannifish]

Okay, I'll look into both. Is the coralife fixture a bad fixture though? I don't want anything fancy, just a nice light.

 

[nikesb]

if you want a nice light, then its definately not the coralife. thats style and performance. out of the 3 options said, the tek IMO is the sleekest one around.

 

[yannifish]

I'm liking the looks of the TEK 4 bulb 48 in fixture (my tank is a 55). For the extra twenty dollars (plus bulbs) I think it would be worth it over the coralife. Doe the TEK fixture have a splash gaurd?

 

[yannifish]

Okay, I found the splashgaurd.
I really like the looks of the TEK light. I think that's what I'll plan on.
What bulbs would you recommend? I'm looking at the Giesemann Powerchrome bulbs right now.
How often do these bulbs have to be replaced? It seems like I read two years somewhere...

 

[nikesb]

i wouldnt choose giesseman bulbs over other bulbs like ATI and korallen-zucht.
for ATI, i really like the look of 3 ATI blue+ and 1 ATI purple+. but if you're not looking too much into corals yet, go with something like 2 ATI blue+, 1 ATI Aquablue special, 1 ATI purple+.
as for bulb changes, it would depend on how long you run your bulbs a day. but the european die hard reef hobbyists change at the 9-10 month mark. at 8 hours a day, you'd want to change at 12 months. the reason would be due to spectrum shifts which would lead to algae problems.

 

[1guydude]

I just got the ati bulbs and they are awsome! I bought an extra bulb (total 5), so i could see if i like the more blue or the more white from the aquablue special...I think ill like the more blue actually! Nike knows wat hes talkin about imo...btw i posted some pics of my new lamp in my thread professor!

 

[yannifish]

Why couldn't I go with the standard 2 actinic 2 daylight? Or did you just say that in a different way?
I like he wavepoint fixture, but it only has one switch. So it's all bulbs on, or all bulbs off. I want to be able to stage the lights.

 

[nikesb]

completely forgot about their one plug systems...in that case, check out the sun-blaze t5 as well as the coralvue/led combo fixture.

 

[yannifish]

Actually right now I'm leaning towards the TEK. Everything indicates it is a good fixture, and a decent price too.
For bulbs, what if I did two ATI True Actinics and two ATI Aquablue Specials?

 

[yannifish]

What methods do people use to hang lighting? Obviously you cant just have the screws going into the drywall. I can almost guarantee my tank isn't aligned under the ceiling joists (is that what they are called? I'm not overly familiar with those kinds of terms...). I guess I could mount a 2x4 or something similar to the joists and hang the light from that, but that wouldn't be overly attractive.

 

[yannifish]

Maybe I'll get a pine 2x6 and router the edges to make it nice, paint it, screw that to the joists, and hang the light from that.

 

[nikesb]

try this http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2009-04/diy/index.php
as for the true actinics, i wouldnt use them unless you had a 6 bulb set up. theyre very weak because theyre true actinics (420nm). the ATI blue+ are really blue (460nm) so its gonna give you that dawn/dusk effect but provided more color in addition to the aquablue specials. i really wouldnt run two aquablue specials either, because theyd be too overbearing on the color which is why i recommend the purple+ which will make reds/oranges pop. this helps alot with fish coloration too

 

[yannifish]

So two ATI Blue+, one ATI Purple+, and one ATI Aquablue Special?

 

[1guydude]

I think it just matters if u like ur light bluer or whiter. If blue than go with 3 blue+ and scratch the aquablue...imo

 

[nikesb]

for fishes, keep the aquablue

 

[yannifish]

So the two blues, one purple and the aquablue would look good?
What about hanging the lights?

 

[1guydude]

lol look at the link nike provided....if its the one i got than it should give u step by step instructions on how to make a hanger out of conduit piping!