Well, I did it.

rickross23

rickross23

Active Member
Guys, I am looking for an upgrade to my 120g for my lights. I saw AquaticLife 6 Bulb T5 HO lighting for my 4' tank for $575. Are these worth it? Any good? Idk if my used lights are god enough for corals. What light do you recommend for my 120? Thanks
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
LOL....IDK....I am not a lighting expert...I just have a 72" 250W metal halide with 8 T5 light that I need to get rid of

I do know that a good T5 set....with reflectors..and the right bulbs are good....how deep is your tank?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Rick, yah need to make your own thread. This is my thread about my 110g tall. 6bulbs over a 2ft deep 120 isn't enough. 8 to 10 is more like it, and high quality bulbs like Ati brand. You should honestly look into metal halide systems if you want anemones, clams and other high light demanding corals and inverts. There are plenty of DIY style kits out there as well. Maybe a DIY lighting kit would be a great family project for yah.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I'm still undecided on my own tank as to what kind of lighting I want. The lighting system that comes with it is old and the bulbs need to be replaced. I'll figure out what ballast the metal halides are using And see if I can switch it to a mogul base instead of hqi.
Then again, I have really Ben enjoying watching people's tanks that have those awesome led systems and use a controller for clouds and thunderstorms etc as well. Who knows.
 
lubeck

lubeck

Active Member
My first reef tank was a drilled 110.. i loved it but my arm pits were always wet and it wasnt because i was percperating....Anyway......... you really need to convince your self to get LED lighting
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Was yours drilled on the bottom pane? Is the bottom tempered?
I love tall tanks. But the height gets a little annoying sometimes.
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
My tank is 2' deep I use a 1 step stool and go shirtless when cleaning my tank. I call it my naked room, from the move Failure to Launch.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Limpid http:///t/391070/well-i-did-it/40#post_3466909
My tank is 2' deep I use a 1 step stool and go shirtless when cleaning my tank. I call it my naked room, from the move Failure to Launch.

Just rejoice that God gave you arms long enough to reach the bottom of the tank. My fingertip just reach the bottom of mine when I'm on the step stool....I always look like I have been in a wet T-shirt contest when I'm done...at my age that isn't pretty.
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/391070/well-i-did-it/40#post_3466910
Just rejoice that God gave you arms long enough to reach the bottom of the tank. My fingertip just reach the bottom of mine when I'm on the step stool....I always look like I have been in a wet T-shirt contest when I'm done...at my age that isn't pretty.
There you go again turning me on.
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Snake, you're gonna love the look of that 110. It *is* a PIA to reach sometimes, but it's worth it in the end. I'm finally gearing up to reset mine too.
I know how you feel about the LEDs. At 30" of depth, I still am not sure how well the optics can punch down to the bottom. More importantly....I just don't think I can justify that expense. I'm personally gonna go with a MH/T5 fixture and revisit the LED market in a few more years. Are you still thinking of an 8-bulb fixture?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I'm thinking now that I am going to use the ballast and hqi mh setup that comes with the tank. I'll just buy new bulbs and clean everything up as best as possible. I only want to run the halides 4 hours a day or so and leave the rest up to the t5s.
I'm thinking the metal halides will punch through the water better than LEDs as well.
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
Seth I don't understand your mixed feelings about LED. All my research has seen that par readings are greater than par readings from MH. I haven't found anyone who has tested them at the depth of 30" but at 12" & 24" LED's readings where higher. So I would believe that at 30" the results would be the same. I know your lights came with the tank so it makes sense to work with what you got. But if you are lamping the cost of new bulbs will be about half of the cost of (1) LED fixture, you would probably need (3) fixtures over your tank. But the electricity and every year relamping will add up, not to mention the heat from MH. Just saying.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Gotta work with what I got at the moment. I'm getting a profilux 2 controller and it has a thunderstorm feature on it that is out of this world. I'm looking into that now. I would like to go with LEDs, but the cost,... Whew.
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/391070/well-i-did-it/40#post_3466935
Gotta work with what I got at the moment. I'm getting a profilux 2 controller and it has a thunderstorm feature on it that is out of this world. I'm looking into that now. I would like to go with LEDs, but the cost,... Whew.
Your correct the initial cost hurts, but I believe if you add up what it will cost to maintain the system you have and the electricity. You will save in the long run. Plus I was reading the finding from one guy's report that MH increased his DT by 4 deg. while the lights were on. I didn't think corals tolerated temperature change that well?
 
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