Lighting question
- Thread starter cent36
- Start date
I have to laugh at the thought of putting 150W halides on that deep a tank. Unless you're keeping softies. And lpsouth1978 is right. Some people talk crap about LEDs having never had them. (Or based on one bad experience, etc.)
You can get T5 fixtures for a heck of a lot less than $200-300 each.
Failure to change the bulbs in either a MH or T5 in a timely manner will have a negative impact on your corals if they are the only lights over your tank.
Most successful tanks that I have seen have more than one type of light on them because each type does something well, but apparently none of them do it all perfectly.
Yes, talk to people with tanks that you like. Find out what lights they use and why. But keep in mind that what works on a shallow tank will not work on a deep one, and vice versa.
These systems are complex and painful to fine tune.
There are MANY elements that go into the success or failure of a tank. Lighting is just one of those.
What works for one person doesn't work for another, sometimes for no apparent reason. That's the fun of it, right?
You can get T5 fixtures for a heck of a lot less than $200-300 each.
Failure to change the bulbs in either a MH or T5 in a timely manner will have a negative impact on your corals if they are the only lights over your tank.
Most successful tanks that I have seen have more than one type of light on them because each type does something well, but apparently none of them do it all perfectly.
Yes, talk to people with tanks that you like. Find out what lights they use and why. But keep in mind that what works on a shallow tank will not work on a deep one, and vice versa.
These systems are complex and painful to fine tune.
There are MANY elements that go into the success or failure of a tank. Lighting is just one of those.
What works for one person doesn't work for another, sometimes for no apparent reason. That's the fun of it, right?
He didnt say that at all with his comment. He said failure of one person to grow corals well under LED does not make them an expert on LED vs T5 vs MH. None of us on this forum have ever run a controlled experiement to determine accurate and concrete differences between the different methods. I have seen video results of controlled experiments (ie same water, same tank, but MH supplemented by T5 on one side and equal wattage radions on the other) and the results were almost identical on both sides. Coloration was slightly different but still great on both sides and the growth rate of corals was slightly higher on the LED side, but the MH side was still very close.
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I am not attempting to throw anyone under the bus here. I may have misinterpreted your comment earlier Mike, but you said that despite wanting LEDs to be great "they just aren't". I assumed that meant that you have tried them, and failed with them. I do not want to make anyone feel as though their opinion is wrong, that is not even possible, after all it is your opinion and you are welcome to it.
I for one love MH, but on a tank this big, it would consume insane amounts of power and create even more heat. Both things I do not want to deal with if I don't have to. I also, have not had much success with T5, I know it is a good source of light, just haven't had any great results with it myself.
Also, I am certainly old enough to remember VHO and PC. While I have never used VHO, my first couple of tanks were lit by PC's.
Man, those were the days.:crazytown: haha
I for one love MH, but on a tank this big, it would consume insane amounts of power and create even more heat. Both things I do not want to deal with if I don't have to. I also, have not had much success with T5, I know it is a good source of light, just haven't had any great results with it myself.
Also, I am certainly old enough to remember VHO and PC. While I have never used VHO, my first couple of tanks were lit by PC's.
Man, those were the days.:crazytown: haha
Lenses focus the spread of light into a smaller spotlight. The higher the focus, the deeper the light is able to penetrate, but the area it can light is smaller. 90 degree lenses are a bad idea for a 24" tank as too much of the light will be wasted outside the glass and growth wont be good at deeper levels. For a 24" tank, you want either 60 degree lenses with the fixture 8-12" above the surface of the tank, or you want 80 degree lenses 4-8" above the surface of the tank. You will need at least two 90+ watt full spectrum fixtures to adequately grow SPS in a 65 gallon.
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Exactly. The degrees are simply a measure of the angle the light leaves the lens at. Imagine your angles from geometry, a 90 degree angle is pecisely what is meant by a 90 degree lens. The smaller the angle, the tighter the beam, the more penetration into the water. However the tighter the angle, the more likely it is you will experience spotlighting, unless you raise the fixture up higher as to get better spread. Move the light too high and negate the purpose of the narrower lens. It is a bit of a balancing act getting the right lenses and placing the fixtures at the correct height.