choose lighting for a 16 inch tall tank

[Lion_fish]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to decide on a proper lighting for my new build.
its 60"L 20"W 16"H (150*50*40), mostly will be growing lps, softies, mushrooms and many zoanthids.
I don't want to spend too much as the tank is not that high anyway.
any advise will be appreciated.

i have three old orphak V2 from old tank, but I'm not sure its worth to make them usable, i have many led burned.

 

[nereefpat]

Lots of options, and it depends a bit on what's important to you. I like T5, so I would get a 4 or 6 bulb T5 fixture, either 4 or 5 foot long.

Are you wanting LEDs? The cheapest LED option would be 2-3 black box type LEDs like marsaqua or viparspectra. Most expensive (not necessarily the best?) LED option would be Radions. Are you leaning toward anything?

 

[Lion_fish]

I didn't thought about T5 but ill for sure check it out.
yes, i did thought about led but I'm not fixed about it.

I was looking at 3 AI prime or Red sea 50 but i red different reviews about them.
i guess what's important to me is coral growth, color and maintenance (T5 need replacement every 12 months right?)
also i looked at the radions 15 pro, about 420$ for piece almost double the red sea/prime, worth it? probably mostly for SPS and clams - i dont know...

 

[nereefpat]

I was looking at 3 AI prime or Red sea 50 but i red different reviews about them.

3 of either would probably be a good option, especially for LPS and soft.

also i looked at the radions 15 pro, about 420$ for piece almost double the red sea/prime, worth it? probably mostly for SPS and clams - i dont know...

Radions are nearly twice as many watts (power), and roughly the same area coverage. But I agree that on bigger tanks the cost becomes silly.

(T5 need replacement every 12 months right?)

Need to? No. You can go 18 months pretty easily. But the fixtures themselves never go bad. You can perpetually replace bulbs and ballasts, which are both cheap and easy, and that is basically the only thing that can ever go wrong with them.

Hope that helps. Lots of decisions. If you have a good store that uses different lighting options, I would go see how they all look. They will most likely try to sell you Ecotech Radions though, obviously.