Lighting

andrewrob

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I’m have been running t5 lights 2 bulbs in one fixture and then another one with 2 t8s I been running them for about 12 hours a day combined I’m thinking about just dropping to one set should I run the t5s or the t8s or the me bulb of each?? Do these bulbs expire or get old?
 

Imaexpat2

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The T8's tend to color shift after only 6 months, T5HO's dont do that until about 10-12 months depending on the bulb and brand. I need to know whats in your tank before I can tell ya to keep one fixture or the other.
 
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andrewrob

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I have one Haitians anemone and a 6 fish but I’m wanting to start putting corals in and more anemones I’m possibly thinking about upgrading lights but island what to use my tank is 48 inch long 18 inch from front to back 24 inch tall
 

Jekyl

GSP is the devil and clowns are bad pets
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Upgrading will depend on budget. 8 bulb T5 would let you have any anemone or coral you wanted. Hybrid if you like the LED features
 
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andrewrob

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Upgrading will depend on budget. 8 bulb T5 would let you have any anemone or coral you wanted. Hybrid if you like the LED features
I like led but what light should I get
 

Jekyl

GSP is the devil and clowns are bad pets
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In that range, 2 viparspectra 165w. Very powerful lights. No bells and whistles. Run them at about 20% white and 60% blue.
 

CanuckReefer

Simple...Salt, Water, LR, Lighting and Flow.
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I have one Haitians anemone and a 6 fish but I’m wanting to start putting corals in and more anemones I’m possibly thinking about upgrading lights but island what to use my tank is 48 inch long 18 inch from front to back 24 inch tall
Goliath the LTA here has been in a similar sized tank with 2 T5's (10K and an actinic), and A Fluval 3.0 (bought last year to supplement) for over 2 years. And it keeps growing. Softie tank most part. I won't say this is the norm but, seems to work just fine for me....
20210325_222038.jpg
 

Imaexpat2

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What’s the best for the money 200 to 400 range
On a tank like that my choice would be 2 x Kessile 360X or start out with a couple of Reef Brite XHO's (1 x 50/50 and 1 x actinic) but youll likely need at least 1 more if not 2-3 more later if you move into SPS corals. The regular non-XHO strip lights are about as cheap as you can get watt for the dollar and PAR. The XHO's are a little more and use 5 watt LEDs (instead of 3 if I remember correctly) and have a nice reflector that will spread the light around the tank for less shadowing. The non -XHO's (not Lumilite series) use about 20% less power and produce about 15-20% more PAR than a equal length T5HO which has been kind of the gold standard that many use to judge a lights performance against for quiet a while. I would use the XHO if you intend to do SPS and the regular non-XHO's if your just gonna do Softies and LPS. The Kessils will give you the shimmer like Halides produce that many love, the Reef Brite will be more like T5HO's and give you a nice muted flood light type look to the tank. The Reef Brite actinics will give your corals color pop like no other in my opinion. Now the Kessils are adjustable with an optional controller or the adapter for use with the Apex Controller. The only control you have with reef brites is the 18 dollar 5 position switch that controls intensity only!

Are there better options? Yes. But these are two I have personally used extensively. They are stupid simple to set up and operate and I am a simple kinda guy and like simple kinda things. If your into tweaking things often or constantly maybe Radions or AI's are better suited to you and your reefing style. I just didnt go that route when it was time to ditch the Halides as I prefer to find something that works and roll with it placing consistency and stability over chasing the ultimate light setting combination.

I am planning a similar sized tank about 12 months from now when my credit cards are paid off and I am debt free and I am going with 5 reef brite XHO's, 2 x 50/50 and 3 actinics on the 5 light mounting bracket sold as an accessory. I have had a XHO fixture I bought used and I am using Lumi-Lite Pros over 2 of my tanks now and I am most pleased with them. I am also using a Kessil A80 Tuna Blue over my 6 gallon Cube QT tank (certified SPS freak and probably the biggest fan boy of QT tanks on this forum!) and love it! I was seriously considering using two A80 Tuna Blues over my 20H SPS frag tank but I wasnt all that happy with the PAR numbers I was getting and felt it would be adequate but not great for a tank that deep. For LPS it would have been the cats meow in my opinion.
 

monkeyCmonkeyDo

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Imo a tek 4 bulb or similar grow lamp with aquarium bulbs or even a 6 bulb will grow anything. You can put sps up top.
Id get one with a built in timer and fans but im cheap. Lol
D
 

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