View Full Version : Lights for my new 3ft...50g
I,m down to the 36in. 6 bulb Sunpower from Concepts
or the 2080, 32in. almost 300w multiple spectrum leds from Reef Supply Canda
BuschWacker
11-27-2013, 04:51 AM
I had to vote for the sunpower, seeing as how I ordered it from concepts this past weekend.
I had to vote for the sunpower, seeing as how I ordered it from concepts this past weekend.
:mrgreen:
ponokareefer
11-27-2013, 07:23 PM
If you go with T-5's, be prepared to replace your bulbs often. If you don't like the look of LED's though, your best to go with T-5's.
If you go with T-5's, be prepared to replace your bulbs often. If you don't like the look of LED's though, your best to go with T-5's.
You dont agree that with Sunpower or Powermodule, active cooling can give you almost a year with the bulbs?
BlueTang<3
11-27-2013, 07:41 PM
I ran the power module for years, bought a par meter the bulbs last for years before noticeable drops in par levels, it is the spectrum that shifts and you can notice a different colour. My vote would be ati absolutely loved my light miss it as can't get no where near the growth and colour with led.
Coasting
11-27-2013, 07:46 PM
I think its Evergrow not evergreen. :wink:
But my Evergrow lights are the bomb :D I run mine about 30% or so, and I cant get stuff to stop growing.. (and im not sure if that's a good thing or not....) Awesome colour, quiet, pretty, way less power consumption then my 4bulb t5, especially since their never at 100%. And stuff just wasn't growing under those in comparison, since switching last year, I cant keep up.
I think its Evergrow not evergreen. :wink:
But my Evergrow lights are the bomb :D I run mine about 30% or so, and I cant get stuff to stop growing.. (and im not sure if that's a good thing or not....) Awesome colour, quiet, pretty, way less power consumption then my 4bulb t5, especially since their never at 100%. And stuff just wasn't growing under those in comparison, since switching last year, I cant keep up.
Yes you're correct. I will get a staff guy to fix that. Thanks.
Im running their smaller unit over my 20g and happy with it. Just white and blue though.
As for wattage, guess it depends on what power they run at. The 2080 at full power is more wattage then a 6 bulb T-5. Which unit are you running?
Coasting
11-27-2013, 08:04 PM
I bought one of their other fixtures directly from them (evergrow) last year. Went with the Nova A8 as I didn't want to muck around with multiple fixtures. They didn't have this 32" one last year. Its stunningly blinding at 100%. I custom picked my bulb colours as I wanted more darker blues, as well as a mix of whites and making sure I included red and green.
Not a single problem with it so far, and im always leaving stuff on top of the light and getting it wet. But mines also simple, 2 dimmers vs computer run.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/Lolaandthecrowd/Fish%20Tank%20-%20SW/novalayout.png
Thanks for posting that info. Appreciated.
tim the toolman
11-27-2013, 11:35 PM
I've got 2 of the it2080 on my 180 right now and I really do enjoy them. One of the main things I liked was the 3 year warranty. Also they come with all the fixing to mount them quite easily. I do see a small amount of disco ball effect where the light concentrates through the rockwork but it's minimal and I don't even notice it unless I get to staring for a while. I don't run much as far as sps is concerned but I do have a large quantity of lps and zoas/plays. They all seem to love the lighting and some have never looked better.
I am still yet to run the lights at 100% and even at 80% some of my fish were hesitant to go all the way to the surface for food.
That is all
nrosdal
11-28-2013, 01:54 AM
T5s... Ewww:mrgreen:
T5s... Ewww:mrgreen:
:lol:
I've got 2 of the it2080 on my 180 right now and I really do enjoy them. One of the main things I liked was the 3 year warranty. Also they come with all the fixing to mount them quite easily. I do see a small amount of disco ball effect where the light concentrates through the rockwork but it's minimal and I don't even notice it unless I get to staring for a while. I don't run much as far as sps is concerned but I do have a large quantity of lps and zoas/plays. They all seem to love the lighting and some have never looked better.
I am still yet to run the lights at 100% and even at 80% some of my fish were hesitant to go all the way to the surface for food.
That is all
Thanls
T5s... Ewww:mrgreen:
Wellllllllllllllllllllll. You better come for coffee with a 2080 before I order the T-5, then its done.......:lol:
I've got 2 of the it2080 on my 180 right now and I really do enjoy them. One of the main things I liked was the 3 year warranty. Also they come with all the fixing to mount them quite easily. I do see a small amount of disco ball effect where the light concentrates through the rockwork but it's minimal and I don't even notice it unless I get to staring for a while. I don't run much as far as sps is concerned but I do have a large quantity of lps and zoas/plays. They all seem to love the lighting and some have never looked better.
I am still yet to run the lights at 100% and even at 80% some of my fish were hesitant to go all the way to the surface for food.
That is all
Does the ballast get warm? Are they cooled or require cooling
Skimmerking
11-28-2013, 01:46 PM
Doug I would seriously talk with Coasting I talked to her on the phone a awhile back and what a amazing person to talk to and great advice from the LED light that she has.
Aquattro
11-28-2013, 02:07 PM
You need to decide on what you really want out of lighting. Control or coral color. LED will give you better control. T5, better color. Ya, so you have to replace bulbs. Suck it up, cost of doing business.
reefwars
11-28-2013, 02:12 PM
You need to decide on what you really want out of lighting. Control or coral color. LED will give you better control. T5, better color. Ya, so you have to replace bulbs. Suck it up, cost of doing business.
+1 to this
Skimmerking
11-28-2013, 03:27 PM
i have the Mitras 6100 and I truely love it for what i can do to it the colors are loving my light it took a bit to get the corals used to it. But the Scollies love it and the Acans
tank lighting is sort of like dating. You gotta try a bunch of them before you can make an informed decision on which one is best for you. You can't always rely on what your buddy or your mom tells you because she/he/it may not be right for you.
Skimmerking
11-28-2013, 03:34 PM
:pop2:tank lighting is sort of like dating. You gotta try a bunch of them before you can make an informed decision on which one is best for you. You can't always rely on what your buddy or your mom tells you because she/he/it may not be right for you.
You need to decide on what you really want out of lighting. Control or coral color. LED will give you better control. T5, better color. Ya, so you have to replace bulbs. Suck it up, cost of doing business.
Actually control is the least thing I want. Does not serve much purpose for me and I just screw it up anyways..:lol:
And like you, bulb replacement is a non issue, as long as its not on a 6 month basis or something stupid like that.
I basically want the best light for my.......SPS....tank. And roughly in the price range of both the listed fixtures. And both, one being 36in. and one being 32in. should provide good coverage for my 36 by 18 tank.
And as I have time to decide, I seek all possible information from other users. :D.. I prefer the 2080 leds but then besides the many I know on RC, I see well seasoned aquarists on here like yourself and others dumping their leds to get better colour in their sps corals or even growth and colour, as some have mentioned.
Sooooooooo, there must be something to that, regardless of the successful led lit sps tanks.
Is that not correct. And the t-5 vote is almost twice that of leds vote....interesting.
I should just suck it up as you say and buy the powermodule combo unit and be done with it....:lol:
tank lighting is sort of like dating. You gotta try a bunch of them before you can make an informed decision on which one is best for you. You can't always rely on what your buddy or your mom tells you because she/he/it may not be right for you.
That is a fact for sure, but thats kind of expensive. I have run every kind over the many years. Not exact models but halide, pc, t-5 and leds.
AND, I only dated one woman and I married her.
Aquattro
11-28-2013, 05:14 PM
Doug, a lot of people try to defend the growth ability of LED, and I think that's unwarranted. LED will certainly grow SPS, probably as well as MH. I had no complaints with growth. Really didn't have much to complain about in color either, just a difference that was noticeable to me. In the end, you can't go wrong with either, it just comes down to what you want to look at in YOUR tank.
In the end, you can't go wrong with either
unless you pick the wrong one.
unless you pick the wrong one.
:attention:
Skimmerking
11-28-2013, 05:56 PM
unless you pick the wrong one.
kien I totally agree with you on that one. Brad I seriously think if yopu had the money and could afford the Mitras you would still be using them. IMHO. I know that you loved your MH for the longest that I can remember. If you took the plunge on the AI sols but deep down I think you should have waited on pulling the trigger on those and went with the Mitras but that is alot of $$$ to fork out. I lucked out and got my unit the black 6100 for a smoking deal it was used for 30 days and the price i couldn't hold back on.
Aquattro
11-28-2013, 06:01 PM
kien I totally agree with you on that one. Brad I seriously think if yopu had the money and could afford the Mitras you would still be using them.
sorry Mike, crack smoking at it's best :) If I had the money, I would have installed an HRV and kept MH. I would not spend the money on Mitras even if I won the lottery. The only thing I like about them is the quick disconnect. The light itself is crap, IMO.
If I were to start over, I'd seriously look at the ATI hybrid, which would have cost me what I paid for all my AIs originally. Having tried all three types of lighting now, for a SPS tank, I would choose MH, T5 then LED, in that order.
I agree with brad!!! If I was a baller I would do triple threat like Darryl mh+t5+led!!!
-Tony
Another poll. Yeah! Sunpower all the way. Surely by know you guys have learned you never listen to Mike....gawd!!! :wink:
If I had the money, I would have installed an HRV and kept MH.
:thumb:
In my very limited experience but totally accurate opinion ;) jk
I would say go t5. I love leds and the shimmer, and color options but from what i've seen and experienced (again limited) is t5 tanks usually have nice colors then led. I think leds have a better actinic color though if that makes any sense. Fwiw and you know this, as fast as the leds are evolving youll shell out for a fixture that will be T12 compared to t5 in a year. I still think leds have a long way to come before I would use them for coral again. I do love them on my freshy tanks though
Nvm just reread the post!! If your chasing sps colours hands down t5 but you soon want some pop pop so you will add some blues and royal blues .
-Tony
:cry: Im pricing ATI combos now....:doh:
nrosdal
11-28-2013, 09:25 PM
maybe you can be the guinea pig for everyone and get the sunpower and run it for a bit then i will give ya a LED to run for a while and if neither is to your liking we can try a hybrid. I just am not sure on how the T5s hold up for resale value as i wouldn't want you to lose money when you sell it at the end :twised:
maybe you can be the guinea pig for everyone and get the sunpower and run it for a bit then i will give ya a LED to run for a while and if neither is to your liking we can try a hybrid. I just am not sure on how the T5s hold up for resale value as i wouldn't want you to lose money when you sell it at the end :twised:
Okie doke Nick. But as Kien said its like choosing a girl friend. Nobody believe me anywho. If I tell Brad led is the best he will call me funny names.
Okie doke Nick. But as Kien said its like choosing a girl friend. Nobogy believe me anywho. If I tell Brad led is the best he will call me funny names.
and we all know how ridiculously expensive "girlfriends" are.. :neutral:
Aquattro
11-28-2013, 10:14 PM
If I tell Brad led is the best he will call me funny names.
Doug, LED are nice and might be best for you, only you can tell.
Thats not as bad as Brad calling me funny names..:D
LoJack
11-28-2013, 10:47 PM
when you mentioned the word SPS you nailed it.
ATI all the way, T5 hands down for SPS colour. Everyone running this fixture only does bulb changes once a year.
LED is great for some applications … but not for SPS in my opinion. A lot of people will vote for LED because that's what they have, even with no knowledge of using T5 before. They just really like their LED's (LED Guys are a cult lol pushing their low energy kool-aid on the rest of us haha) and need to convince themselves they are the best lol … sorry LED guys.
But I can offer you experience from someone who started with LED on his SPS tank, and has now switched to an ATI Sunpower 8x54 and has noticed marvellous colour shifts and increased growth.
I actually used to be a halide guy, and shot down T5 (with no real experience other than what I read, due to these bulb changes) … but after having used this fixture, with this bulb combination I wouldn't change right now if you donated 4 Radions to me, or 4 Mitras.
And cost … meh, (8) 4 foot bulbs are $200 a year shipped to my door. (6) 3 foot bulbs is prob closer to $110 for you.
What is $110 a year in a reef tank … with what we spend on everything else
Cut 10 frags with your excess growth you wouldn't see with LED and offset the cost muahahaha
P.S … let the floodgates open for the flaming I'm about to take from the LED guys hahahaha
when you mentioned the word SPS you nailed it.
ATI all the way, T5 hands down for SPS colour. Everyone running this fixture only does bulb changes once a year.
LED is great for some applications … but not for SPS in my opinion. A lot of people will vote for LED because that's what they have, even with no knowledge of using T5 before. They just really like their LED's (LED Guys are a cult lol pushing their low energy kool-aid on the rest of us haha) and need to convince themselves they are the best lol … sorry LED guys.
But I can offer you experience from someone who started with LED on his SPS tank, and has now switched to an ATI Sunpower 8x54 and has noticed marvellous colour shifts and increased growth.
I actually used to be a halide guy, and shot down T5 (with no real experience other than what I read, due to these bulb changes) … but after having used this fixture, with this bulb combination I wouldn't change right now if you donated 4 Radions to me, or 4 Mitras.
And cost … meh, (8) 4 foot bulbs are $200 a year shipped to my door. (6) 3 foot bulbs is prob closer to $110 for you.
What is $110 a year in a reef tank … with what we spend on everything else
Cut 10 frags with your excess growth you wouldn't see with LED and offset the cost muahahaha
P.S … let the floodgates open for the flaming I'm about to take from the LED guys hahahaha
Ha ha, I was waiting for you to get in on it. :biggrin:
LoJack
11-28-2013, 11:06 PM
Ha ha, I was waiting for you to get in on it. :biggrin:
lol I wasn't going to bother … I thought "he knows where I stand" so I voted and kept my comments to myself … and then I kept reading haha
They are right about controllability though, the ATI runs two separate ballasts for all of its bulbs, so you get 2 bulbs on one ballast, and the rest of the bulbs on the other.
Sunrise and Sunset are pretty much obsolete. Dimming isn't an option unless you buy the dimmable sun power.
But in terms of colour … I had LED's … and once I found the spectrum I liked, I never changed it … not sure why anyone would.
T5's give you the same option … too blue, and one more purple+ and eliminated a Blue+ Too purple … do the opposite.
You can hit any colour spectrum you want with T-5 as well … because you can run whichever bulbs you want, you just can't change that colour spectrum with a controller on a whim like the LED guys can.
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