Lighting a 30 inch deep tank with a 2 foot center brace???

[Hustler]

I have to find new lights for my 300.... I wanted to go LED but I cant seem to find anything in a decent price range that will get as deep as I need without spending over 2k....
So ive been looking into an ebay 72" light fixture or 2 48" with the 250w halides and T5s..... but now Im thinking.....
I have a 2 foot glass brace in the center..... so I cant put a hot lamp over and it will kill the LED usefullness so i would have to do 2 big lighs on either side with T5s running the length of the tank..... or maybe not????
I know a bit about lighting but this is my first reef set up so any advice is Greatly appreciated :)

[The Grizz]

Look into doing some DIY LEDS with 80 degree optics OR rip the top rim off your tank, remove the center brace & replace with a 3/4" euro brace :biggrin: that what I am doing for my 300.

[Hustler]

It has eurobracing all around but has that center aswell.... Im not cutting it appart LOL
next tank is a 500+ and acrylic.... till then Ill learn the ropes with this one :)
The last few LED diys Ive seen are almost the same price as the standard 3w cree setups in the pendulem design but weeks of work I just cant spare....
I need it to be somewhat cost effective as far as running but also work....I dont care about brands as much as it just working even if it looks ugly I can hide it as long as it works

[The Grizz]

Ok how about these

http://www.aquatraders.com/48-716W-Metal-Halide-T5-LED-Combo-p/54267.htm

I use a similar light on my 165 but mine only have 2 - T5's per fixture.

[Hustler]

I was thinking 2 of these??? or if i can figure out what units so I dont have halides over the glass brace...

[Hustler]

link wont show....
48" Metal Halide 250W HQI Auqrium Lighting T5 HO 54W on ebay

[The Grizz]

Be careful of the EBay fixtures, the ones I posted above are good quality at a reasonable price & they will ship using USPS so no Duti / broker fees.

[The Grizz]

I just measured my fixtures from Aqua Traders & the MH bulbs over the mid part of my tank are 30" c - c & 28" between the end caps.

[Hustler]

Im trying to think of how that will work out tape measure wise....lol Ive got 8 feet by 30" with a 24" center brace... as far as i can tell none of the fixtures will work... Ill either have to go with 400w halides on each end with 5+ T5s in the center or..... i dont even know...

[The Grizz]

I have an 8'er with 2 of these fixtures on it but mine don't have the legs that the one in the link that I sent you has. On the ones above the legs slide in with a simple screw driver and one fixture measure's 47 5/8" so 2 of them would be 95 1/4". Sound like it would fit to me.

[intarsiabox]

Why can't you have a light suspended over the glass brace? If you're concerned about heat in that area just have a small fan blowing across it.

[Hustler]

I could for sure and I plan to suspend them from the roof anyways with a fan system of some kind....
I thought the glass filtered out all the goodies???

[intarsiabox]

MH fixtures have glass over the bulbs to start with as it absorbs some of the UV rays to make it safer. The bigger concern is to keep the brace clean as any dust, salt, etc will reduce the light to the corals. Some people run MH with full glass tops with good results but heat has to be dealt with accordingly.

[Hustler]

Thats kind of what i figured... I just wasnt sure if they were using pyrex like in the hydro hobby.
Ill have to figure something out as i added my first set of 4 48" T5ho's today and it did almost nothing lol
I was thinking to double that and do 3 250W halides but that would be skimping pretty bad wouldnt it...
Im still looking to the Ebay hobby lighting fixtures if I can find a way to deal with the centerbrace it seems like the best bang for the buck?

[viperfish]

250's aren't skimping at all. You'll just have to keep your SPS in the top half of the tank.