Lighting a 30" deep sps tank
 

Hi i'm hoping to get some input on lighting for my new tank. On my current 120 I have the new sunbrite f-series fixture and it has been great with the 20"'s of depth that my tank has but I know it won't be enough for 30" if I intend to keep clams and sps lower in the tank.

What would be some possible other LED options that would provide the punch to have good par at the bottom of a deep tank?

I've heard that the Orphek units are designed with deeper tanks in mind but the cost of them is pretty high considering I think I would need 5 units at $800 per.

Do the sol's have enough output for a deep tank? I'm thinking I would need 6-8 of these units as my tank is 72 longX28 Wide.

Based on the overall cost of LED im seriously considering going back to MH. I was thinking that 3 400W 20K radiums in good reflectors would work well. I could get a good MH setup for about $1500 where the LED's im assuming would be a minimum of $3000. It would take at least 3 years to realize the benefit from energy savings and bulb replacements.

Not sure what to do. I like how my current led's run cool and my evaporation is about half compared to my old halides but I also miss the overall look that MH lights give to a tank.

I would look at what you might be able to do DIY with some HO LED's and a couple of 50W multi-chips spaced across a heatsink. There is a pretty good DIY multi-chip thread at RC where some guys are lighting 40" deep tanks without issues. The multi-chips seem to do a good job for a pretty reasonable price.

Thanks i'll try to find the thread on RC. DIY is appealing to me as you can pretty much get exactly what you want but for the full control I would need to buy a controller as well. I definitely have that in my plans at some point but not quite yet.

My tanks 96l x 40w x 30h
I run 10 AI's 10" awl at 65% so far, no regrets to date!!
I used to run 6x250w halides and although the light was great the other issues added up fast. Evaporation, heat, power bill and bulbs were sucking up all the tank funds!!

Awesome dimensions on your tank. Do you keep any sps or clams near/on the sand bed? How do you have your lights setup? 5 horizontally across the front and back? Realistically what do you thing their coverage is before the intensity really falls off on your tank?

Thanks for the input.

I have a marine land 300 with 27 inch depth, running 10 AIs with lots of Sps and clams even on the sand bed with no issues. Lights are 10 in awl.

Thanks for the input. Your tank is looking great.

You may want to look at the radions with the new TIR lens kit. This new lens kit is meant for tanks 30" deep

Its hard to say at this point, I haven't really moved pieces higher or lower yet. I'd like to wait till my intensities up a bit more then I'll try and find permanent homes for colonies.
I do notice the areas directely under the fixtures is brighter to the eye but i do have sps 4-6" from the bottom of the tank currently with no problems

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...wtank012-1.jpg

Wow tank looks great. That tang at the front is huge.