8ft tank, lighting ideas?
 

Hi all, Tank is 96x30x24, On my other tank I have t5s with reefbrite and I love it...but wont this new monster need 2-8 bulbers? Then reefbrites on top of that?... I dont know how I feel about changing 16 bulbs just on that tank every 6 mos...
Thanks!

Lighting is a tough decision on a large tank. I have a 96" x 36" x 27". I have 4 x 250w radiums plus 8 x 54w T5HO and Reefbrite blue. I already owned 3 mh when I upgraded from my 220g. This tank is devoted to SPS so strong lighting is a priority for me.

Nice, bet you that looks sweet!

Not yet, but it is coming along. I just came through a few rough months and the tank is recovering. I have been procrastinating on starting a tank journal. Time to get off my butt and get it started. Soon.

Glad to hear its recovering! Look forward to the journal!

I would recommend either MH or LED.
I have 2 ATI hybrids over my 96 x 48 x 30. Like you mentioned, changing 16 bulbs is not fun. Neither is changing ballasts.

I'll be going to LED after these ATI units.
I don't know which brand yet, I'll be looking at Radion, GHL or Kessil.

I am experimenting with LED over my 75g. I have 2 of the GHL Mitras 6200 LX for it. I have lps, ricordias and zoas in it for now. I plan to move some sps frags in to it and see how they do compared to my sps under mh. I am very impressed with the Mitras but have no experience with other led's for comparison.

I've had 3 Mitras units for 4 years now - 2-6200's and 1-6100.
I haven't had a single hardware issue with them, the software was a challenge at first but GHL is improving how user friendly the software is.

Mike Paletta seems to like the Radions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5HJVxfWQ2c

.

A lot of newish research is showing that LEDs (at least newer generations) are more than adequate to grow and show any kind of corals. As mentioned above, a lot of the 'names' in reefing are making the switch and having great success.

Just remember that stability is the key to successful fishkeeping. Just because your LED lets you manipulate 1,500 variables does not mean you should.

That said, LED, MH, T5 will all grow coral.

For me, on a big tank, I did the math on fixtures and bulbs and after breathing into a paper bag for a while, 16 3' T5 bulbs (2 8 bulb fixtures) every 9 months was $480 every 9 months. The fixtures were $900 each. 3 LED fixtures was $3,000 and would last for around 10 years. Electricity was about the same. Even if LEDs were slightly less effective than T5's the cost savings were worth it in just over 18 months.

Charles

If you're keeping both tanks, why don't you transfer the goodies from your current 4 ft tank into the 8 ft, keep the lighting reasonable for a mixed reef, and then use the smaller tank as dedicated SPS? SPS can be challenging and frustrating at times, so you might want to start smaller to see how you like it.

Even so, an ATI 8-bulb fixture is only 18" wide, and you're probably not going to get enough coverage/power if you're serious about SPS. For a mixed reef, the 8-bulb would be ok because you could raise it up a bit higher (sacrifice PAR to the corals), and you'd be able to get enough coverage out of it.

Fwiw, I change my T5s at 8-9 months, the actinic at 6 months. I change out two at a time so that there isn't a huge PAR jump.