Lighting

[chef]

Hello y'all. Still debating the lighting situation over my 93g cube. 8 in. in the rear is eaten up by a coast to coast so I need to light up a 28" x 22" area. Tank is 24" deep. The lumenmax elite 250 pendant keeps popping up but I would love a t5 combo. Lately looking @ the geisemann 24" 250w, 4x24w t5. Is the mh reflector gonna have enough spread. Mainly want to keep a mixed reef. Any thoughts? Thanx

[naesco]

Originally Posted by chef

Hello y'all. Still debating the lighting situation over my 93g cube. 8 in. in the rear is eaten up by a coast to coast so I need to light up a 28" x 22" area. Tank is 24" deep. The lumenmax elite 250 pendant keeps popping up but I would love a t5 combo. Lately looking @ the geisemann 24" 250w, 4x24w t5. Is the mh reflector gonna have enough spread. Mainly want to keep a mixed reef. Any thoughts? Thanx

Go LED. They are now available in pendants as well. I think you will be disappointed later if you do not take the time to seriously look at LED options.

[chef]

I have toyed the idea of the vertex illumina 260 24". Just wondering if I can swallow the close to $2000 wallet hit!

[naesco]

Originally Posted by chef

I have toyed the idea of the vertex illumina 260 24". Just wondering if I can swallow the close to $2000 wallet hit!

Take a look at www.fish-street.com. There are two different LED systems available.
I have had the maxspect for almost a year and am really happy with it.

[chef]

Those LED's on the "fish-street" site look sweet. Did you buy the cree version, and are you keeping sps successfully? Thanx

[chef]

Has anybody else ordered an LED light from these folks. Prices seem very reasonable, just a little concerned about quality and lumen output.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by chef

Those LED's on the "fish-street" site look sweet. Did you buy the cree version, and are you keeping sps successfully? Thanx

I bought the cree version. I only keep LPS. The lighting gives exceptional coral florescence.
The quality is excellent.

[rtram]

there are various tanks in calgary and on sites such as reef central that have had much success using the maxspect fixure mentioned above, however it is not dimmable, but the LEDs can be swapped out provided you purchase the appropriate kit. another fixture that is popular and should be considered are the AI SOL units, which also produce quite a bit of par.

I'd say the only two downsides to LED lighting right now is, for some, the cost of the fixtures, and the life expectancy and how well the colors of the CREE leds hold up. although the manufactures of said fixtures claim that their lights may last for x hours without losing significant coloration, we've yet to see any hard evidence to prove these statements. There are tanks that have been successful in growing all sorts of light demanding corals with LED lighting, so lumen output shouldn't be a primary concern imo.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by rtram

there are various tanks in calgary and on sites such as reef central that have had much success using the maxspect fixure mentioned above, however it is not dimmable, but the LEDs can be swapped out provided you purchase the appropriate kit. another fixture that is popular and should be considered are the AI SOL units, which also produce quite a bit of par.

I'd say the only two downsides to LED lighting right now is, for some, the cost of the fixtures, and the life expectancy and how well the colors of the CREE leds hold up. although the manufactures of said fixtures claim that their lights may last for x hours without losing significant coloration, we've yet to see any hard evidence to prove these statements. There are tanks that have been successful in growing all sorts of light demanding corals with LED lighting, so lumen output shouldn't be a primary concern imo.

The older models were not dimmable. They are now.

[chef]

Do you think these units could hold a candle to a vertex illumina 260. I am just questioning cause these units are one third the price of a vertex.