First Salt tank in 30 Years

[Ted]

Hello,

We have been lurking in the backround for quite awhile.
We have many freshwater tanks going but this is the first salt tank (FOWLR) in 30 years.
Man have things changed in that time, both marine equipment and mine!

We have just started a 29 gal tank and are looking for some advice on 30 inch lighting. The tank has a glass top on it right now and we would like to add some double T5HO or something simple get get more light than the 24 flourescent tube that came with the hood.

We want to get this tank going and see what we can do with it before moving to something bigger, not wanting to grow the most demanding corals, but some of the easier ones would be great if we can get away with it.

We have checked out all the online and local shops in Edmonton, and learned a lot from the folks at Canreef, but a nudge to a good cost effective lighting system would be great.

Take Care,

Ted and Thresa
Bon Accord

[Madreefer]

How about a sinle Aquaillumination Sol LED fixture. Or any LED fixture for that matter. Good enough to grow coral, less power consumption, no heat, programable and no need to replace bulbs as they supposedly last up to 11 years.

[Ted]

Those would be nice but a little expensive, it doesn't look like there are any local dealers either. We did have a look at the 30" Marineland double bright but they didn't seem to give out a lot of light.

[SauceBoss]

the coralife aqualight dual bulb t5 would be an affordable starting block. Just get an acintic vs the colormax bulb. Prices have gone up, thats for sure.

[reefwars]

im with mad on this one for a 29g it really wouldnt be to costly and theres a good vendor in reddeer(modular led) they are a sposor here.

i personally think lighting is one of the most important things in a reef tank and even though your not planning on having any dfficult corals to keep its nice to have the option to put whatever you like in the tank and not be limited to softies

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by Madreefer

How about a sinle Aquaillumination Sol LED fixture. Or any LED fixture for that matter. Good enough to grow coral, less power consumption, no heat, programable and no need to replace bulbs as they supposedly last up to 11 years.

Originally Posted by Ted

Those would be nice but a little expensive, it doesn't look like there are any local dealers either. We did have a look at the 30" Marineland double bright but they didn't seem to give out a lot of light.

Steve at Red coral Edmonton sells the Aquaillumination Sol LED fixture. A tek T5 light is also nice but they're not much cheaper then the Aquaillumination Sol LED's and the money you would save on bulb replacement on tek lights, the LED light will pay for itself.

[riceboy]

try concepts he's a canadian retailer and offer free shipping if you spend over 100 dollars, he has most led fixtures and other light fixtures like mh or hot5s at a really reasonable price. just contact dave at concepts great guy to deal with and always tries to make something work for you and your budget.

http://www.conceptaquatics.ca/

on that note if your trying to decide on which fixture to go with, here is a little gist of it lol,
-t5 will be ok i know everyone is into leds but if your tank is longer than 2' you'll most likely will require 2 led fixtures, where as a t5 fixture will spread through out the whole length of the tank.
-t5 you have to change the bulbs at least once a year so at 20-25 a bulb it adds up, where as leds will maintain thier par and what not for at least 5 years
-t5 good color and growth but nothing beats the leds for color imo lol

i myself am running t5 and the tank was starting to color up mainly sps until i had a crash but all the lps are doing great lol. the only down side is it costs me about 120 a year to change bulbs which isn't to bad but i want to upgrade to leds just for the color "pop" in corals and the shimmer sure is nice lol, and i don't have to change any bulbs for at least 5 years,

[Myka]

If you could find a 24" Hagen Glo with 2x 24 watt T5s in it that will get you started. They have a built in extension bracket that will expand to 30" and come with mounting legs. I think they are $140 new and come with bulbs. I think PetSmart has the best price or look for a used one. They come in a saltwater version and a freshwater version with the only difference being the bulbs included. I use two of these fixtures on my 20 gallon tank and they work well for low light corals. They are a good buy for the price, and are good enough for small tanks (I wouldn't try them on tanks deeper than 18"). You can buy one now, and buy a second one in a few weeks or a few months. If you do go this route, use one of the Hagen bulbs and buy one replacement bulb that is better quality like ATI or Korallen-Zucht.

OR

Sunlight Supply (which makes Tek) makes a fixture called New Wave that is a more industrial looking fixture, but is very cost efficient, and a good quality fixture (much better than the Hagen)! If your local dealers don't have it you can order it from J&L Aquatics for $140 plus the cost of bulbs. The New Wave holds 4 bulbs. J&L has free shipping over $100 and you will receive your items in just a couple days. Bulbs don't ship free, although over $100 the shipping is greatly reduced. You would have to hang this fixture either from the ceiling or a bracket you make yourself. This fixture is not water proof though, so you will have to have a lid on your tank (which means having a sump would become much more important).

If you haven't drilled your tank for a sump yet, I would highly recommend that you do! The quality of filtration (including but not limited to protein skimmers) is much greater if you utilize a sump. The quality of hang-on skimmers is really not up to par (Deltec is the only one I would bother spending any money on).

[Ted]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the advice, we went with a 4 bulb 24 inch T5, it doesnt cover the entire top but is still lots of light in the small tank.

Everything is going very well with the tank, so we purchased a 150 gallon, filled it with money then started to take handfulls out for equipment. The tank has no money left in it now and the basement and spare bedroom look like a LFS.

Picked up some lights 8 bulb T5 (thanks Steve-O) skimmer, plumbing, pumps, ATO, heaters and such and just need to build a stand to hold everything. We will have a look at LED's when the cost comes down and the performance comes up.

Thanks to all those at the local shops and folks we have met in person and through Canreef, we have learned a lot from you.

We will let you know how things go!

Take Care
Ted and Theresa

[HaZRaTTy]

Just received my Ai Sols from RC mounted them into my built canopy sitting 12'' AWL and without water/coral/fish in the Tank they LOOK Stunning. I've shown 3-4 friends and they are completely Impressed!!

I highly suggest you look into LED's, They might be a few hundred dollars more to purchase but if you add up the Heat,Power,Bulb replacement Factors they will pay for themselves like others have said!