If you had $500 to spend on lighting...

[uscamaro]

...for a newly cycled reef tank, what light would you buy?

 

[Anonymous]

Kind of depends on what you want to keep, what matters to you and what size the tank is. :wink:

If looks (the appearance of the fixture) matter to you and the tank is small, I'd recommend going either with a single MH pendant or one of the newer LED fixtures. That way you get decent punch and shimmer. If the tank is larger and not deeper than maybe 24", a T5 fixture would be your best choice, particularly if having actinics matters to you.

Let us know the broad outline of the set up you're thinking of (fish only, reef tank, what sort of coral, what size tank, what your priorities are).

 

[uscamaro]

55g reef

 

[Anonymous]

Dimensions? Stocking? Shimmer? Running costs?

Come on, give us a bit more to go on.

 

[uscamaro]

I wasn't saying for my reef setup, it was a literal question for everyone. "If YOU had $500 to spend on lighting..." So if YOU had $500 to spend for YOUR 55g tank, which lighting system would YOU get? Not trying to be rude with the capitalization, just clarifying.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah, fine. It's wasn't that easy to see what you meant in your first post. There are plenty that'd come on here wanting advice for their own tank without giving enough detail.

In which case, a 250w MH mini pendant.

 

[uscamaro]

Ahh, I should've been more clear. Nice light choice!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I like the shimmer more than I need the actinic, though in an ideal world I'd have both. Plus you can get plenty of pop with the right kelvin.

 

[uscamaro]

have you ever tried the HQI... I saw one from Aqualight that had the MH bulbs, actinic, and LED lunars... drawback? 800 bones!

 

[Anonymous]

If I had $500 to spend on lighting I'd probably get myself a good digital ballast, 1,000W'r, and a case of HPS bulbs.

 

[Anonymous]

Aqua medic 250w HQI with phoenix 14k bulbs. You could probably get 2 for 500 right now on sale at Hellolights.com. Or they were, haven't checked lately. Best lights I have ever owned and corals grew like weeds.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

lol for my next setup that Im designing 500 dollars would get me a couple of bulbs :lol: :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

I'de spend $100 on lighting then do whatver I wanted with the remaining. :lol:

 

[dadstank]

what's really funny is i HAVE $500 to spend on new lights... i got a coralife unit within the last 2 years and it was nothing but a headache. since i had so many issues i was finally repaid with today's value a few months ago.... good news.

bad news is i have been hemming and hawing over what to get/do about it. right now i have a hacked together 175W Phoenix 14K and a 250W Phoenix 14K over the left and right side respectively. it works and everything but me is happy. the lights are concealed within the top, but it torks me to look at it... I've got a 120 from glasscages with a 40 sump. it's a very "hardy" softie reef - sure a quick search will serve up a photo or two....


i love the blue tinge to the white of the 14K and will more than likely stay within that range. MH is a must as I love the shimmer..... although I have no exp with straight T's so can't speak on that.... But I've been on a DYI kick lately - i got a want to build my own system. awesome i should stumble on this post as a first start! So - there ya go. what would you do if you're me?

buy ready-made? which one?
make your own? where'd you buy the bits and pieces from?
what would you use?

 

[Anonymous]

In your situation, I'd invest in a couple of Sunlight Supply Lumenmax 3 DE mini pendants, which go for about $150 each, which means you could buy the ballast with the remaining $200. Either that, or a couple of the Hamilton Cayman Sun pendants, which are $30 a throw cheaper, so you'd almost have enough to buy the bulbs and ballast for the $500.

Or, at least, those were the options I was looking at. In the end I went for a single MH Giesemann Infiniti fixture because I wanted to have the actinics.

 

[Raskal311]

4 bulbs Sunlight Supply Tek HOT5 with good quality bulbs would run you under $500 if you want something out of the box. But I would personally spend the money on a DIY LED light kit. The only LED you could get that is 48" for under $500 is the Marineland Reef LED. Only problem is they do not include enough blue LEDs.