Need some SPS/Lighting advice please.

[CHEMCHEF]

A little info about my tank and future upgrade.
Right now running a Solana with 20" 6Xt5 Fixture
Tunze 9002 skimmer
Vortech MP10
Chemi pure elite
Dosing 5ml 2 part a day
Vodka dosing .4 ML a day (with good results so far)
(DIY Gatorade bottle bio pellet reactor comoing soon)to do away with V-dosing

Upgrade will be 28X26X20 Rimless cube
Sump w/ Bubble magus 60 skimmer
Fuge Chamber
Blah blah blah

My situation is. I would like a mixed reef with mostly sps.
I have had some sps in the past with varied success.
As of now I have 5-6 nice sps frags that seem to be doing well but I think growth and color could be better.
The big question is. Is my current lighting sufficient for the (current) system?
I know people have great succecs with T5's and SPS tanks. But they also seem to be very good fixtures. ATI, Tek etc.
Would it benefit me to go MH? I am thinking 250w so when I upgrade. It will still be enough.
With that. Would 1x250MH be enought to light a 28" long tank? (future upgrade)
I know there are alot of questions here.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[jerl77]

stay with the t5 jmo

 

[flipit13]

i would also stay T5 or go with led. just my 2 cents

 

[NYreefNoob]

no good t5's in that length unless u go with the 24" which will be fine look into the ati sunpower

 

[naples]

t5's is the way to go

 

[CHEMCHEF]

Thanks everyone. I will def. be upgrading to a 24" if I stay with the T5's. Just a little wide for the solana @ present.
24" 6 or 8 bilb fixtures seem fairly limited in selection.

 

[NYreefNoob]

6 bulb ati sunpower module, check reef geeks thread on RC they post some specials and scratch and dent stuff

 

[mbg75]

there's a low priced 20" sunpod mh on the clasifieds

 

[anthony27]

listen to them and rick the ati is the way to go.

 

[ClosetFishGeek]

How about A/I leds all the way....If not then you already have the answer....t5's....:splitspin

 

[NYreefNoob]

if ya got the money then personally id go with 2 Ai but you would need to raise them up pretty high to get the back coverage. if you used a luminarc large pendent a single 250w mh along with some t5's for suppliments would do nicely also, hard for me to reccomend anything other then t5's as this is the route i have used the most and always went back to using, and ive had mh, and led

 

[InfernoST]

how about a/i leds all the way....if not then you already have the answer....t5's....:splitspin

+1

 

[InfernoST]

if ya got the money then personally id go with 2 Ai but you would need to raise them up pretty high to get the back coverage. if you used a luminarc large pendent a single 250w mh along with some t5's for suppliments would do nicely also, hard for me to reccomend anything other then t5's as this is the route i have used the most and always went back to using, and ive had mh, and led

If he uses a large luminarc pendant where do you put the T5's?

 

[CHEMCHEF]

I was considering the Outer Orbit 1X250MH 4X24"t5 Fixture, as it seemed to have the best of both worlds, but am now leaning more toward the ATI
I dont see much difference in the specs between the Powermodule and the Sunpower fixtures aside from size and number of fans,,,and of course price.
Does anybody know if there are any drawbacks with the Sunpower unit?

 

[NYreefNoob]

less fans which doesnt let the fixture stay as cool, i have owned both sunpower and powermodule, the build is alot better on power module and the extra fans do a wonder in keeping the unit cool, cant go wrong either or and these cant go in a canopy

 

[House of Laughter]

Chem,

Are you going to leave the rimless open and not with a canopy? Also, will the fixture hang? or will it sit on legs on the tank?

House

 

[CHEMCHEF]

I wil be leaving the top open and would like to hang the fixture.

 

[NYreefNoob]

ati comes with hanging wires but you would need brackets to hang if from or ceiling, i will say this, i did have a sp 6 bulb 36" and went to a 8 bulb pm i would say the pm weighs 3x more

 

[CHEMCHEF]

That is good info, thanks. I will build an arm support to hang the fixture out of 3/4 X 3/4-065 wall DOM rollcage tubing. Overkill I'm sure. But I have some & my buddy welds. Plus he will powdercoat it.
This will all take some time. I just started the "upgrade envelope"

 

[aznt1217]

A few things. Of course you know I always have the long responses.

1. How much is your budget for lighting? I think this will dictate the majority of your choices.
2. You want a mixed reef so how much SPS are we talking about?
3. Do you have specific aquascaping in mind?
4. How far is the fixture going to be from the tank?
5. Currently how are your SPS placed? Is it near the Vortech where there's a lot of flow?

If I were doing a cube with those dimensions I would get 3-4 of those PAR38 LED bulbs and hang them above the cube tank for aesthetics, cost, and functional purposes. You can also adjust the height individually depending on what fixture you hang it on (here you have a lot of choices so it can match your house). With the spare money I'd pick up another MP10 to really get flow going around. I am figuring all of this is in the budget range of $500. But keep in mind. I am a noob