drock59 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Curious as to what people would recommend for a 40g breeder frag tank light. I am looking for the best bang for the buck. Any advise appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 What kind of frags? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drock59 Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 mostly SPS, just like my tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 36" tek light 8 bulb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drock59 Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 Wow, think I need that much light? I guess it wouldn't hurt. do you recommend from experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drock59 Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 Forgot to mention, the cheaper the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 You could do a 250w or 400w Halide with a Lumenarc type reflector. I think it would cover fine. That is probably the cheapest route. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I would go ahead and use t5 lighting of some sort. it will save you money in the long run. the metal halides just use up so much electricity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I really dont think a 6 or 8 bulb Teklight would save any money over a single 250 or 400w with a good reflector. There is no way. The initial cost is 2-3 times the amount and have fun replacing all those bulbs. I love T5's but I think that if you can get away with one halide that is the way to go. Later Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef-fisher Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Have to agree with downhill biker. T-5 is probably your best bet, although I would go with the four bulb tek or retrofits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 4 bulbs wouldnt be very effective. That would have each bulb covering a 4.5" area. Reflectors are only usually 1.5"-2.5". I understand the love affair with saving electricity but it just doesn't save anything. Later Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamatSLS Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 The width of the T5 reflectors has little to do with the spread. 4 lamps would be fine on a 40 breeder... If you want to get a little more serious, 6 lamps would rock. There isn't a 3' 8 lamp Tek on the market anymore anyway.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 The width of the T5 reflectors has little to do with the spread... Explain Sammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I suggested the T-5 tek for maximum growth. Its my understanding the purpose of a frag tank is to grow out coral frags for sale or trade right? well the 8 bulb would get you growing faster and making returns on your coral investments sooner but yeah bulbs arent cheap. if cost is a consideration then look for a good used halide reflector. I know they dont make a 8 bulb any longer but can still be found used. 6 bulb would be awesome too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamatSLS Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Explain Sammy Very well... T5 reflectors spread light. None are designed to project light 100% downward. Therefore the width of the reflector doesn't mean it's only good for that area. For the average situation, 5" +/-above the tank, you can reasonably get around 5-6" of quality output from a single tube. Visible light is obviously going to be quite a bit wider, but that doesn't necessarily grow corals. 1 T5 covering a 4.5" area is not a stretch. Now, if you add tubes, cross illumination occurs, and the tank gets brighter in the 5-6" area you "can" illuminate with a single tube. Make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I prefer the 250 w MH for that application, one bulb to buy and electrical is reasonable, if you for some odd reason had a heat problem, raise it up a tad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralreefaquarist Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 40 breeder is my main tank and 8 bulb 36" teklight is my lighting i just replaced all bulbs with new gueismen bulbs it was like 180 bucks just for bulbs but im sure theyl be good for a year. im doing one midday 1 actinic and the rest are daylights. i still have nice color and growth is amazing. the 8 bulb teklights pop up used all the time for like 300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I really dont think a 6 or 8 bulb Teklight would save any money over a single 250 or 400w with a good reflector. There is no way. The initial cost is 2-3 times the amount and have fun replacing all those bulbs. I love T5's but I think that if you can get away with one halide that is the way to go. Later Ryan i dont really think the bulb cost is too different. the metal halides have to be replaced about once a year to maintain max efficiency, and the T5 maintains PAR for about 2 years. metal halide bulbs are $25 to $90 each, and T5 bulbs are about $20 each for any of the good manufacturers. the amount of electricity saved will be huge. i would say a TEK light is a good option. they have great reflectors and ballasts, so you get the MOST efficiency and light output for the fixture. you could probably go with a 4 or 6 bulb fixture and have great results. and i can tell you this and feel confident, as i wish i had done it on my main tank, instead i have metal halides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lundy24 Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 For that size tank I also think T5s are the best option and they give you a lot of flexibility of color temp and par with diff bulb choices. But I wouldn't say the electricity savings would be huge. 6 39w T5 bulbs are 234w total, which really isn't significantly less than a 250w halide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamatSLS Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Electricity costs are a minor difference in the T5 favor, but nowhere near enough to make it the deciding factor. Lamp replacement costs are going to be about the same with 6 lamps as MH as well. It's going to come down to preference. This thread could go forever, lol. The only real reasons I would pick the T5 option are that you can fine tune the color and get a wider mix of spectrums running together. You can count on a more even spread of light in your frag tank. You won't have to worry about placement of your corals as much. That's basically it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreenthumb Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Speaking from experience I would go with the halides, 2 175's would rock over that breeder. I would go with the halides since your wanting to do mostly sps. If you were only going to use it for lps, zoas, and shrooms then I would go with the t5's. I have a 20 breeder frag tank with 4 HO t5's and i am looking for a 250 halide to replace them. When i move sps frags from the display to the frag tank their growth slows and their colors dull. Since the frag tank is inline with the display I know it has nothing to do with water quality. IME their is a significant difference going from the mh to the t5's. I'm a t5 lover too and they definitely serve a purpose, but they just can't compete with H.I.D. point source lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamatSLS Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Speaking from experience I would go with the halides' date=' 2 175's would rock over that breeder. I would go with the halides since your wanting to do mostly sps. If you were only going to use it for lps, zoas, and shrooms then I would go with the t5's. I have a 20 breeder frag tank with 4 HO t5's and i am looking for a 250 halide to replace them. When i move sps frags from the display to the frag tank their growth slows and their colors dull. Since the frag tank is inline with the display I know it has nothing to do with water quality. IME their is a significant difference going from the mh to the t5's. I'm a t5 lover too and they definitely serve a purpose, but they just can't compete with H.I.D. point source lighting.[/quote'] There is a huge between your display lights and your 4 T5 lamps, no question. Do you run 250's on your display? Do you supplement them with VHO/T5/PC? What is your T5 lamp configuration? How old are the bulbs? What about flow differences? You should tell us more about your system before we conclude that the T5's are really causing your color fading/decreasing growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreenthumb Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 see this thread http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8654. should answer any and all questions any should have in more detail than I'm about to here. yes I run 2 250 mh on display 15k xm. yes i supplement with HO t5's both giesemann pure actinics. T5's over frag tank are 2 24w pure actinic and 2 24w aquablues. All 4 over frag tank are being overdriven w/ vho ballast. bulbs in display are all 8 months old. Bulbs over frag are 3 months old. Flow differences.... frag has a korallia 3 display runs a scwd with eductors so i would say the flow is less in the frag tank but more constant and stronger in the display but not constant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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