Lighting for 180 gallon reef tank

Noochy12 · 05-27-2011, 10:44 AM

I'm trying to decide what lighting I want to get for my 180 gallon 72x24x24. I want to get 3 Ecoray 112D units but they're kind of expensive, Approx $1500 for 3. I was looking into this: AquaticLife 8 Lamp T5 HO with 6 lunar LEDs but will this be enough? The price of this unit is $549. Thanks

tike · 05-27-2011, 05:31 PM

Looks like they have indivdual reflectors so it's a good one. Couple of things: what type of corals are you keeping?, 24" depth for t-5 is a little deep, 18" depth is maximum to get good light penetration to the depths. You could always keep high light loving corals in the middle to top of your rock work.

Ranger · 05-28-2011, 03:44 AM

I currently have T5 but I'm hoping to move over to LED's over the next few weeks, as far as I'm aware LED's are better than T5 but not as good as Metal Halide but with Halides the don't have enough Blue, you can see this now as most new Halides have some blue in them mostly LED's(Funny how Halide manufacturers never told anyone this till recently).

LED also claims to have deeper penetration of the water TMC say theirs will go 1 metre in Depth and they will more than likely give you the Shimmer Effect which really makes a tank look good.

Noochy12 · 05-28-2011, 04:14 PM

I only have a umbrella leather in there now. The lights I have now arent strong enough to put any hard corals in. I want to go with 3 Ecoray 112D units but that will cost about $1500. Don't really want to go that route.

Ranger · 06-01-2011, 03:02 PM

The thing with Reef Tanks is you really need to understand how you will feel in a year or 2, you will pay the 1500 Dollars and it will be great but if you decide to sell up then you won't get anywhere near that cash back.

The TMC Tiles claim to be strong enough for hard corals, I was looking at Aquarays which is also claimed to be able to do Hard Corals but I will prob get them and stick to Soft Corals.

The Aquarays are £90 each here with at least 2 being needed I will look at 3, the tiles cost about £250 each not sure what that is in US Dollars exactly but it's a lot cheaper than the 1500 Dollars

05-27-2011, 10:44 AM	#1 (permalink)
Noochy12 Noochy12's Photo Gallery Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 30 Location: Rochester, NY Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 8 Times Said "Thanks" 11 Times Was Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Lighting for 180 gallon reef tank I'm trying to decide what lighting I want to get for my 180 gallon 72x24x24. I want to get 3 Ecoray 112D units but they're kind of expensive, Approx $1500 for 3. I was looking into this: AquaticLife 8 Lamp T5 HO with 6 lunar LEDs but will this be enough? The price of this unit is $549. Thanks __________________ 180 Gallon Reef tank 60 Gallon frag tank

05-27-2011, 05:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
tike tike's Photo Gallery Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 115 Location: Tacoma,WA Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 12 Times Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 35 Times in 35 Posts	Re: Lighting for 180 gallon reef tank Looks like they have indivdual reflectors so it's a good one. Couple of things: what type of corals are you keeping?, 24" depth for t-5 is a little deep, 18" depth is maximum to get good light penetration to the depths. You could always keep high light loving corals in the middle to top of your rock work.

05-28-2011, 03:44 AM	#3 (permalink)
Ranger Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 45 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 3 Times Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 11 Times in 11 Posts	Re: Lighting for 180 gallon reef tank I currently have T5 but I'm hoping to move over to LED's over the next few weeks, as far as I'm aware LED's are better than T5 but not as good as Metal Halide but with Halides the don't have enough Blue, you can see this now as most new Halides have some blue in them mostly LED's(Funny how Halide manufacturers never told anyone this till recently). LED also claims to have deeper penetration of the water TMC say theirs will go 1 metre in Depth and they will more than likely give you the Shimmer Effect which really makes a tank look good.

05-28-2011, 04:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
Noochy12 Noochy12's Photo Gallery Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 30 Location: Rochester, NY Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 8 Times Said "Thanks" 11 Times Was Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Lighting for 180 gallon reef tank I only have a umbrella leather in there now. The lights I have now arent strong enough to put any hard corals in. I want to go with 3 Ecoray 112D units but that will cost about $1500. Don't really want to go that route. __________________ 180 Gallon Reef tank 60 Gallon frag tank

06-01-2011, 03:02 PM	#5 (permalink)
Ranger Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 45 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 3 Times Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 11 Times in 11 Posts	Re: Lighting for 180 gallon reef tank The thing with Reef Tanks is you really need to understand how you will feel in a year or 2, you will pay the 1500 Dollars and it will be great but if you decide to sell up then you won't get anywhere near that cash back. The TMC Tiles claim to be strong enough for hard corals, I was looking at Aquarays which is also claimed to be able to do Hard Corals but I will prob get them and stick to Soft Corals. The Aquarays are £90 each here with at least 2 being needed I will look at 3, the tiles cost about £250 each not sure what that is in US Dollars exactly but it's a lot cheaper than the 1500 Dollars

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