Need suggestion on lighting half circle deep tank

[m3fan8ic]

guys,

I am having trouble deciding on which route to go, I have 144gl half circle with 30" deep tank that I like to light up nicely. I am currently using oddysea fixture which has 2x250 SE MH with 4 x 64 CF. Fixture is 48" but my tank is not fully lit in all areas. I would like to use the canopy that came w/this tank and it's very tight fit with 48" hood. I am thinking about T-5 HO retro kit (6x24") with icecap ballast to arrange reflectors under the canopy in certain way to light up all areas. Do you guys think it will be good choice over MH? for 30" deep tank and to spread the light or should I go with MH's retro kit? I am planning to keep SPS, softies etc in near future. I am on the tight budget also and like to mention that my wife is really picky on how things look. She already complains about 2 hydro's in the tank so she doesn't wanna see any wires/things sticking out of the hood..complete clean look. What should I do???

Thanks

Sid

 

Below is a diagram for the canopy what I think should work, what do you guys think?

 

Edited September 5, 2008 by m3fan8ic

[ctreptow]

I put 5 54W T5's over my 75 gallon and the light coverage is great. I can't say how it penetrates compared to MH and you will loose the ripple effect, but the light is even across the tank.

 

Chris

[m3fan8ic]

I put 5 54W T5's over my 75 gallon and the light coverage is great. I can't say how it penetrates compared to MH and you will loose the ripple effect, but the light is even across the tank.

 

Chris

 

how deep is your 75gl tank?

[Integral9]

If you have the room and there is no center brace then I would add a third 250 SE MH (20K). If not, then a T5 retro fit should be good. But I'm not sure if either will solve your lighting problem. It sounds like you have plenty of light in the tank (nearly 800W). What do you mean it's not fully lit? Can you post a pic?

 

I have a 4x54W HO T5 Retro over my DIY canopy on my 55. It's nice.

[ctreptow]

how deep is your 75gl tank?

 

The 75 is 18 inches deep and the T5's are mounted 7 inches above the waterline. They are driven by Icecap 660's with Icecap reflectors which gives me 400W of light.

 

I can say the tank had 2 175W MH with 220w VHO and it didn't look as bright as it does now.

 

My setup

All Geismann

2 Actinic Blue

2 Actinic Blue +

1 Midday

 

Chris

[m3fan8ic]

If you have the room and there is no center brace then I would add a third 250 SE MH (20K). If not, then a T5 retro fit should be good. But I'm not sure if either will solve your lighting problem. It sounds like you have plenty of light in the tank (nearly 800W). What do you mean it's not fully lit? Can you post a pic?

 

I have a 4x54W HO T5 Retro over my DIY canopy on my 55. It's nice.

 

I'll post pics this evening once I get home. There is a center brace which blocksome of the light towards the front of the tank and each side is not getting much light, MH's are mostly concentrated towards the middle/center of the tank. Adding 3rd MH; that would generate additional heat that I am trying to avoid since I don't have a chiller to conrol that issue. I do have plenty of light but becuase of the design of the tank , sides are not getting enough lights..

 

 

 

The 75 is 18 inches deep and the T5's are mounted 7 inches above the waterline. They are driven by Icecap 660's with Icecap reflectors which gives me 400W of light.

 

I can say the tank had 2 175W MH with 220w VHO and it didn't look as bright as it does now.

 

My setup

All Geismann

2 Actinic Blue

2 Actinic Blue +

1 Midday

 

Chris

Chris,

how do you deal with salt creeps etc? do you have a glass covers etc? if I were to go with T5 retro would I need glass cover to protect from water/salt creeping in there? Can you post a pic of your tank?

Edited September 5, 2008 by m3fan8ic

[ctreptow]

I'll post pics this evening once I get home. There is a center brace which blocksome of the light towards the front of the tank and each side is not getting much light, MH's are mostly concentrated towards the middle/center of the tank. Adding 3rd MH; that would generate additional heat that I am trying to avoid since I don't have a chiller to conrol that issue. I do have plenty of light but becuase of the design of the tank , sides are not getting enough lights..

Chris,

how do you deal with salt creeps etc? do you have a glass covers etc? if I were to go with T5 retro would I need glass cover to protect from water/salt creeping in there? Can you post a pic of your tank?

 

I have no glass in between. The lights are mounted 8 inches above the waterline with individual reflectors. I use the Icecap waterproof end caps and have 2 fans installed. Fan 1 pushes air in and fan 2 pulls it out. As for salt creep I keeps a low flow from the sump to the main tanks so there is no splashing of water. on my previous setup the VHO's were installed 4 inches off the water and I never had a problem with salt creep or water.

 

If you go with Icecap the problem will be heat in a closed canopy. Plan on fans to cool the lights.

 

Here's the best pic I have of the tank that shows the end caps. This was during my build.

 

 

[Integral9]

I have no glass in between. The lights are mounted 8 inches above the waterline with individual reflectors. I use the Icecap waterproof end caps and have 2 fans installed. Fan 1 pushes air in and fan 2 pulls it out. As for salt creep I keeps a low flow from the sump to the main tanks so there is no splashing of water. on my previous setup the VHO's were installed 4 inches off the water and I never had a problem with salt creep or water.

 

If you go with Icecap the problem will be heat in a closed canopy. Plan on fans to cool the lights.

 

My T5 setup is basically the same as his. Individual reflectors, no protective glass and the bulbs are about 8 inches off the water. I can't remember the ballasts I have, but they are not icecaps. I do have two Icecap fans on either end of the canopy cooling the tank and lights. They extremely quiet and have a thermal sensor on them which turns them up when things get hot.