Need a replacement fixture

[paraletho]

I currently have 2 four foot AquaticLife T5 fixtures over an eight foot eurobraced tank. I need something with legs that i can set for a 37" hole in the eurobrace. I would love to have them with internal controls saving the added expense of the controller. This tank is in a high school foyer environment so it has a rolltop canopy which limits my width to about 14" on the light.

Suggestions

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Have you considered led. Many now have built in controllers or wifi to control them for a reasonable price.
Many are less than an inch thick.

 

[paraletho]

I have considered it but would rather go hybrid or full T5.

 

[paraletho]

This shows how the rolltop comes back around to meet the light.

 

[paraletho]

They may be cheaper lights but they grew some massive Euphyllia.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I was thinking more along the lines of these.
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-48-long/
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-48-v2/
But for t5 w legs I think you got the right ones. Its seems its them , coralife, Odyssea, JBJ and current if you can find them.

http://www.aquacave.com/aquarium-lighting/t5-aquarium-lighting/t5-aquarium-light-fixtures.html

 

[paraletho]

That's a nice looking light at not a bad price point. I didn't notice if the lenses were covered for running close to the water. The higher up I put the light the more I lose to the eurobrace

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

That's a nice looking light at not a bad price point. I didn't notice if the lenses were covered for running close to the water. The higher up I put the light the more I lose to the eurobrace

They are covered I believe. Odd the brace takes out so much light. You can definitely speak to the manufacturer of them and see what they recommend . Ive chatted with them here on R2R a few times.
I can probably tag them here if you like.

 

[mcarroll]

If you like T5t and want to stay with it, that's cool just keep . Making it a hybrid T5/LED system is pointless IMO.

I would switch to LED's without question in an environment like that.....there's no way I could justify the bulb costs alone...not sure how they account for their power use. Literally anything will grow corals like that (you get more of the credit for that than the light fixture) so go with what suits your space and budget.

I'd look at the Current Orbit IC or Orbit Pro first, but anything along those lines, including @saltyfilmfolks recommendations earlier, will do the trick and cut your costs by a mile.

Did you mention why you need to switch, BTW?

 

[Water Dog]

If you like T5t and want to stay with it, that's cool just keep . Making it a hybrid T5/LED system is pointless IMO.

Curious as to why you feel this way. LED fixtures provide the dawn to dust effect and spectrum control. Coupled with T5 supplementation run for about 4 hours a day to provide coverage and shadow elimination that plague LED only systems and you have the absolute best of both worlds in my opinion.

I'd look at the Current Orbit IC or Orbit Pro first, but anything along those lines

For a more shallow tank maybe, but don't you think these fixtures would be massively underpowered with their 0.5 watt LED diodes for what looks to be a 24" deep tank? Just trying to understand why this fixture always seems to be your default recommendation for lighting regardless of tank dimensions.

 

[mcarroll]

Certainly you can supplement a T5 system with LED's, and I've recommended folks to do that in some cases. The OP doesn't say he's keeping his current fixture though.

Plus, you get a lot more benefits by switching to all LED. A lot.

Currents are widely sold and appropriate for most installations.....unsurprising since they were no-doubt designed as a general purpose reef light. Between the IC and Pro, any common tank depth is accounted for. If you assume you'll use more than one fixture (rather than a single one), then you have even more control over which fixtures can/can't work.

And I didn't mention just them.

Why does it bother you what I recommend in a public forum anyway??

It was solid, participatory advice that I stand by and is the same as I would give to anyone face-to-face.

You're welcome to do the same – especially if you disagree.

(If you really were wondering more deeply at why I recommend what I do, please PM me with any question you want or maybe check out the Light and Internet Reefer's Decoder Ring sections of my blog.....but no need to clog a "need a replacement fixture" thread with all that.)

 

[Water Dog]

In an effort to not clog this thread, @mcarroll PM sent.

 

[paraletho]

If you like T5t and want to stay with it, that's cool just keep . Making it a hybrid T5/LED system is pointless IMO.

I would switch to LED's without question in an environment like that.....there's no way I could justify the bulb costs alone...not sure how they account for their power use. Literally anything will grow corals like that (you get more of the credit for that than the light fixture) so go with what suits your space and budget.

I'd look at the Current Orbit IC or Orbit Pro first, but anything along those lines, including @saltyfilmfolks recommendations earlier, will do the trick and cut your costs by a mile.

Did you mention why you need to switch, BTW?

The current fixture are 7-8 years old and one of them just blew the power supply or the ballast. Last bulb change half of the stand offs for the end caps were broken from the years of heat. Fans are fixing to go. It is just going to be one thing after another. It's time.

 

[paraletho]

Curious as to why you feel this way. LED fixtures provide the dawn to dust effect and spectrum control. Coupled with T5 supplementation run for about 4 hours a day to provide coverage and shadow elimination that plague LED only systems and you have the absolute best of both worlds in my opinion.



For a more shallow tank maybe, but don't you think these fixtures would be massively underpowered with their 0.5 watt LED diodes for what looks to be a 24" deep tank? Just trying to understand why this fixture always seems to be your default recommendation for lighting regardless of tank dimensions.

Tank is 26" to the sandbed and 28" over all. 14" is all I am going to have for width unless I change or modify the canopy.

 

[mcarroll]

Just to make sure I have this right, is it 96" x 18" x 28"High tank? (That makes it about 210 gallons.)

One or two Marine Pro's, at your discretion. One will work, and will grow corals, but there will be shady areas at the bottom and top where light will be very low.

This is somewhat below Current's guidelines, so don't stop reading here:
http://current-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Orbit-PAR-Measurements-1.pdf

Two will provide much better coverage and intensity from top to bottom and front to back.

Having two+ will also let you optionally run the fixtures at a lower power, which will extend the life of the emitters to some degree. If budget isn't that limited, just consider two or three. Three would be a sweet setup – plenty of power for the clams or anything else you'd want at the high end of lighting. (Don't get hyped about it....most corals don't prefer or need high light and grow just fine in very low light...get what you need.)

 

[paraletho]

Actually it is 96x26x28 300gallon. I have this in a couple of forums. Sorry I thought I had that in there. this is never going to be a SPS tank. Maybe a few Montis , War Coral easy tough stuff. Sometimes it may be a week in between visits. I would like to have BTA for the clowns but never really had enough light.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

unless I change or modify the canopy.

That would be a pain. And it already looks good.

. I would like to have BTA for the clowns but never really had enough light.

Gosh I almost think you did...

 

[paraletho]

Gosh I almost think you did...

I had a Green BTA that settled in crack in the rockwork and hosted a pair of Clarkiis but she only lasted about 8 months.

That would be a pain. And it already looks good.

In picture #2 and #3 you can see the bottom edge of the canopy as it rolls down. There is another half of a tank behind it. Unusable for lighting. I think if I cut a few inches off of the back edge and installed some type of a stiff mesh where the hole or slot would be. I could still keep bugs and bubble gum etc out of the tank and maybe even add to the cooling of the canopy helping the lights. Keeping the lights low to the euro the top would swing over the lights giving me much more width for the lighting and better coverage to the back. Right now there is a dark hole on the back wall in between the overflows. The cardinals and low light fish love to hang back there.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I had a Green BTA that settled in crack in the rockwork and hosted a pair of Clarkiis but she only lasted about 8 months.



In picture #2 and #3 you can see the bottom edge of the canopy as it rolls down. There is another half of a tank behind it. Unusable for lighting. I think if I cut a few inches off of the back edge and installed some type of a stiff mesh where the hole or slot would be. I could still keep bugs and bubble gum etc out of the tank and maybe even add to the cooling of the canopy helping the lights. Keeping the lights low to the euro the top would swing over the lights giving me much more width for the lighting and better coverage to the back. Right now there is a dark hole on the back wall in between the overflows. The cardinals and low light fish love to hang back there.

I like the way your thinking and you clearly know the tank well. A better new fixture will just be better. Some led strips would be fun and add some power.

 

[Water Dog]

Okay, I'll say it... I'm sorry, but I still can't believe you're actually still recommending a fixture with 0.5 watt led diodes for a 28" deep tank. The fixture also measures about 3" wide and is expected to cover a 26" wide tank!?! I think it's borderline irresponsible. Just look at the par values in THEIR marketing material, it's still woefully inadequate. At 28" deep, you're looking at what, maybe 10 - 20 par on the sand bed!?!

For an LED set up, I would have to echo Saltyfilmfolks's reccomendation and go with Reefbreeders. Except, I'd go with 2 Reefbreeders V2 Photon 32s. One on each side, with the mounting leds mounted on the edges of the eurobrace in the two openings. The Photon V2s run a combination of 3 and 5 watt LED diodes that will be capable of penetrating a 28" deep tank. The fixture is also 8.5" wide and will do a better job at covering the 26" front to back, especially since you can adjust the height of the fixture to use the the 14" height of your canopy. I'd just really hate to see you waste money on lights that are not up to the task.

This is just my opinion, and opinions are like... well, you know.