Buying new lights...help?

Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
Hey guys,
HOW IS EVERYONE?? sorry for my absence, work has been so crazy and i just kind of hit a dormant stage with my tank. Good news is that my carpet anemone is growing like a champ still.

So, onto my questions...My old lights went caput this afternoon so i figure i'll use this as a good excuse to upgrade to some nice LED lighting. I went to my LFS but they only had marineland LED's and i refuse to even consider that. However, i am not quite as up to date on my research as i used to be and i was curious if you long time friends of mine could help me deduct some good LED lighitng fixtures taking into consideration price vs value. Solaris were amazing but also pricy, marineland seem cheap and non0functional....is there any middle ground, such as HQI like these http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticL...iums-AquaticLife-AK01205-FILTFIMHTSHI-vi.html
? thanks guys


-jason :idea:
 
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jjmoneyman

jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
my tank is a standard 90 gallon. 48"wide, 18"high...i have 2x250w MH mogul's now...i know the units i listed are 150w hqi....will they be strong enough..i def wanna make sure my carpet gets enough light...i havent looked for lights in years so im alittle out of practice on what is good :)
 
jjmoneyman

jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
Hydrargyrum quartz iodide (HQI) is a special type of high-intensity discharge (or HID) lighting, in other words HQI is a type of HID.
 
jjmoneyman

jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
I don't know anything about LED lighting but I would think for an 18" deep tank a pair of 150W MH would be enough but I'm sure those smarter than me will chime in as well. I'm in the process of setting up a 125 with a similar depth and I'm going with 3X150W MH with T5's.
 
chipmunkofdoom2

chipmunkofdoom2

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't recommend LEDs for a carpet anemone. They can produce come great PAR, but to get all-around coverage that a mobile invert needs, you're going to be spending A LOT.

What I can tell you is the ecoexotic products only use 1W LEDs, meaning you'll get the same intensity as PCs. If you're going to go with LEDs, go for the AI Sols. Expensive, and you'll need a lot to get coverage, but the PAR they put out is astounding. Check out some user supplied PAR tests.
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
yah, i think im off the LED's also...
i just noticed the two lights are actually on BigAl's site..i am torn now between the Pro HQI 24 Hour Lighting System and the G12 HID / T5 HO Light Fixtures

the marineland pro has a little more wattage from two more T5's and has 14k hqi's ...but the directional spotlight on the aquaticlife seems really cool too and they have 10k hqi's which i hope wouldnt be too yellow. They both have built in timers and both look good...im hoping someone on ehre has either used these so i can get a review or has even another idea ..tahnks
 
jpsika08

jpsika08

Well-Known Member
I think 150watts for your tank's height is more than enough, even 250watts is a little overkill.
I would go with Eric's suggestion as well, Aquaticlife has great quality products and that fixture looks really nice.
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
thanks guys, yah just in looking at every website possible, i am about to pull the trigger on the aquaticlife!
 
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