lighting

[f22]

hey guys, I need some opinions on lighting a monster tank.

background:

I own and aquarium maintenance company and i know a lot, but not everything lol.

I just got contracted to set up a 391g tank, 72x48x22"

obviously this is a custom tank, and my client and I decided on a FOWLR tank, do you guys think the marineland reef capable LED will illuminate the tank well, and provide enough light to grow algae for the large starfish I plan on keeping in this system?


thanks
Mike

 

[jpsika08]

If it's for FOWLR tank, LED would be fine, but make your client conscious of the idea that someday if he would like to go for a reef, all the lights probably will have to be changed.

I wouldn't trust some brand as Marineland for my lights, maybe try Reefbrite or Ecoxotic (better the last one).

Hope to see some pics of this monster Mike,

 

[Snelly40]

i would say to just get reef ready lighting, ecoxotic LED lights are gonna be expensive, so why not grab some HQI's for a similar price and then if he ever does change his mind the lights are already in place

 

[f22]

thanks for the input guys. I think I wanna just do a FOWLER tank with amazing fish though, this guy has a lot of bank

 

[catran]

Well, I agree with Snelly40, if he even has a slight consideration about a reef tank in the future and he has $$, you should go with Aqua Illumination SOL LED's though.

 

[mikev15101]

If this guy has BANK...we need to know the high and low price range you have to work with for the lights. That will allow us to consider spread, amount of lights, type of lights. Plus I know we are are all curious.

 

[f22]

budget of 12k

 

[BigAl07]

Is that just for the lights or for the whole shooting match?

If it's only going to be FOWLR then no sense going REEFY with the lights. The Marineland "Reef Ready" is a FAR stretch of the imagination. I'd say they are "Reef Wannabe" at best.

It's going to be tough to grow enough algae to self maintain in any tank but trying to grow the exact algae that your starfish will eat it going to be even tougher.

We'll need pics and specs as this tank comes online.

 

[f22]

well I suppose I can make him feed them. And its 12 for the whole thing. As far as the reef capable lights in shallow tanks, nothing deeper than 24" and I have been supporting cans, shrooms, zoo, leathers and brains. I can't wait to get this thing set up.

 

[miekp]

I know the Marineland Reef LED lights get slammed alot, and some of it deserved, but I have one and in the right setup and application, it's very nice! I have it on a 45 gallon "nano" in my home office. I wanted a quiet and very simple setup in the home office to enjoy while working from home. The tank is 36"L 24" H, and only 12" D. I wasn't planning on keeping anything demanding. So the 36"-48" LED seemed like something to try. The spread is nice since its only 12 inches from front to back, and as far as the 24" height of the tank, I have most of the corals placed on the middle to top of the tank. I am only hosting, clove polyps, leathers, zoos, and shrooms, and a few fish. Overall it was perfect for what I wanted, quiet, efficient, slim and the price I paid was very good.

 

[Drenthe]

I am using LED lights for my tank. Are there any lights which i can use in tank ( water proof lights ).
So that tank can look ore beautiful.

 

[DaveK]

Since your doing this project for someone else, I don't think I'd go with any type of LED lighting for the main lighting source at this time. In my opinion, we are in about the early 2nd generation of LED lighting, or aquariums, and most of the vendors are comparatively small independents. Also note that most of the LED lighting is built out of proprietary components. If you have a problem, you can't repair it with off the shelf parts. If the original vendor can not or will not supply them, your out of luck. Also, LED lighting has a huge initial investment cost. If this system was for your self, all this wouldn't be an issue, but when it's for someone else, you want to be conservative in your equipment selections.

Also, consider that your building a FOWLR system. These do not require high levels of lighting. In fact, you usually are better off with less lighting, because it's much less likely to have problems with nuisance algae.

I think the safe choice here would be fluorescent lighting. You could use VHO, PC, or T5s. Any would work, and any issues could easily be repaired with off the shelf parts. You could also use MH lighting, but use much smaller wattage bulbs, compared to what you'd put on a reef system.

What kind of starfish do you plan to keep in the system? Many don't require algae, but it depends on the species.

 

[1325903997]

Mike,I have a same size with aquarium tank,I purchased 4 of the 300w Intel-300w Intelligent Aquarium Led Light for my the aquarium tank,it is enough for my aquarium...