Help me decide on lighting!! Please!

[Jarob]

For the life of me I cannot come to terms on how to light my new 40g breeder.. PLEASE help me make a decision!

The tank is LPS and softies, I would like some clams too eventually.

250MH + supplementation
150MH + supplementation
3 bulb t5 + LED
4 bulb t5 and no LED
Combo of above
OTHERS?!

Throw any and all experience you have with lighting on here to help me decide.

I LOVE the color I get from my t5's but would also like some shimmer, also I wouldnt like to have to deal with heat.

Argh..

-Jarob

[Gseclipse02]

whats the footprint ?

[Reefer4ever]

36 long 18 deep 17 high

[Reefer4ever]

actually, the height might 16 but i dont think an inch matter.

[StevenSeas]

I would do 2 or 3 T-5s to keep the look/color that you love from T-5s and then do the rest in LEDs. I would mix in Royal blue, blue, and maybe a uv?

[2Quills]

I would do 2 or 3 T-5s to keep the look/color that you love from T-5s and then do the rest in LEDs. I would mix in Royal blue, blue, and maybe a uv?

+1 on the LEDs.

They will give you the best shimmer as well as great color. Toss in a couple of T5's with some good bulbs and you're good to go.

[ErikH]

I have a 6 bulb T5 fixture above my 40g breeder frag tank. I am going to post par pictures for that and my 200g probably tomorrow!

[txg8gxp]

Cree 3w xp series led's :)

[Squiers007]

Oh, so now that I have told you how to make your light setup work you go and say you have a bunch of money to blow on LEDs! J/K! Once again, call me so we can actually get together and work on this. Oh, and you should totally bring me some free pizza!!

[Jarob]

Yea I think Im going to go with the 3 bulb t5 setup and within a month or two add a few LED "spotlights"!!

[clownfish]

i got a 2 bulb t5 setup on my 40 breeder and it's bright, added a led light to the center looks awsome:)

[Big_Pun]

metal halide

[Big_Pun]

metal halide

[alton]

I have a 6 bulb T5 fixture above my 40g breeder frag tank. I am going to post par pictures for that and my 200g probably tomorrow!
I agree with Eric on the 6 lamp. I have a 4 lamp fixture on a 40H 36 x 12 x 20 high with a 5" sand bed and it looks fine. I think you will need the extra two lamps to cover the additional 6" in depth.

[Jarob]

Now Im kind of leaning towards MH..! I just hate the heat and power consumption

[Squiers007]

I agree with Eric on the 6 lamp. I have a 4 lamp fixture on a 40H 36 x 12 x 20 high with a 5" sand bed and it looks fine. I think you will need the extra two lamps to cover the additional 6" in depth.

I am going to have to disagree with the 6 lamp idea. I am only running 4 lamps on my 75 and am having no problems at all keeping multiple SPS species at varying depths in my tank. I even have eggcrate on top to deter any jumpers so that is cutting down on some of my light as well. With the 40breeder being less deep than my 75, 4 bulbs should be plenty. One thing to keep in mind though is that my 4 bulbs are overdriven by an Icecap 660, but I still don't see any issues only using 4 on your 40.

[Big_Pun]

I am going to have to disagree with the 6 lamp idea. I am only running 4 lamps on my 75 and am having no problems at all keeping multiple SPS species at varying depths in my tank. I even have eggcrate on top to deter any jumpers so that is cutting down on some of my light as well. With the 40breeder being less deep than my 75, 4 bulbs should be plenty. One thing to keep in mind though is that my 4 bulbs are overdriven by an Icecap 660, but I still don't see any issues only using 4 on your 40.

how old are the bulbs and how long can you go before changing them since they are over driven

[Squiers007]

2 of my bulbs are about 3 months old and the other 2 are around 8 months old. Typically I do not notice a significant change in my light levels or response of my corals till around 11 months so I usually change the bulbs out every 10 months. I also run several fans that blow on the bulbs when they are on to help minimize any overheating that is typical when overdriving bulbs. My friend has a PAR meter that I will try and borrow so I can take some measurements for everyone.

[alton]

I love disagreements so here is the way I look at it 6 x 54 T5HO lamps = 324 watts or 4 T5HO overdriven to 80 watts each = 320 watts total. So I guess if you take 4 39 watt T5HO lamps and over drive them to 60 watts it works out the same? The only question I have I thought you could only do this to URI/UVL Lamps?