Who can Help me choose the Best light system for SPS?

[devildog1986]

Hello,

I am going to restart my 125. I am going to make it a reef tank. I mainly like how shallow it is. I imagine I won't need a crazy light setup for that reason. I am mixing and matching from a previous reef setup I had. I really want to focus and invest on some really good lights. I was reading the post "The problem with LED's" but did not get much from it. If you guys can point me on the right direction. I will start working on it in the next few days. Thanks, I look Forward to your responses. Ive been out of the hobby a while. I hear a lot about LED's and MH. Thanks again.

[FarmerTy]

What are the dimensions of your 125 gallon? Is it the standard 72" x 18" x 18"?

If so, I'd just throw a 6 bulb 60" T5 fixture over it and call it a day. T5s in my opinion give the best coloration for SPS, the downside being that they have a high annual bulb cost replacement schedule.

Otherwise, I'd look into some LEDs. You can't go wrong with the expensive LEDs such as the Radions or AI Hydras but best performance will be achieved with high placement over the tank for good distribution over the tank and not to roast your coral. Also, be prepared to do a lot of tweaking with settings as the possibilities are endless with the color rendition, it's almost overwhelming.

I chose a cheap brand of LEDs, Ocean Revive T247s. I modified them and swapped some of the cool white LED diodes for warm white LED diodes to get rid of the slightly blue emphasis you get with LED fixtures sometimes. I run 3 over a 6' span and more recently, add T5s alongside them to supplement coverage and coloration. I'm pretty happy with the results.

Lastly, MHs will give you set and forget installation and productivity but will also bring the most heat into your system as well as the highest electrical usage. You just can't beat tried and true technology though.

[devildog1986]

Thanks FarmerTY,

Those are the dimensions of my tank. Im in the process of setting everything up at the moment. I need about 190 lbs of live rock for the tank. thats going to cost me a pretty penny. Ive gone to several stores and they all keep pushing L.E.D's. I just don't want to buy something because "Its Kool" I've always wanted a tank were I could raise SPS being that its the most challenging, and if done right it looks beautiful. My last tank was a 90 gallon bow front. I tried growing SPS in it but it was too deep. I was running T5's on it and it was not enough for sps. Im all for LED's but it sounds like you need to know what you are doing when setting them up. Thanks for the response, and the much needed info. I appreciate it.

[FarmerTy]

No problem sir. Happy to help. You can definitely have a successful SPS tank with LEDs, even cheap ones like the ones I used.

Here's a link to my tank if you want to look at my setup. My SPS were happy even before I swapped the diodes or added T5s.

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?t=84705

I still think coloration-wise, T5s give the best color rendition for SPS but I just can't talk myself into the cost of bulb replacement for a 6' wide tank.