DIY Lighting for Tank Build!

[hedgehog_mht]

I just brought a 90 gallon Deep Sea Aquatics Tank from Aggman(Alex). I am coming back to the hobby after a 5 year departure. I already have a sump, and a protien skimmer.

I have to build a stand, add a refugium comparment to the existing sump. I would also like to DIY my lights to save some money. Lights on the market are way too expensive. I have a coral life light setup from my old 55 gallon that was only strong enough for soft corals. Will this light work for my 90 gal. being a deeper tank. If not I would rather save money and build my own light setup.

I am in the middle of 16 credit college semester, so I will be taking my time with the build. I just want to gather some information and start planning my build on paper! All info is welcomed!

[ErikH]

for a 90g, 250w DE or 400w SE times 2. Then add the other actinics later. Your old setup is probably power compacts which start to go south after as short as 3 months. I recommend double ended metal halides for the length of the life of the bulb. Other than that you can do T5.

The wisest advice I can give, is do not try to fry your brain looking at home depot ads wondering why you cant use their metal halides instead. You can find some GREAT lighting rigs here for ALOT cheaper than new.

[hedgehog_mht]

What are the advantages of the metal halides vs. T-5's? Where can you buy the fixtures? I assume the local fish stores stock the lights since I have read threads mentioning these light setups. Any websites I can check out for info and pricing?

[FireWater]

There are several places to browse and research.
We have a couple of vendor websites that carry a good selection to start pricing.
www.reefgeek.com has a good selection - www.hellolights.com
reefcentral has several threads on different types of lights and different ideas and opinions.
I currently run a 6X54w t-5 set up on my 90G and am very happy with it. You will hear several pros and cons for every set up - research and research some more and pick what you will be happy with

[IGGY]

LEDS is the way. Everything else is on its way out. The light output is amazing now and the cost of the leds is way down. I have been building stuff with leds for several years now. I mostly build bike lights now but i have gotten into building reef lights after someone saw one of my ads and asked if i could build him a aquarium light. I have built a few now for several people and everyone loves them. They love how everything grows and the reduction in the electricity bill is not a bad thing either. There are tons of how to's out there that show you how to built a massive led light step by step. The parts are easily purchased and the only real skill needed is soldering and patience. People dont understand it usually takes ten to fifteen hours of labor to put one of these together but the reward is worth it. The designs you can come up with are endless.

This is the very first tank light i built for Dave. Its a six led 3blue/3white light using the cree xre-r2 leds. each color is adjustable.
IMG_6454.jpg

IMG_6450.jpg

Here is another light i just built for Dave as well. This one has 18 leds 12blue/6white and man is this thing bright. He used it on a 2' cubed tank.
IMG_6383.jpg

IMG_6326.jpg

This is the light on the tank at full blast. He says he keeps it on at half power since it was bleaching some corals.
led 1.jpg

I can send you some links that will show you how to do the whole thing from start to finish. Contact me if you need advice since i already know what works well with reef lights. Good luck.

[hedgehog_mht]

I finally broke down and brought a Halide setup from Aquarium Designs. 2-250W D-end halides, compact atinics, and lunar lights. 760W total, Ouch!! I wonder how big a hole my utility bill is gonna burn in my pocket.

Sorry, but I am not sold on LED's for the aquarium! They make great lunar lights. In my opinion the white lights look like crap!

I am starting a restoration on a 46 Chevy pick up, so I have my hands full already! The only thing I'll have to do on the tank is build the stand, and setup filtration. I will start a thread on the stand build. Thank you, for the advice and the internet resources(firewater).

Aquarim Design delivered impecable customer service!

[chunkymonkey]

LEDS is the way. Everything else is on its way out. The light output is amazing now and the cost of the leds is way down. I have been building stuff with leds for several years now. I mostly build bike lights now but i have gotten into building reef lights after someone saw one of my ads and asked if i could build him a aquarium light. I have built a few now for several people and everyone loves them. They love how everything grows and the reduction in the electricity bill is not a bad thing either. There are tons of how to's out there that show you how to built a massive led light step by step. The parts are easily purchased and the only real skill needed is soldering and patience. People dont understand it usually takes ten to fifteen hours of labor to put one of these together but the reward is worth it. The designs you can come up with are endless.

This is the very first tank light i built for Dave. Its a six led 3blue/3white light using the cree xre-r2 leds. each color is adjustable.
IMG_6454.jpg

IMG_6450.jpg

Here is another light i just built for Dave as well. This one has 18 leds 12blue/6white and man is this thing bright. He used it on a 2' cubed tank.
IMG_6383.jpg

IMG_6326.jpg

This is the light on the tank at full blast. He says he keeps it on at half power since it was bleaching some corals.
led 1.jpg

I can send you some links that will show you how to do the whole thing from start to finish. Contact me if you need advice since i already know what works well with reef lights. Good luck.

Could you please send me some links?