Help! Lighting advice

[bwilliby]

I have spent the past few weeks reading tons of posts about lighting and my head is spinning! I currently have a 105 gallon tank running a dual T5 fixture and an Orbit Marine LED. Combined they give me 154 watts when the LED is on 100%, which is the majority of the time. This has worked fine so far because I mainly have LPS and zoas, and they have been growing great! I recently added a few "starter" SPS: green slimer, ponape birdsnest, ORA red planet. They have survived at the top of my rockwork, but I haven't really seen a ton of growth. I want to add more SPS so I plan on upgrading my lighting. After all the reading I have done, I am pretty set on sticking with the T5/LED combo. I wanted some opinions on which one I should upgrade. I was thinking I can get a 4 or 6 bulb T5 fixture and keep the Orbit LED for the blues and the sunrise/sunset/moonlight features. Or get a couple of the less expensive chinese LED's and keep the dual T5 that I have for fill in light.

I know opinions seem to vary on this subject, but I am looking for advice from some more experienced local reefers. Thanks!

 

[myreefclub0070]

Fine you a 6 bulb t5 and your set.

 

[bwilliby]

Thanks Marlon!

 

[mikesmith34]

Reefbreeders photon 48. My tank has done great with them

 

[bwilliby]

Thanks Mike, I have read some good reviews on those. What size tank, and how many do you have?

 

[hnguyen]

MYREEFCLUB0070;1002465 wrote: Fine you a 6 bulb t5 and your set.

If you go this route, I have a 48" ATI (6) bulb fixture for sale.

Mikesmith34;1002525 wrote: Reefbreeders photon 48. My tank has done great with them

These are the lights I'm waiting to come back in stock to replace my T5. Main reason being is it's dimmable so I can control light output and the heat. I like my temp constant within a half of a degree so I run a chiller. With the LED's, my chiller would work a lot less.

 

[bwilliby]

Thanks Huang, I saw your fixture and it was the one that made me think seriously about this choice! But like you, I am a leary of the heat. My tank is in a sitting room that gets lots of afternoon sun and gets hot in there in the summer. I have never had to use a chiller with my current lighting and would like to not have to add another piece of equipment at this point. So I am leaning toward the LEDs.

 

[mikesmith34]

BWILLIBY;1002603 wrote: Thanks Mike, I have read some good reviews on those. What size tank, and how many do you have?

I have a 90 gallon system with reefbreeders photon 48. It's a 4' tank

 

[Reefplumber13]

I got some mh lights I'll sale lol