Reef brite or t5 or both?

[tbrennan]

Looking to add some supplemental lighting to my nuvo 40. What’s everyone’s opinion on t5s or reef brites? Running a hydra 26 on it right now but I am still getting a little shadowing.

 

[ichthyoid]

There’s a good video review of hybrid led + T5 fixtures by BRS, which shows why & how the combination reduces shadows best. I’ve gone with Aquatic Life hybrids on my tanks as a result.

 

[bhodges82]

If you are wanting to take care of the shadowing I would go with T5. Reef brites look great, but they don't have the coverage of T5. One other factor is the coral you are keeping, if you are leaning towards sps I would go with the reef brite because of the coloration, if LPS and softies T5.

 

[tbrennan]

There’s a good video review of hybrid led + T5 fixtures by BRS, which shows why & how the combination reduces shadows best. I’ve gone with Aquatic Life hybrids on my tanks as a result.
[/
Ok sweet I’ll have to check it out

 

[tbrennan]

If you are wanting to take care of the shadowing I would go with T5. Reef brites look great, but they don't have the coverage of T5. One other factor is the coral you are keeping, if you are leaning towards sps I would go with the reef brite because of the coloration, if LPS and softies T5.

I have mainly sps now. And I will be moving a lot of my frags into my nuvo 40.

 

[ichthyoid]

Fwiw,
I’m putting a 24 inch Aquatic Life fixture with 2x AI Prime HD’s over an Innovative Marine 50.

You could get almost the same PAR over your 40, using the same fixture with your Hydra 26, depending on hanging height of course.

I went with the 2 AI Primes due to the larger footprint of the tank. I can spread them as needed & they have a little more power than the 26.

 

[tbrennan]

Fwiw,
I’m putting a 24 inch Aquatic Life fixture with 2x AI Prime HD’s over an Innovative Marine 50.

You could get almost the same PAR over your 40, using the same fixture with your Hydra 26, depending on hanging height of course.

I went with the 2 AI Primes due to the larger footprint of the tank. I can spread them as needed & they have a little more power than the 26.

I built a floating canopy for the nuvo 40 with the intentions of putting t5 retros in the canopy although I really like the aquatic life fixtures I didn’t wanna see the actual fixture or hydra itself.

 

[dball711]

Adding T5's will give the best bang for your buck since you already have LED's in place

 

[tbrennan]

That’s kinda what I was leaning towards. Was just thinking reef brites might be a little bit easier to mount. But I guess I’ll stop being lazy and just install the t5 retros like I had originally planned.

 

[ZapataInc]

Hows the tank working out for you?

What settings are you using for the 26? I used the BRS settings.

 

[tbrennan]

Hows the tank working out for you?

What settings are you using for the 26? I used the BRS settings.

I’m running the brs ab replicated spectrum.
ill post a pic of the whole set up tonight after work.