round two... thinking about going another route

[1mbrews8]

u might have "gaps" in the lighting from the space between the bulbs..

you will need 12 bulbs @ ~ $20 each each time u change them = $240


If you do what most, imo, would rec, you would have 6-8 72" bulbs @ $20 = $120-160 (and no coverage issues, same "type" of diff colors, etc..

 

[dball711]

I like the overlap of the different legnth bulbs by row. Just a suggestion, maybe use ATI BLue Plus bulbs in place of actinic. They give really blue light and some very decent PAR, the Actinic bulbs dont give much light or PAR. Is the 15K a Coral plus bulb or something different, just curious.

 

[kstyle13]

It's a coral plus. I did the setup this way because I liked having the overlap. I also went with what the supplier had in stock. I got them at wholesale price. Being 11.98 for the 48" and 7.67 for the 18" I place the areas where there the bulbs are not so that they were positioned over spots in the tank where I have less rock and don't plant to have much growing there. Not anything that is demanding anyways. I also did the guys tattoos... well we are working on his tattoos. I have a 360 dollar gift certificate. I am using it to either save up for metal halides or just break down and buy leds... but also I am looking at a reef octopus skimmer. But that'd neither here nor there. I spent something like 60 bucks for the lights I got from him today. Within the next six months I'm sure I will be able to just buy something else and not worry about replacing bulbs. But I will see how it goes. I am spending roughly the same either way however. Weather I go with 72 in. Or the way I have it. His 72" bulbs when he gets them in he pays 17 something for them so I'm not losing much by going with more... does that make sense? And I can get more watts per gallon plus more intense light by having a high number of bulbs all at different watts.
Also he is ordering the blue plus bulbs for me. It's not something he keeps stock of... not sure why. I didn't ask. But he will have them in the next 2 to 3 weeks. Lol but I've found a way to get much better lights and spend no money. So I'm happy with it.
All in all though the way I have the arranged will be good? I'm fixing to start setting it up so I want to make sure. I seemed to have gotten much better feedback. Lol I will say that. :-D

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[cosigner]

How long is this tank again? Why not go with 36" T5's so you're not struggling to find super long bulbs or paying extra freight when ordering them?

Edit: Also, for what it's worth, it's a lot easier to standardize. That goes for all aspects of any hobby, business, and life. It just seems to be less of a head ache to have, for instance, 10-12 36" T5's rather than some of this and some of that....

 

[kstyle13]

Because then I would have a gap on each end and a gap straight down the center. With these different sizes I can simple offset them and where one row has a gap the rows on either side of that make up for.

 

[cosigner]

Into doesn't matter if there's a slight gap. The light given off will over lap and fill in... that's what reflectors do.

I think you're making something simple into a headache. Remember, keep it simple and it will remain that way. Good luck!

 

[kstyle13]

That's kinda what I thought too. Thanks

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