Help Mojo choose a light

[mojo~]

Ok, Now I am good with skimmers and I have had my share of t5 bulbs.

Well today I ordered a new 57 gallon oceanic rimless illuminita tank and stand. Starphire glass ect.

ok I am looking at the following fixtures.
The Hamilton Belize 250w fixture with dual t5s
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=H-A21H2502T5&Category_Code=hreefstar

The Aquamedic spacelight
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=AM-83500&Category_Code=Aquamedic-H

The ati sunpower
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ATI-3003&Category_Code=ATIt5

and the Geisemann nep tune
http://www.marinedepot.com/24_inch_Giesemann_NEP_TUNE_Pro_1x250W_HQI_2x24W_T5_Fixture_24_to_25_Inch_Metal_Halide_T5_Fluorescent _Double_Ended_Fixtures-Giesemann_Aquarium_Lighting_Systems-GL1251-FILTFIMHTFDEMT-vi.html

I am leaning toward the hamilton or the giesemann. but would like some input.
Not a good pic but here is the tank

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u75/jlwright75/Fishtank/6560_1057456651784_1686917121_10679.jpg
Mojo~

[woodwrangler]

I have no experience with any of these lights, but, I'm personally leaning towards the Belize for the rimless I'm setting up :thumbsup:

You probably can't/won't go wrong with any of those lights

[mojo~]

yea probably not

[sue711]

... so what skimmer are you going to put on the new tank? ;) LOL

[Husky_1]

Well, the T5's will run cooler, and I really like the look of the ATI t5 unit.

Of course, there is something about the shimmer of a MH, that makes me keep on spending more money on my electric bill :)

If MH is your decision, I think that Spacelight looks the nicest, but you dont get the LED's for night time like you do with the belize.

[JohnM99]

Am I correct in seeing you picked 3 that are combined MH and T5, and the ATI is T5 only?
I just ordered an ATI sunpower - I don't want the heat or power consumption of a MH if I can avoid it - they pack their bulbs into a smaller width than some. They also have a good fan which increases light output by lowering the temp - and also a higher end model Powermodule - stainless steel instead of aluminum and double fans.
If you would consider a T5 only, this is probably at the top end. I have had a Sunlight Tek light for a long time - very reliable - but the ATI fits 6 bulbs into a space about the same as the Sunlight 4 bulb fixture.

[mojo~]

yea, I thought about all that. being it is a 36 in wide tank I was going to just use a 24 in fixture. I wasnt sure how much heat would be an issue with it open top and only one 250 watt.
I like the t5 as I have a 6 bulb on my tank now. But want a nice looking fixture and still want to be able to get into the tank.
Thanks for the input, keep it coming.

[jet fixer]

I was looking at one of these the other day but the stand was wrapped in plastic. How is the build quality on the stand?

I have a current outer orbit 2x150whqi 4T5 that i plan on using. I'm planning on rics, zoa's and LPS w/4" sandbed though so I don't need as much lighting as a SPS tank.

[rkaires]

I say go with the Sunpower. I have one on my Oceanic 58 and love it. I use to miss the shimmer of mh but don't miss the electric bills or heat issues. Use the money you save for the next skimmer review.

[GQuinn]

There was a thread on lighting rimless tanks, unfortunately my search doesn't seem to work. Some people were not happy with the quality of the Hamilton Belize. Here is a picture of my Illuminata with a Geisemann (150 watt) Infinity.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/86023P1000387.jpg

Gary

[mojo~]

I did see that pic and didnt even realize what fixture it was. I think I am going to go that route. I really like that look. same size too 24 in . Thanks for brining that back to my attention. I went through the whole rimless thread even the splits. I didnt read it all but look at all the pics.

[mojo~]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15436711#post15436711 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkaires
I say go with the Sunpower. I have one on my Oceanic 58 and love it. I use to miss the shimmer of mh but don't miss the electric bills or heat issues. Use the money you save for the next skimmer review.
do you have any pics of it. Do you have a 24 in or 36? would really like to see it

[rkaires]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15437347#post15437347 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mojo~
do you have any pics of it. Do you have a 24 in or 36? would really like to see it


Sorry no pictures. I have the 36" Sunpower. In hindsight I should have went with the 24". I had a 24" Powermodule on it and it worked fine.

[netboy]

Since when did Oceanic start making rimless tanks?

[GSMguy]

Sunpower!

[mojo~]

I am not sure yet. I am leaning towards giesmann

[gcarroll]

What is the footprint of the tank?

[GSMguy]

i think its 36x18x?

[Gondore]

My vote is for the Geisemann fixture.

[mojo~]

36x18x21 greg

[gcarroll]

Ahh. I prefer the Spectra over the Infinity but that fixture is wider than your tank. I would say the Sunpower or the Infinity would be best. The Infinity will look better hanging over it for sure. I have wanted to consider an all T5 tank but I love the shimmer of MH. Tough call.

[NyReefNoob]

t5, the shimmer has never been a sell for me, current tank i have the coralife pro 250w with pc's, { got it for a great price } nice light and keeps corals happy. new tank is 36x24x22 and i will be using a tek 8 bulb t5, reason for liking t5 better is you get a more even complete light coverage, heat really isnt much less just spread further across tank instead of a spot light, and 400w is 400w reguardless of whether it is from mh or t5, also the niceness of t5 is being able to run multiple color temps of bulbs, this is the fixture i personally would get is $ wasnt a problem
36" 6x39W Powermodule T5 High-Output Fixture

[E.intheC]

tough call for me as well, but I'd go with the ATI.. second choice would be the Geisemann.

[reeftec]

How about aquaphoton it covers the width of the tank completely you can go for 24" or 36" fixture I have seen a couple & they are really sexy fixtures

[Uncle Luke]

If your gonna go with the Infinity, go with the 250 mh. I get amazing colors and growth on my 34 gallon.

[tufacody]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15439901#post15439901 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NyReefNoob
t5, the shimmer has never been a sell for me, current tank i have the coralife pro 250w with pc's, { got it for a great price } nice light and keeps corals happy. new tank is 36x24x22 and i will be using a tek 8 bulb t5, reason for liking t5 better is you get a more even complete light coverage, heat really isnt much less just spread further across tank instead of a spot light, and 400w is 400w reguardless of whether it is from mh or t5, also the niceness of t5 is being able to run multiple color temps of bulbs, this is the fixture i personally would get is $ wasnt a problem
36" 6x39W Powermodule T5 High-Output Fixture


People keep saying this, and I guess from a pure physics standpoint it is true. But in my experience, when it comes to actually heating up the room, this has never held true. My one 24" outer orbit 250 watt halide heats my room a lot more than my 72" solaris does. IT JUST DOES. I'm not sure if it has to do with how the fixtures actually make contact with the air they heat or what, or if it has to do with the fact that the halide heats the surface of the water more and then that heats the room, but these claims that 250 watts = 250 watts and therefore they heat the room the same just does NOT carry over to the real world. Scream at me all you want, it just doesn't.

[mojo~]

whats the difference between the giesemenn infinity and the nep-tune I was looking at? not muc difference but almost double the price.

[mojo~]

looks like its one extra set of t5's

[gcarroll]

The MH reflector may also be different. I'm not sure but the Neptune may have their old hammertone reflectors. The Infinity has a parabolic reflector.

[mojo~]

ill have to look I am liking the GIESEMANN more and more. its a newer fixture that replaced the eco 230 from watI have read.

[mojo~]

ok well after much more investigation the Nep tune pro replaced the eco, and the infiniti replaced the neptune. I ordered the Neptune giesemann fixture and it will be here wednesday.

I couldnt justify the extra $300 on the infiniti. other than I really like it. lol it adds a better reflector and 2 more t5's. I am hoping i dont regret not buying it. Anyone seen one of the geise' Neptune pro fixtures ? Give me a heads up on it?

Thanks for the input everyone. Being that it will be in the open I wanted something that works well and looks good too. Now I have to figure out how to mount it. lol

[Tobit]

Mojo: How much are these rimless Oceanic's running? I've always loved the Oceanic 58's, this may have to be the tank I upgrade to from the 40 Breeder. :D

[skimmy]

you'll love that fixture Mojo...My buddy even attached 2 of the current powerbrites to the back and it still looked sweet. :)
....nice tank choice BTW.

And yeah, what skimmer did you put on that thing? :)

[luther1200]

I also have a 3 foot tank and I think you will want 2 MH. I have 2-150w which are fine, I can grow SPS on the SB. But if I was going to get new lights I would get this.

http://www.marinedepot.com/3ft_Maristar_High_Output_HQI_T5_Combo_Fixture_with_Galaxy_Dual_250w_Electronic_Ballast_36_to_38_Inch _Metal_Halide_T5_Fluorescent_Double_Ended_Fixtures-Sunlight_Supply_Inc-SL2541-FILTFIMHTSDET5-vi.html


Didn't see you already picked out a fixture when I posted that. But that is still what I would choose.

[mojo~]

I thought about that but didnt want to deal with that much heat.

[AlexP_03]

I would go ATI. The neptune is kind of an economy giesemann fixture, i have seen them and they are much less better made than the infinity series. just my .2 cents.

[drtrash]

What length did you get? Any downsize in using a 24 inch fix on a 36 inch tank? Other than light shadow on very end.

[mojo~]

the picture on page one show it with the 24" fixture. That is what I got. Well Its too late for me to change my mind as it has been bought and paid for and is coming my

[Paulairduck]

they are beautiful fixtures, I will eventually get one to go over my ELOS, nice choice!!!

[woodwrangler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15437025#post15437025 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GQuinn
There was a thread on lighting rimless tanks, unfortunately my search doesn't seem to work. Some people were not happy with the quality of the Hamilton Belize.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1649860

[precko]

Nice choice, I have the infiniti over my 36"x36" and get great coverage no shadows even at the ends, they look soo slick too.

here is mine in relation to the room, only the 250w hqi is on in this picture it is much brighter with the 4x t5's on also.

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq271/precko/tankfull.jpg

[mojo~]

Very nice. How do you like the stock bulbs.

[precko]

the megachrome halide lamp is one of the best I have used, the T5's look good too, however from what I have read they are slightly inferior to the ATI or KZ tubes, certainly not enough for me to change them out before they are due to be though.

I did get the option of what bulb and tubes I wanted, I went with the 14500k hqi, 2 x pure actinic and 2 x aquablue +.

What bulbs have you gone with?

[mojo~]

well it comes with a ushio BLV 10k and I am not sure what t5's I am hoping the actinic + . I am not familiar with the ushio 10k bulb. I ll try it out. If the bulbs are not what I am looking for I am thinking I will run two ati blue + for t5's and either a pheonix 14k or a maybe a reeflux 12k or something for the halide. Not sure. I wish there was a DE Radium. I really liked my SE Radiums.

[BreadmanMike]

Is the metal halide reflector on the 24" Infiniti offset from center a little like they show on PA's picture?

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/giesemann/infin-bulbs.jpg

[GQuinn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15477057#post15477057 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BreadmanMike
Is the metal halide reflector on the 24" Infiniti offset from center a little like they show on PA's picture?

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/giesemann/infin-bulbs.jpg

The metal halide reflectors location is adjustable left to right on the Geisemann Infinity, so it can be moved to center.

Gary

[BreadmanMike]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15477181#post15477181 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GQuinn
The metal halide reflectors location is adjustable left to right on the Geisemann Infinity, so it can be moved to center.

Gary


That's awesome!. :D

[mojo~]

well mine will be here today. Out for delivery. I didnt get the infiniti though. I hope I am happy with the Geisemann Neptune pro. basically it uses 2 t5 rather than 4 and the reflector is different on the halide from what I gather. well we will see.

[BreadmanMike]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15477443#post15477443 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mojo~
well mine will be here today. Out for delivery. I didnt get the infiniti though. I hope I am happy with the Geisemann Neptune pro. basically it uses 2 t5 rather than 4 and the reflector is different on the halide from what I gather. well we will see.

Cool, hope to see some pics. :)

[tcinaustin]

Mojo, What did you think of your new Neptune? I was waiting to see what you thought of yours before I placed my order for either the infiniti or the Neptune.

[mojo~]

Here is the link to my build thread.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1681334

The light is nice. If you dont mind spending the extra $$ the infiniti is really a nice unit. I would like to have 4 t5's but didnt feel like dropping the extra $$ on it. THe neptune is nice. Seems well built and looks nice. I did test fire the stock ushio blv 10k bulb and it was too yeloow for my liking. the two t5's could notover come the yellow. I ordered a pheonix bulb and already installed it. Nice unit really.
The only other one I was considering was the hamilton belize for a halide. Well we will. I am getting new tank together today. I am just taking a quick break. It is plumbed in. And about 75% of the electrical is done. I need to finish hooking up the RKE and drill two holes to hang the light and the I start tearing down the other tank and slide this one into place.

wish me luck.

Mojo~