PDA

View Full Version : 29 Gallon Reef Tank Lighting !


Tiburon57
06/28/2013, 06:52 PM
So I'm still trying to put all the pieces together for this puzzle together! I'm looking at the Lunar Aqualight High Output T5 Fixtures ? Is that a good lighting for a 29 gal reef tank or its a little bit much ? Should I start with something different ? Please let me know! Thanks :fish1::fish1::fish1::dance:

tallball158
06/28/2013, 06:57 PM
That depends on what you are planning on keeping for corals. What are you thinking about having?

chrisfont23
06/28/2013, 08:59 PM
Before I upgraded to my 90, I had a 29 gallon mixed tank where I used an Aquatic Life T5 HO 4 bulb and kept everything in my tank, including SPS and clams. It was perfect.

Lateralus
06/28/2013, 09:06 PM
Before I upgraded to my 90, I had a 29 gallon mixed tank where I used an Aquatic Life T5 HO 4 bulb and kept everything in my tank, including SPS and clams. It was perfect.


^Hear hear^

I had a 4x24 current USA sundial over mine and kept anything I wanted in mine with decent growth.

BlindZide
06/29/2013, 04:45 AM
My 30g is currently running a 25" Dual T5HO fixture from (I might get backlash from this) Odyssea. It has been running about 5 months now without any issues. There used to be a huge number of them catching fire but they have since resolved that issue and made a better product from what I am told.

This fixture ran me about $40 and I currently have a variety of corals under it that all seem to be doing fine.

With that being said I am also now running a 48" Quad T5HO w/built in timer, built in lunar LEDS, and built in cooling fans from Odyssea which I obtained for around $120 for my 75g.

dkeller_nc
06/29/2013, 08:30 AM
So I'm still trying to put all the pieces together for this puzzle together! I'm looking at the Lunar Aqualight High Output T5 Fixtures ? Is that a good lighting for a 29 gal reef tank or its a little bit much ? Should I start with something different ? Please let me know! Thanks :fish1::fish1::fish1::dance:

I doubt you will find that 4 T5 HO bulbs over a 3 foot long tank will be too much light. And it might not be enough to keep corals that need a lot of light (like certain acropora species), though that will depend on where you place them in the tank.

I looked up the fixture you mentioned, and it's hard to discern whether the 30" long Coralife fixture has 24" long T5 HO lamps in it. Standard sizes for T5 HO lamps are 24", 36", 48", etc..., so I'm thinking that the 30" long Coralife fixture uses 4 24" T5 HO bulbs. Since each 24" T5 HO bulb is 24W, if you select this fixture you will be getting 3.3 watts/gallon.

Typically, that's on the low end of the watts per gallon rule of thumb, so it may be a bit weak for certain stony corals and photosynthetic clams. But it will certainly be enough for soft corals like zoanthids, palythoas, and mushrooms as well as low-light requirement stony corals.

Most highly successful stony coral tanks tend to run in the 6 watts per gallon range for fluorescent/metal halide lights. Note that this watts-per-gallon rule doesn't apply to LED fixtures. LEDs are more efficient, and 6 watts per gallon would be nuclear intensity that would likely fry corals and PS clams.

Speaking of LEDs, they've gotten cheap enough to where you've a decision to make. The fixture you're considering is $240 (assuming it's the 30" long one). You will need to replace the fluorescent bulbs once every 6-9 months, and 24" T5HOs cost about $20 each. For a 30 gallon tank, one of the Aqua Illumination hydra fixtures would be appropriate. They're $400 each, and you will need to add a controller and some sort of mounting solution to the total bill. However, you won't need to replace the LEDs in the way you must replace fluorescent or metal halide bulbs, so the cost of ownership is considerably lower. And an LED fixture like this includes timers, ramp up/ramp down intensity for sunrise/sunset and moonlight, plus the ability to alter the spectrum of the light over the tank at will.

Also, since a lot of the LED fixtures are modular, you could easily use the light on a bigger tank if you decide to upgrade in the future (you just need to purchase additional ones to cover the larger area). The example I gave is a high-quality, high-end fixture. You can also get Chinese-made, less functional but less expensive LED fixtures as well.

Finally, note that LED fixtures put out very little heat. T5HOs put out significant heat. If your tank is going to be located in a room that is continuously ACed to 75 deg F or less, and if the top of your tank is open, that heat output may be no big deal.

Note that I'm not trying to talk you into an LED fixture - T5HO fluorescents are a tried and true lighting method, and so are metal halides. But you may want to consider all of your options.

BlindZide
06/29/2013, 10:45 AM
I would listen to keller, dude has tons of great information and has helped me with my build. LEDs were WAY out of my budget so I went with T5HO and I love it. The room my tanks are in GLOWS bright from the lights.

tallball158
06/29/2013, 11:14 AM
I would listen to keller, dude has tons of great information and has helped me with my build.

+1, I actually look for his posts! Lol ( I hope that doesn't sound weird )

BlindZide
06/29/2013, 12:03 PM
+1, I actually look for his posts! Lol ( I hope that doesn't sound weird )

STALKER ALERT! lol :lol:

eacosta
06/29/2013, 10:25 PM
I have a 29g tank (see attached picture) running that 30" Quad T5 HO Lunar light. I like the light and have been running it for about 6 months now. It is really bright and doesn't get very hot. I currently have 2 clowns + 2 types of zoas, star polyps, long polyp leather, long finger leather, frog spawn, an orange lobophylia, and a Duncan. Everything is growing well. I haven't tried any sps yet though. My coral is thriving even while using a glass top (waiting for the backlash). The thing to consider is that the light uses non-standard 30" bulbs so you have to get them from coralife and can't swap them out with other brands like many do. Having said that, the light is pretty good for the price and do recommend it.

I am actually now in the process of switching from my 29g to a 40 breeder. I am planning on using a grow light hanging kit and rigging up my light to hang above the tank since my new tank is 36" long. You might find yourself quickly wanting to upgrade from the 29g, so consider it if you don't have the tank setup yet.

hollister
06/29/2013, 10:50 PM
Thier are many ways to cut corners and stay safe even with lighting. But lighting is a tool with visable effects. Healthier coral with better color and growth. So getting the best light in your budget. Maybe T-5 and LED mix or T-5 and MH mix.

Of course a good set of HO T-5 can work real well in a mixed tank.

footballdude2k3
06/30/2013, 02:01 AM
If you have the up front money, LEDs are perfect, do not have to replace bulbs, those add up after a few years.

jimspurs
06/30/2013, 02:49 AM
I would just like to agree with the above comments, i've set up a 35gall reef and use a full spectrum 120watt dimmable LED unit, only cost me £130 ($180) and it is fab. I did have to turn the daylight side down to 50% tho as it is very bright but the actinic is on 100% and as you can see it looks stunning
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1044218_643146959046487_694999946_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/998835_643146989046484_1146879852_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1010272_643147035713146_1036846316_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/415015_635306589830524_1190878341_o.jpg

dkeller_nc
06/30/2013, 08:14 AM
My coral is thriving even while using a glass top (waiting for the backlash). The thing to consider is that the light uses non-standard 30" bulbs so you have to get them from coralife and can't swap them out with other brands like many do. Having said that, the light is pretty good for the price and do recommend it.

Hmm - I'd see "non-standard bulbs" as a definite thumbs-down for this particular fixture for Tiburon. It's just a personal opinion, but if it where my tank I would buy a 6-bulb 24" fixture and figure out a way to hang it.

I say this out of unfortunate experience with Coralife fixtures - I have (had) 2 24" single-bulb high output PC lights in use over freshwater tanks. The fixture itself was fairly nice - made of aluminum and looked a whole lot better than those cheap 'n crappy black plastic fluorescent fixtures that tend to come with low-end tank "packages" sold in pet stores.

One of these fixtures has a burned out ballast. And as near as I can determine, the ballast that's a plug-in replacement was made specifically for Coralife. Depending on where I order it from, a replacement ballast is $45 plus shipping. A generic, one-bulb PC ballast is in the $8 range.

So you can see why I'm a bit skeptical of having to order brand-specific parts from Coralife - in my case the non-functioning fixture is going into the dumpster b/c it's considerably more cost-effective to just buy another light (except just not a coralife this time!)

dkeller_nc
06/30/2013, 08:16 AM
I would listen to keller, dude has tons of great information and has helped me with my build.

I appreciate the vote of confidence, guys, but I can assure you that I can be wrong. It's just that I've been around long enough to make what I thought were all of the mistakes that were possible to make. Problem is, I keep coming up with new ones (ways to make mistakes!). ;)

Tiburon57
06/30/2013, 10:31 AM
Thanks for All the great info !!!!

Damender
05/26/2017, 05:16 PM
I doubt you will find that 4 T5 HO bulbs over a 3 foot long tank will be too much light. And it might not be enough to keep corals that need a lot of light (like certain acropora species), though that will depend on where you place them in the tank.

I looked up the fixture you mentioned, and it's hard to discern whether the 30" long Coralife fixture has 24" long T5 HO lamps in it. Standard sizes for T5 HO lamps are 24", 36", 48", etc..., so I'm thinking that the 30" long Coralife fixture uses 4 24" T5 HO bulbs. Since each 24" T5 HO bulb is 24W, if you select this fixture you will be getting 3.3 watts/gallon.

Typically, that's on the low end of the watts per gallon rule of thumb, so it may be a bit weak for certain stony corals and photosynthetic clams. But it will certainly be enough for soft corals like zoanthids, palythoas, and mushrooms as well as low-light requirement stony corals.

Most highly successful stony coral tanks tend to run in the 6 watts per gallon range for fluorescent/metal halide lights. Note that this watts-per-gallon rule doesn't apply to LED fixtures. LEDs are more efficient, and 6 watts per gallon would be nuclear intensity that would likely fry corals and PS clams.

Speaking of LEDs, they've gotten cheap enough to where you've a decision to make. The fixture you're considering is $240 (assuming it's the 30" long one). You will need to replace the fluorescent bulbs once every 6-9 months, and 24" T5HOs cost about $20 each. For a 30 gallon tank, one of the Aqua Illumination hydra fixtures would be appropriate. They're $400 each, and you will need to add a controller and some sort of mounting solution to the total bill. However, you won't need to replace the LEDs in the way you must replace fluorescent or metal halide bulbs, so the cost of ownership is considerably lower. And an LED fixture like this includes timers, ramp up/ramp down intensity for sunrise/sunset and moonlight, plus the ability to alter the spectrum of the light over the tank at will.

Also, since a lot of the LED fixtures are modular, you could easily use the light on a bigger tank if you decide to upgrade in the future (you just need to purchase additional ones to cover the larger area). The example I gave is a high-quality, high-end fixture. You can also get Chinese-made, less functional but less expensive LED fixtures as well.

Finally, note that LED fixtures put out very little heat. T5HOs put out significant heat. If your tank is going to be located in a room that is continuously ACed to 75 deg F or less, and if the top of your tank is open, that heat output may be no big deal.

Note that I'm not trying to talk you into an LED fixture - T5HO fluorescents are a tried and true lighting method, and so are metal halides. But you may want to consider all of your options.

I greatly appreciate these forums and wanted to re-ask this question understand the current models have changed. I'd like to get a nice LED fixture to replace and have a 29 gallon which I'll always have. Really appreciate it.

monkeysee1
05/26/2017, 06:31 PM
Before I upgraded to my 90, I had a 29 gallon mixed tank where I used an Aquatic Life T5 HO 4 bulb and kept everything in my tank, including SPS and clams. It was perfect.

What do you have on your 90 gallon now???
Just curious - the reason why I ask is that I have a 90 gallon also. I have the 48" Current Orbit Marine Pro with an Actinic Blue 48" strip as a supplement and would like a stonger light setup - I have a FOWLR and I'm thinking about giving reefing another try - I like those Birds Nest and Montipora SPS corals!!

:)

Oh, BTW - fellow posters - I agree! for a 29 Gallon I would DEFINITELY go with T5's!! Two blue and two white!! Red Sea T5's I hear are decent!!

Damender
05/27/2017, 12:53 PM
I'm ditching my T5 setup for LEDs, and went with the Prime HDs (2). I have the acclimation setup for 50 percent right now but curious as to what setups people are using on these bad boys!

Right now I have three bubble tip anemones, bunch of green star and then just some normal orange/green frag colonies.