solana 34g lighting options

[tatuaje08]

I have several high-end btas and I just think they look better under t5. I'm not sure what my options are for the Solana that I will be setting up. Do people have success with the 24" fixtures or is there too much light spill? So I'm looking fo suggestions on 20" vs 24", and what type of fixture. I will have a steel hanging light bracket. Thanks.

[Dr. Fish]

I use a ATI 24" sunpower. Yes it is a tad bit larger than the tank but the bulbs aren't actually lit all the way out to the full 24" length so light spillage is a lot less than you would think. If you wanted to use the optional Solana wood trim thingy I bet there would be no spillage at all.

[tatuaje08]

Thanks. Do you keep coral?

[E.intheC]

The powermodule is actually only 23 inches, but IMO there is light spill. Whether or not the light spill bothers you is a different story.... And really up to you. I'm thinking about throwing a MH bulb on the Solana to be honest.

[Dr. Fish]

The powermodule is actually only 23 inches, but IMO there is light spill. Whether or not the light spill bothers you is a different story.... And really up to you. I'm thinking about throwing a MH bulb on the Solana to be honest.

Very true, its all about preference.

[thegasman]

Very few choices when it comes to a 20" T5 fixture, and not many bulb options. I use 2 Aquaticlife 20" 2x T5 fixtures on my Solana planted tank. I get around 90 PAR at the substrate (18"). I would go with a 24" fixture. You can always address the light spill by blocking out the extra length with various materials such as limo tint window film.

[tatuaje08]

I am leaning towards a 24" 250w mh / 4x24 t5. Thanks for all the replies.

[thegasman]

Good choice. There's someone on here selling two of them in AZ. I'll go half with ya LOL!

[tatuaje08]

Good choice. There's someone on here selling two of them in AZ. I'll go half with ya LOL!

I sent him a pm asking for dimensions and bulb age, he never replied. Odd because he did reply to earlier pms when I asked it he would sell me just 1. He has posted on rc since I last sent him a pm so I don't know why he never bothered to send me a fu pm. Oh well.

[chad p]

I am leaning towards a 24" 250w mh / 4x24 t5. Thanks for all the replies.

I just picked up a Hamilton Cayman Sun reflector. I painted the shell white to match my stand and light mount. It's 12"X12" which I think will give just about perfect coverage over my Solana Superbrite.

Adding T5 supplementation isn't really an option with that reflector but I'm going to try to get away with just the 250W Hamilton 14K powered by a Lumatek digital ballast. Apparently others have done it and were happy with the results.

[Chiefmcfuz]

I have the ai sol blue. I love it.

[chad p]

I have the ai sol blue. I love it.

I have a Sol Blue over my Solana too. There's a lot I love about it too but I'm trying the 250W MH because I think I could be getting a bit more color from my SPS.

I love the controllability, the look of the color of the light inside the tank and the nice clean look of it over my tank. Just going to see if the grass is any greener on the other side I guess.

Here's my tank with the Sol overhead:

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv17/cgpattullo/A6AC34ED-31B7-458F-93E9-5719B7BE25D4-12961-00000B7B27AF0355.jpg (http://s665.photobucket.com/user/cgpattullo/media/A6AC34ED-31B7-458F-93E9-5719B7BE25D4-12961-00000B7B27AF0355.jpg.html)