How about combining a T5 fixture with a LED strip?

[Christian J]

Hybrid T5+LED fixtures seem like a good idea, combining the spread and color spectrum of T5 tubes with the shimmer of LED point source lights. But so far there are only a few such hybrid fixtures on the market. So how about increasing the possibilities by using a separate T5 fixture and LED strip? Is a reef tank LED strip even strong enough to produce shimmer when combined with say four T5 tubes? And how/where should the LED strip best be mounted?

Please post any other practical issues I haven't thought of yet...

[SloppyJ]

I have a nuvo 30g tank. I have a 150w halide that rests on the rim and I added two actinic strips on top of the tank too. The halide is in the middle and the LEDs are on either side of it. That works well.

The ATI Powermodule has the LEDs in the middle and T5s on the outside. I think it really depends on the size of your tank and how many LEDs you're going to run.

[ghostman]

The reefbrite strips do a great job of producing shimmer, especially the xho series. They attach to ATI sunpower lamps pretty easily. They are pricey though. I've only seen the blue/actinic strip in action. Thought it looked great!!

[Scotty1772]

My combo

[Perureef]

Scotty1772, do you find that they add a lot of shimmer, or do they only make the color "pop"? I have a 6 bulb ati fixture and want to know if its worth it. I would love it if it added some noticable shimmer

[Scotty1772]

I would say it's more for color than shimmer

[Christian J]

The ATI Powermodule has the LEDs in the middle and T5s on the outside.
Which makes perfect sense to me, but of course with a separate T5 and LED fixture that's not an option. Perhaps you can install a LED strip inside a T5 fixture, among the tubes.

Otherwise I was thinking of a LED strip resting on top of the front edge of the aquarium, and then a four tube T5 fixture hanging behind it and a little higher above the water. Maybe the LED strip would shade the T5s then? My tank is about 21" front to back.