6 bulb t5 or how many led of a 90 gal tank?

[slowjazz]

I had a 4 bulb deep blue (yes, very old) t5 over my 55 gal. I went to a 90 and want to either stick with t5's because of the growth or sink into led. It is pretty much a given that I would have to get ecotech if I go with led.

My question is how many would I need? Can I get by with 2 15's? I'm assuming 1 - 30 would not be enough, so would I need 2 of those? (which gets very expensive when you add the wireless...ect..)

I was leaning to the Aqua life 6 bulb and replace the bulbs with ATI. Some people think I should just spend the money and get the ATI. Only issue is when you add the bulbs you are getting into the price of the ecotech 15's.

So... what is my best bet?
I have a mixed 90 gal tank.

[ClownsRCoo]

I have a 90 and started with 2 Radion XR30W's and didn't care for them. Maybe if I would have had 3 of them.

I switched to a 6 bulb ATI sunpower and like it much much better. Its so much easier to live with. Just find a bulb combo you like, plug it in and grow coral. No overly complicated individual color channels to guess what the levels should be. No need for ramping up and down and worrying about if you are too high or not.

[slowjazz]

I have a 90 and started with 2 Radion XR30W's and didn't care for them. Maybe if I would have had 3 of them.

I switched to a 6 bulb ATI sunpower and like it much much better. Its so much easier to live with. Just find a bulb combo you like, plug it in and grow coral. No overly complicated individual color channels to guess what the levels should be. No need for ramping up and down and worrying about if you are too high or not.

3 eco's? wow.... I think i'll stick to the t5's :) I have a canopy also... Would I have heat issues? (Did not see a pic with the fans. I know the Aqua's had two fans on top.
Also... Does it come with legs?

[jayball]

I do not know the quality of the deep blue t5 fixture but if you want to keep using it you could add a reefbrite or BML type strip to it. I use 2 48 inch BML strips over my 90 gallon, both 20k.

[DaveRaz]

Go 36" and add a kessil to each end pointing to center, another kessil front center pointed center.

[ClownsRCoo]

3 eco's? wow.... I think i'll stick to the t5's :) I have a canopy also... Would I have heat issues? (Did not see a pic with the fans. I know the Aqua's had two fans on top.
Also... Does it come with legs?

I have not seen too many LED successful tanks when the fixture is running parallel with the length of the tank (Fixture facing right to left). The ones I see that actually have great growth and color have them perpendicular to the tank (fixture facing front to back). When you run them this way you will need at least 3 and the center brace will be a problem. You will have to run 2 perpendicular and 1 parallel.

That's $1950 if you are buying normal G3's vs a $520 6 bulb ATI Sunpower. You could replace your bulbs every year for 10 years before you hit what you paid for the radions.

I don't know anything about the T5s you are talking about. Only experience is with the ATI fixture. I don't have any heat issues but I don't have a canopy either.

[Kies1]

Having very good success on my 90 gallon running a maxspect razor. Actually switched from a 6 bulb t5 unit.

[dadummy]

keep the 4 bulb T5 fixture canter of the tank and make some LED strips to go in front and back

[DavidinGA]

Both!

(eBay boxes and a reef breeders in the middle plus four 80w tubes)
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/29/da1a7f2e175d95bd0dc7c1b394e9bcb0.jpg

[slowjazz]

Go 36" and add a kessil to each end pointing to center, another kessil front center pointed center.

36? I had a 48 over my 55. I know the 90 is just as long. Don't think a 36 would make it :)

[cardiffgiant]

I switched from 6 t5s to 2 radions a couple of months ago. I absolutely prefer the radions to the t5s.

[slowjazz]

Having very good success on my 90 gallon running a maxspect razor. Actually switched from a 6 bulb t5 unit.

What size? The only one I saw that would fit the 90 was the one that was 899. The legs seem very high. (I have a canopy )

[slowjazz]

I have a 90 and started with 2 Radion XR30W's and didn't care for them. Maybe if I would have had 3 of them.

I switched to a 6 bulb ATI sunpower and like it much much better. Its so much easier to live with. Just find a bulb combo you like, plug it in and grow coral. No overly complicated individual color channels to guess what the levels should be. No need for ramping up and down and worrying about if you are too high or not.

Would a 4 bulb work also? A little surprised to see on their web site that they said the 4 bulb would cover a 50 - 110 The 6 would cover 8 - 160.
I'm assuming the dimmable is worth the price over the non dimmable? (looks like the added other features to the dimmable?)

The only I see right now is the mount. It looks like I can only hang it? I have a canopy and would want to use legs. Anybody know of a kit?

[Kies1]

What size? The only one I saw that would fit the 90 was the one that was 899. The legs seem very high. (I have a canopy )

I am using the 300 watt razor. Covers a 4 foot tank quite nice. All you need. You could hang it in your canopy just make sure you have proper ventilation inside the canopy

[DaveRaz]

I research this until my eyes bled. Here is what I ended up doing. The T5s grow my coral much faster then the razors I removed. Went with the shorter ATI as I wanted to compliment with 3 360we Kessil. Good luck with your decision.

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo330/davidnrasmussen/image.jpg1_3.jpg (http://s388.photobucket.com/user/davidnrasmussen/media/image.jpg1_3.jpg.html)

Previous set up.
http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo330/davidnrasmussen/image.jpg3.jpg (http://s388.photobucket.com/user/davidnrasmussen/media/image.jpg3.jpg.html)

[kenpau]

LED/T5 hybrids definitely seem to be the way to go now. I am getting very good PAR from Hydra52s but the light spread isn't there, they are VERY focussed and very intense. Having a hybrid gives you the best of both worlds, the spread of T5s and the pop/control of LEDs.
If you're looking at Radions then it sounds like you have a bit of money to put into your lighting so maybe the Giesemann Aurora Hybrid or the ATI hybrid would suit your needs.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/356/18414905783_1525881352.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/u4gcVz)unnamed-8 (https://flic.kr/p/u4gcVz) by kenpau01 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/72958087@N05/), on Flickr

[slowjazz]

I do not see any info on the ATI having legs to mount on the tank. Is there a kit or something or is it hang only?

[Bootlegger]

I'm running 6x 54 watt T5s on my ~80 gallon display and even with good reflectors and quality ballasts it's barely enough for some of my light-hungry SPS corals in the lower part of my 21" tall tank. T5s do a great job on color and even-fill but lack intensity in deeper tanks. I'm in the process of pulling the two center T5HOs and going with a custom LED setup (using Luzon Ms and Bridgelux BXRAs). The goal is to go Hybrid like many of the other posting here of done to get the best of both worlds. I want the shimmer of Halide/LEDs and to drive more PAR deeper. T5s are most efficient at light distribution and driving the actinic range of light. But this all said, if I were running a shallow tank, I'd stick with just T5s. I've seen many coral growers in my area using T5s on shallow tanks with some of the best growth and coloration I've ever seen. One of the growers runs only Actinic and Blue T5s at lower wattage than most and his corals are as vibrant as I've seen.

[Crush Coral]

I just went from a 4 bulb ati to a six bulb aquatic life. Ati fans are much quieter. Timer on the aquatic life is nice. Money not an issue I would get an ati with leds and t5s first. Next choice 6 bulb ati.

[slowjazz]

I just went from a 4 bulb ati to a six bulb aquatic life. Ati fans are much quieter. Timer on the aquatic life is nice. Money not an issue I would get an ati with leds and t5s first. Next choice 6 bulb ati.

money not the issue. The mount is. I have a canopy and do not want to mess around with trying to hang lights inside of it or get rid of the canopy.
People with ATI or know ATI.. does it have the ability to mount on the tank with legs?

[Bootlegger]

Now I understand where your head is at. When I first got my 80 gallon I went through th same search effort. There are a couple ATI competitors that offer legs but I've never seen anything for ATI that is fixture specific. Everything I saw was custom jobs. If you can draw up a design with dimensions a local plastic shop should be able to fabricate some custom mounts for you. When I considered this myself, I decided to stick with my wooden canopy. If my tank was a low-iron, rimless beauty, I'd probably had made the extra effort. But no....

[slowjazz]

Ok.. was at the lfs today and they threw out another option. They had me look at and think about a eco 15w pro. (price dropped to 399 ?) I noticed the 30w has about 150 watts, but I would need two for my 90. At 300 or so watts that to me would be a huge waste. The 15w pro has 75-85 watts. (I'm leaning to 75, but I have seen someone say 85)
It comes with 120 tir and also 80 to swap out. (saves 30 bucks :) )
Thoughts? (start with one and then get another later on)
Just need to figure out how to mount under my canopy.