Help with lighting please

[jimkyle]

Hi everyone. I was told to come here because of the knowledgeable and helpful hobbyists that frequent the forum. Anyway I have a 56 gal. column tank. I know its not a nano but I kinda treat it like it is because of the smaller width and taller height i deal with. Anyway I'm using a black box 165 watt led atm but I also have a zoo med aquasun t5 quad fixture. I'm kind of at a loss as to which would be the better light to use. Would the quad t5 penetrate enough? 22 inches deep and only 96 watts total. Or should I stick with the led? Any advice would be helpful. Im keeping some softies and lps corals atm.

 

Thanks,

Jim

[Ahanix]

Hi everyone. I was told to come here because of the knowledgeable and helpful hobbyists that frequent the forum. Anyway I have a 56 gal. column tank. I know its not a nano but I kinda treat it like it is because of the smaller width and taller height i deal with. Anyway I'm using a black box 165 watt led atm but I also have a zoo med aquasun t5 quad fixture. I'm kind of at a loss as to which would be the better light to use. Would the quad t5 penetrate enough? 22 inches deep and only 96 watts total. Or should I stick with the led? Any advice would be helpful. Im keeping some softies and lps corals atm.

 

Thanks,

Jim

 

Hi Jim,

 

The Quad T5 will definitely penetrate far enough in the 22" tank as long as your reflectors are decent and in good condition, at this point it really comes down to the kind of bulbs you are going to use. I would suggest a mixture of Geismann / ATI bulbs, however It has been 3-4 years since I have used any kind of T5's over an aquarium so that question is best suited for someone else. .

 

This question will really come down to personal preference and what you like the "look" of the best. Some people prefer T5 still over LED - With Softies and LPS it's going to be pretty hard to make a bad decision one way or another.

 

I personally would stick with the LED's depending on if they are quality and growing coral just fine, or if you are in a position to do so, you could sell both lights and have a NanoBox Hybrid fixtures built out if you want a mixture of both.

 

 

Sorry, I know this wasn't a huge help - I just think you will be good either way

[WibblyPig]

Both?

 

If not both, set up a test using your camera as a poor man's PAR meter. Take a picture of the bottom of the tank with the LEDs on and look at the details. It will give you aperture, shutter speed, etc. Now do the same thing with the other light and compare the two. Assuming the aperture is the same on both, the faster the shutter speed, the brighter the light.

[jimkyle]

Thanks for your input, at the moment Im using 2 redsea blue/whites one pink(dont know which brand that is) and one ati blue plus. At this point the "shimmer" dont mean much to me. I want healthy coral lol. I just didnt think 96 watts would be enough thats why I switched over to the led's. With that i just cant seem to get my percentages right. All my params are spot on but for some reason my hammer and torch wont fully extend. I know it has to be the lights at this point.