SaltyVT Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 I've been going back and forth on what I want to do with my biocube 8 as far as lighting. After first resurrecting it I went with the stock hood and CF. Being the aquarium hoarder I am I have many lighting options to go by. So here are the two lights I'm thinking about. Yes I know they aren't in the same league as each other but I figured I get other people's opinion. So currently I'm using a viper 70w with a brand new ushio 14k bulb. Seems to do a great job of lighting the tank and the corals seem happy. That's option 1. Option 2 is an AI sol blue LED. Clearly over kill but I love that I can control all aspects of lighting. So what would you do? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 The 70W Ushio 14K is going to create great colors and have plenty of intensity, but at the cost of added heat. The Sol Blue will reduce the heat output, but at the cost of color rendition. So I guess you have to decide if you want better color or less heat. Link to comment
braaap Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 The Viper for sure. Great little light. Used to run one on a 5.5 WAYYYYY back in the day. Link to comment
FreshwaterNoob Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Hqi gets my vote. I have a gen1 radion that is getting supplemented with t5s to bring the color back on my colors. Knowing what I know now I would of just used my metal halide and not bought the radion. Link to comment
dutch27 Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Hqi gets my vote. I have a gen1 radion that is getting supplemented with t5s to bring the color back on my colors. Knowing what I know now I would of just used my metal halide and not bought the radion. +1, I've been unable to get good colors from corals under LED, and am moving away from them. If that Ushio is working well, and you can manage the heat, then IMO, stay the course. Link to comment
Horerczy Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 If it's between a halide and a Sol the halide wins for color rendering reasons. Sols lack any colors but cool white and two types of blue. Bad for color rendering and it doesn't look as bright as it is. Link to comment
SaltyVT Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 Thanks everyone for the input. I have decided to stick with the hqi. I purchased a rapid led actinic kit. So far I'm all good with the heat issues. Corals are loving the light for sure. Link to comment
MLS_Reef Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Ive always feared fire or plastic melt in diy closed cover hqi situations Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.