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Frag Tank Lighting?

M

Mike S

I picked up a Deep Blue 45 gallon frag tank yesterday. It measures 48"L X 18" W X 12" D. I am trying to decide on lighting and am leaning towards T5's. Will a 48" 4 bulb fixture be sufficient for SPS or should I be looking for a 6 bulb light?
 
jgraz

jgraz

Great tank mike. I would start at 6 bulbs. It's shallow but I think in the end you'll regret getting a 4x fixture. If inn not mistaken there is someone here selling a 6x Tek elite fixture.
 
M

Mike S

Thanks John

The light will be mounted relatively close to the top of the tank. I was kind of concerned that a 6 bulb may be too much but I guess that's what switches are for. I'd go leds but there seem to be too many changes still going on to invest much money in them.
 
jgraz

jgraz

If its gonna be close you could probably get away with four but its only gonna cover roughly 10" of the 18" width. Just carefully acclimate. Most of my SPS is within 12" of the waterline under an 8 bulb and seems to be doing great at that spot. Maybe someone else could chime in as well.
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Go with six, get the dimmable fixture so then you don't have to worry about it.
 
spotter

spotter

Reach out to reefgeeks and see if they have any of their factory 2nd's fixtures. They have minor scratches and blemishes on them but they discount the fixture by like 40%.


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M

Mike S

Mike was that a tek or ATI dimmable fixture that you had over your frag tank? What you said about having a different kind of lighting between your display and frag tanks has me leaning towards t5s. Part of me still thinks that I should do a hybrid system like on my main tank. For the odd dimensions of my frag tank I'd probably need to go DIY with the leds and add a pair of t5s.

Thanks for the tip Steve. I sent them an email. Btw I have the green light from my wife for the tank. :)
 
spotter

spotter

That's great!!! I better sell my house fast so that green light doesn't turn to red!!!


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