best lighting for weird shaped tank

I'd like to upgrade my lights to t5 ho, or maybe m/h t5 combo. Here's the problem. My tank is Oceanic 54 gal corner bowfront with about an 8 inch canopy. Real pretty show tank, but is a ***** to find lighting that fits in it. Foot print is almost triangular. I'm trying to find a fixture that I can put over the glass top but still be covered by the canopy. Currently running 24" coralife aqualight 2x65 watt pc as well as a 20" acqualight with 28 watt pc. Max length I can go is 24" and max width would be about 10, maybe 11 inches. I thought about a tek 24, but would like to have more than 96 watts of lighting. Anybody using Nova extreme pro 20" which has 6x18watt t5? I know this will fit, but would still like a bit more output. Also I think the 18 watt bulbs are hard to find.
Any manufacturer makes a 24" 6x24watt no wider than 10 inches? I'd even consider m/h with t5s as long as it fit into the footprint?

thanks for any input.

 

IMHO

With a triangle footprint you would be better of with MH - typically a MH lamp is good for 2 square feet of surface area
so two of them across the top , supplemented with some T5 actinics might be your best option

you could buy MH pendants - single lamps x 2? plus actinic running across the front section

this would give you loads of options on coral species to keep and help to avoid dark shaded areas at the very back of your tank

just my thoughts
Steve

 

I have a 110 "wave front"- one end is bowed- and I haven't found a good way to light the whole tank. Defeated, I have learned to place corals in the well-lit spots and leave the rest. It looks natural to me, as most reefs are not completely covered with coral. Doesn't make the most dynamic show tank though! Good luck finding a solution.

 

I second Steve. I would get a 250w Mh in there as well as some 24" supplemental blue/actinic bulbs.

Happy lighting!

 

2x 150mh with 14k or 20k bulbs is what I'd probably do I almost did a corner tank when I built my 90 but the lighting issues are what scared me off actually

 

A single 240 watt mh bulb over the middle would be plenty for ya. Get a bluer spectrum light and you won't need actinics.

 

Wow Dr Frag,

this the first time from reading all you posts about t5s that I hear you recommend m/h. It's because of all the info you've given on this site about t5s that I wanted to try to outfit a lighting system with strictly t5s.
Just came back from my lfs. Took my canopy in to see if the Tek 24 4x24 watt system will fit. It just fits in with nary an inch to spare. I could go with the Tek, but I know I'll only have 96 watts of lighting. Do you think that's enough? My tank dimensions are 18" deep, 28" on 2 sides, and about 37" at the widest point of the bowfront. I'm probably going to do mainly small fish, live rock, some crustaceans, some lps corals like frogspawn, open brain, maybe an anenome. ( not sure about the anenome. Last one I had in my last reef kept splitting and I ended up with about 8 or 9 anenomes that I had to sell off.)

 

Hi Burgerchow
Like you, I have read a number of Dr fragenstiens posts on lighting
I must admit, I respect his knowledge and experience so much that I actually took in what he said about MH on odd shaped tanks and my 1st post to your thread was me using what I had learned from him

this led to a very odd situation whereby the Dr stated +1 on Steve, when the reality was in fact Steve being +1 on the Dr

the above clarified

I have since had my own thoughts about this, bearing in mind you want T5s

what about a retro fit - make a triangle shaped canopy and use a 6 or more lamp fixture
made up of 2 x 54 watts at front- 2 x 39 watts behind and 2 x ?? watts at the back

(sub wattages for what sizes fit)

it would mean having 3 different tubes sizes - but should give you light over a massive area and choices as to what corals you locate where

if the above idea is stupid ? sorry
Steve

 

i would go with 1x250 watt MH. you can retrofit with some t5 actinics for cheap. I would get rid of the glass top you speak off however. you are impeding gas exchange, and when you put a MH over that, your tank will get HOT if there's not enough air movement.

 

Burgerchow.... Hey now, I have recommended Mh once or twice here!! 8)
Its just that with that sized tank it would be the easiest thing to do hands down. I would love to recommend an all T5 based light for a corner, its just not very practical.
You wouldn't want different lenght/wattage lamps on the same ballast, so that would be an issue if you wanted to make a retro with some 36 and 24" lamps... I had a convo with a guy with almost this exact question and he wanted to stagger 36" and 24" from front to back to get the most coverage. I would him that it would be a pain to wire up and to deal with multiple ballasts...

I still stand by my 250 MH.....
Unless you wanted to get creative with a retro, as the Tek might not be what you are looking for, but then again going with what corals you want it just might work for you!!

Happy lighting and good luck!!