Fishneedit t5 VS. Odyssea

Dude honestly just keep the stock lighting for now, get the ato instlled first, its more important. Fterwrds strt saving because really you have sooo many good options. The par30's or whtever from boostled re within your budget, three or four of those you're good for a very long time.

What I did was bought new biocube lights after 9months or so but then I won the xms ugly sweater prize .

You can get the retrofit kit, ecoxotics, one ai sol, that ho t5 fixture you posted, the Mh fixture you posted. Lso dude- 250w hqi viper w moonlight leds is in your budget too. That ws wht I ws going to go with before I won the ecoxotics. the 250w hqi viper is prob one the best lights for a tank our size. Comes with a fan too.

Ato first buddy, its way more important for ease of mind and for leaving townz.

Good luck on your decision

Excuse the poor spelling - A key on my BB is messed up so its hrd to type sometimes

 

thanks ash i would totally keep it stock now but my tank runs at 81-82... and thats with the house at 75! i think ill probably just go with the fishneedit. that way ill have enough for the ATO. then sometime after the summer i can get an AI nano.

 

par30 is in the lead...

 

I feel like we keep coming back to this question and we will continue to do so. The boost par30 bulbs are great, but for the price of 75 bucks you are getting 5 non-dimmable LEDs. If you go with the reef lamp package its 105 bucks. Multiply that by two and you have 210 bucks for 10 LEDs. Maybe a bit less if you catch them during a sale. If you go with the DIY LED from rapid you get by far the best bang for your buck. 24 LEDs for around same as the Boost par30s. The heat they produce is very efficiently removed by your stock fans that cool your PC lights. You can also add another fan if you choose to do so. We keep telling you to go DIY because it is BY FAR the best bang for your buck buddy. I dont want to come off as a jerk but starting some more threads about cheap lighting to replace your stock PCs wont get you very far. Please take our advice. So many people wouldnt be going the DIY route if it wasnt the best option.

 

I'm taking the advice, trust me. its a $$$ issue. i need it FAST. the biocube 29 dimmable retrofit kit is 245$. I'm not sure if i can save that much by the time i need it. plus, DIY electrical stuff isn't my thing. i don't have a soldering iron and by the time i get one I'm looking at another 40$. I think that t5 is going to be the way to go with this. ill have many color options and little to no heat issues. plus ill be able to keep sps.

 

12 LEDs wouldn't be enough.. right?

 

I see where you are coming from Mattias, I was in your shoes at a point in time too. But in the long run buying equipment that is cheaper and lower quality costs you more down the road. The t5 bulbs it comes with will cost 100 bucks alone to replace every year. If you are looking for a quick fix for your problem it will be an answer but your wallet will take a hit because of it.

 

You could get away with it but not for keeping SPS all around the tank. I would say no.

 

alright, thanks norg. ill sit down tonight and see if i can tweak the budget a bit for some LEDs. Im not really fond of my hood so that will open up my options.

 

I think you will be much happier with the purchase buddy. When I had my biocube running without the hood evaporation was a huge problem. I wasnt running an ATO at the time, but even if you are plan on refilling that ATO bucket often! Haha.