Suggestions on new lighting for old reef tank?

[AdamG]

I have a 125 gallon with primarily softies and has been established for well over 6 years, It is built in the wall and is visable on 3 sides. The room I have above would give me clearance for 6' plus and 13 inched wide. The height is more then enough and I have 2+ feet. I have an old Powercompact lighting with hood that is 12 inches wide and 72 inches long and 4-6 inches hight with built in fan. It has gotten old and not working as well. I am looking to upgrade to T5's or something else. Does anyone have suggestions for something that will fit my dimentions???

[Fat Tony]

T5's would be a good choice for the tank. The biggest question is, How much are you willing to spend?

[AdamG]

3-500 maybe a little more, preferably less I cant find any longer then 36 inches

[AdamG]

I found this
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...0x%2039%20watt)
however is this enought wattage for a 125 and becasue its a T5 I dont have to worry about overheating really as much right??

[bcrum51]

may have to get 2 3ft fixtures the Nova fixtures on fosters and smith run 175 apiece for 156w fixture

[AdamG]

anyone know what the dimentions of what I just posted on the link are I cant find the width???

[Fat Tony]

from the looks of it, it looks to be about 13-14" wide. That fixture would be ok for your softies and would be ok for some LPS as well, maybe a monti cap or something higher in the tank as well.

[Fat Tony]

edit.. the fixture is ~10 1/4" wide

spec sheet
http://www.aquaticlife.com/t5ho/420038.pdf

[Plaz]

Originally Posted by AdamG

The height is more then enough and I have 2+ feet. I have an old Powercompact lighting with hood that is 12 inches wide and 72 inches long and 4-6 inches hight with built in fan. It has gotten old and not working as well. I am looking to upgrade to T5's or something else. Does anyone have suggestions for something that will fit my dimentions???

The 6' Current Nova Extreme Pro is 72" x 12" x 4.25". At bottom of page if you follow the link below.

http://www.marineandreef.com/Current...ting_s/437.htm

[Jnicho]

I did a retro-kit on my 125...I have 6 x 4' bulbs staggered so they cover the ends too...biggest reason I did the 4' is: 1) 5' bulbs are harder to find. 2) 3' bulbs would require 12 instead of 6...since all "better" brand T5's sell for about the same cost, the 3 footers would double the replacement bulb cost...I did Advance ballasts (not over-driving the bulbs) and individual Tek II reflectors...I'm very happy with the setup...the PAR actually measured just slightly higher than a 250W MH with 14k bulbs...I have had a Maxima clam at the bottom of the tank (in the middle where all 6 bulbs overlap) for over six months and it's growth has been very good.

[Loverotties]

+1