[richkor]

I am seeing some fixtures that are "all-in-one" meaning they'll have 3 HQI, 8 T5, and then LED's. Most of them are set up with the MH for white, T5's for blues, and then LED's for moon lighting. The one I am looking at from Marineland runs about $1100-$1200, bulbs included. It has separate built in timers, built in ballasts, and only one power cord to worry about. My question is are the all in one units worth it?

I have heard that MH need individual reflectors to be functional? Is the double sided better than the single screw in type? Is the 150w ok or do I need the 250w? Are 1watt LED's ok if only to be used as moon lighting or do I need the 3watt?

Today, I have mostly softies and some LPS, no SPS today. I am running VHO's. I would like to do some SPS, but ephyllia are my favorite corals. I haven't shopped around a lot yet, so for now, am just curious if anyone has experience with the all in one units, or if I am better off getting one type of lighting and being done with that.

 

[richkor]

Oh...175g bowfront if that helps.

 

[richkor]

So in a DIY, how do you start? Do you build the fixture, or do they make modular fixtures where you can add different bulb types, etc? I know the biology side of things pretty well, but am probably the most mechanically challenged person on this site

 

[richkor]

Wow...yeah...I don't have the time nor ability to do that much (I can't even rewire an outlet with step by step directions) I'm the guy who would burn the house down the first night if I tried to build my own fixture. For those of us who are too busy, too busy, too scared of burning down the house and killing the entire tank when it falls apart and into the tank, what is the next best option other than building the entire thing on your own?
If I started with a base fixture, I can go from there with the DIY stuff. I can plug things in no problem, but wiring...not so much. The thing that intrigued me about the all in one is that I can swap out the bulbs within the fixture so I can mix and match. Maybe I do MH for white on 2/3rd's of the tank and do 2 T5 white on the other side with the other 6 T5's blue...Trying to find the best way to mix/match lighting without going something completely custom, which I feel would be over my head.

 

[richkor]

Thanks, Fat Tony