New light for 90g Bow

I just replaced the substrate and rock with new live sand and live rock in my Oceanic 90g bowfront tank. This is a setup that I inherited from someone, so I'm learning the ropes the hard way, so to speak. The lighting I have now is the original 40watt standard flourescent. I would like to get the coraline growing on the live rock, and start to add corals, so I know i need to upgrade the lighting.

The problem is that given tha it's a bow front style, I have 12" on the sides and 18" in the middle of the bow. That excludes many of the units I've researched. I would also like to avoid adding any more noise from the tank, as it's in the kitchen and already bothersome to the family, so big noisy fans would be a problem.

I would ideally like to have moon lights as well, to enjoy the tank in that mode too. The tank has a plastice cap on it that looks decent enough to keep on it if I can, so that adds a bit more of a challenge.

So, to summarize, I'd love to have a MH and T5 combo unit with a handful of lunar LEDs all in a package that's 12" wide or less (with no fans, of course). ;D I realize I'm dreaming, so can anyone offer some rational and sane advice that could work please?

 

The MH/T5 combo Aquactinics makes will fit the bill perfectly, thin, MH/T5 and LEDs but its not cheap.

Ever think of a Solar Flare, also by Aquactinics... It is an Ice Cap driven fixture that has moonlights. Also somewhat spendy.

Also if you are looking for a fixture without fans, no offense you are CRAZY!! Not a good idea. Aquactinics fans for example are VERY quiet, some brands esp lower end ones fans are noisey.. Just get a better brand and you will have no problem with the noise.

What type of corals are you trying to grow? Even a TX5 by Aquactinics will grow a good amount of corals in that tank! Man I must be on an Aquactinics kick today!

Aquactinics LLC | Marine Aquarium Lighting Specialists

There other options out there for you as well but in my eyes these are some good starting points and you can then make some changes from here!

Good luck with the new tank!!

 

Thanks for the link. They look like a great fit. Question on the cooling though. My tank "canopy" is really a plastic piece that fits over the top of the tank. I'm assuming it would be close to fitting right up to the edge of the light fixture. Sounds like it might significantly restrict the airflow, but I don't see fans on retrofit kits, so wondering if it would work?

 

Just add fans, buy some computer fans and install them in the side of the canopy as exhaust fans instead of intake fans

 

Aquactinics fixtures are "sleek" enough so they say that you don't need to try to hide them... I think canopies look better than any fixture but thats just me...

A retro would work and give you the flexiblity to make it as wide or as thin as you want... If you are looking to avoid light spillage I would go with T5 over MH, but in all reality, MH does a great job on bowed tanks.

 

Light spillage - hmmm. I hadn't considered that. I'm assuming you mean excess light that leaves the sides or front of the tank? Forgive me, but my ignorance is now really showing.

I've been giving the retro option some thought. I'm assuming I would need to build a wooden box in which to place the components, and piece together the MH and T5 elements with some lunar lights. I'd then be able to make it presumambly as big or small as I wanted, allowing for the size of the parts. I could also put the fans in the back of the unit, away from the sides which would be blocked by the canopy, which I intend on using.

Now you've got me thinging. Thank you!

 

Correct light spillage would be the light that falls off the back, sides, front or top of the tank due to the MH light....

IME retro would be the way to go be it MH or T5. Honestly I am a big T5 guy but MH would like I stated probably give you a little bit better coverage especially in the bow portion of the tank.
Keep in mind this, a retro MH lamp should be about 6-10" away from the tank, or should I say water level. I have seen folks go closer but wouldn't advise much closer than 6". So is your "canopy" tall enough to support putting in some reflectors in there and having them be 6-10" from the surface?
Here is a bunch of different reflectors
Products
Coral Vue Home Page
If you poke around on the CV site they also have MH/T5 retros that aren't all that pricey and are essentially plug and play, might be your best bet if you are fairly new to the hobby and lighting in general.

T5 on the other hand will take up less space, esp height wise... For example my skeleton of my retro is only 5" of the top of the tanks frame. My "skeleton" holds my ballasts on top of it and the endcaps are underneath. Putting my lamps like 1" from my frame... Just about all the light gets into the tank, there is nearly zero light spillage out of the tank.

The problem I would forsee with T5s is this, the widest part of your tank is 12" that would "hold" the skeleton of the retro. Even if you went with 2" Aquactinics SLRs(single lamp reflectors) that would be youd be lucky if you could cram the 6 in there before the bow. 6 would be great on a 90 but the bow will not have lamps directly over it... Is that a problem, well thats up to you... Most people with bows I know either leave the bow area sandy or have lower light LPS in there anyway....

 

as far as the moon light LED's go, you could just ebay them. there are packages where they come in strips or even just the LED's attached to wires. i have used both and they both work great. its just a couple bucks, and my local walmart even carries them.
hope this helps.

 

Frag pretty much hit it dead on. K+ dude.