Expert Advice and suggestions needed!!

[Shane and John]

Soo...We just got John a new tank for his room..He got a 34 gallon solana and now we need help with the lighting..We would like the oppinions from the reef frontiers community to help us make our decisions..It looks like we need a 20 inch fixture..We can do what ever...Mount it with legs,hang it from the ceiling,or get a mounting bracket and suspend it connecting it to the stand.....John wants no limitations as to what he can grow..With that said...................
What should we get? We do NOT want to have to run a chiller....

Please give us your ideas..Thanks so much....Shane and John

 

[rainydave]

Not an expert...but, I'd take a look at the Aquaticlife 20" 4 bulb T5 light fixture. I have the 36" model and am very pleased with it. Here's a link to their info page.

Rob had a 20" in his shop when I picked up my 36". That little thing put out a ton of light.

 

[returnofsid]

TO be able to grow whatever you want, with no limitations, you'll want to go with either T5HO or a 250MH Pendant. The problem with T5, is that 20" fixtures and bulbs are tough to find, in a quality fixture. For that reason alone, I'd recommend hanging a 250MH Pendant and hope this doesn't result in heat issues!

I suppose you could investigate the LED option, as well, though I'm not at all familiar with LEDs, so am unable to comment on them.

Some may recommend a 150MH pendant. The reason I didn't is that I'm very unsatisfied with 150MH. I've used a 2X150MH fixture, over a 40 breeder, which is only 18" deep. It just wasn't enough for most of my Acropora corals. Replacing it with a 6X39 T5HO fixture, made a world of difference.

 

[NWDiver]

+1 to Sid. I replaced my T5s with a 250 over my 40 breeder (grow out) and I'm very pleased with the results.

 

[Shane and John]

Sid Thanks for the reply....Is there a particular fixture that you would reccomend?

NWDiver..Do you have any overheating issues on your 40 breeder?

 

[Frankie]

I thought the Solana came with a MH pendant that is on an adjustable slide pole attached to the stand?
If you get this one that comes standard with it, I would find the sweet spot for the pedants hight and drill a hole through the extension pole it hangs on where the two poles intersect one another. Use a screw or pin to keep the pole from slipping down over time and possibly into the tank itself. This was the one thing that bothered me about there design. That pole system is not reliable. After fully tightening it I was still able to force the inner pole down into the other.
Solana - Aquarium System | Current What's Next

 

[Shane and John]

Frankie..Thanks so much for the link......We bought the solana used and we did not get the light that originally came with it because the seller chose to keep the fixture for his new set up.
Thanks for the advise on the Pole....That will be what we do...
I really appreciate all the input on this thread...Thanks everyone for the replies!!!! Shane

 

[NWDiver]

I wish I could tell you for sure, but it is connected to my main system 120gal which also is running 2 250de halides.
I don't typically have heat issues, though the controller did turn off the lights twice this summer on the warmest days. I have the apex set to turn off the lights at 80F and I run the system at 78F. The system reached 80.5F at max.
The 40 is open top, and the 120 has a hood, but I mostly leave it open. The hood has a fan on each end, and I ran a small clip on fan during the warmest days.

-Todd

 

[Shane and John]

So I just went through the link that Frankie gave me and I dont see where I can order and buy on that page..Where would be a good place to buy a pendant and hanging pole>Thanks for the help!!

 

[Frankie]

Yeah, that was just to get a picture up of the setup. Did you check out the PDF? pretty cool http://current-usa.com/files/SolanaBrochure.pdf
For current products your going to need a distributer of them. I would search there site for distributors or shoot them an email in there contact page.
Or you could just get your LFS to order it up. Most lfs can get current products.

 

[Shane and John]

OK...Please help us with what fixture to get..250 watt.There are lots of pendants out there and we have no experiance with them..We liked the look of the pendants on the solana page(Like the disco ball) but cant seem to find where to buy one..We have looked online and cant seem to find a current 20" fixture.(They are all on back order)..Thanks for the help everyone....Shane

 

[Skimmy]

here's an LED fixture that is about the same par as a 250w m.h.:
Evolution LED Light 120w 1G [20K] : REEFKOI CORALS, SPS, LPS, Zoanthids

or the slicker looking new model, but only one power cord, and 20w less:
Evolution LED Light 100w 3G [20k] : REEFKOI CORALS, SPS, LPS, Zoanthids

either would be plenty for your solana, and no bulb changes for 7+ years.
under warranty for 2 years.

 

[Dalbery]

Shane,
As far as arms to hang a pendant off of I used a piece of 3/4 or 1" conduit. I cut them into like 5' sections and made a 90 degree bend in each of them then painted them black. Grab 4ea "U" bolts and bolt it to your stand. You can easily raise and lower them and it will cost you less than $20 to build. I told you you could PM me with any questions on that little beauty! I have a pic I can e-mail to you.

 

[Shane and John]

Thanks for the input guys...Darrell...Shoot me over the pics will ya..Thanks..Shane

 

[Frankie]

I really like the quality of the pendants I use. One would be perfect for your setup if you like the look. I am more into the quality of the reflector within then the over all appearance. You can get them elsewhere but this is my friends site. I use the ones near the bottom of this link

Reef Exotics <---link

On a tank that size with this reflector you could easily use the 175w ballast on it and get the output lumens a 400w would give you on most other reflectors.