Coralife Aqualight Retrofit Kit Questions

T

trips

AC Members
Sep 12, 2004
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Hi all,

Just getting my first SW tank put together and I have a question for you on lighting. The tank is a 55 with 48Lx20Hx18D dimensions and I'm interested in a FOWLR setup. May want to add some other things later as I learn too. Tank has been setup for five weeks now and I used the cocktail shrimp method in the sticky here to cycle it. LR will be here on the 20th. I'm ordering some lights for it this week and will also be building the canopy for it. First question is what are the dimensions of the 48"-4x65W retrofit kit? Is it really 48" long and will it fit on my tank? Second, for this size tank would it be better to get the 4x65W kit or is the 36" 2x96W enough lighting? Not really much of a price difference between the two so if more is better and it will fit alright I have no problem spending the little bit extra for more wattage. Last question about lighting, how tall should I make the canopy? I really don't want to add fans if I don't have to so how high up should the lights be as not to cause heat problems?

The only other thing I'm concerned with is the size of the powerheads. I traded some stuff for this tank and came with two, never been used, Aquaclear 201 phs. Will the two of those on either end and a new 402 in the middle provide enough current?

Thank you for your time and for the great info on this site.
 
Well, I guess I'm just gonna assume that the 4x65 lights would be better and that I'll have enough water flow with the addition of the extra power head then. Thinking that building the hood to have the lights 18" above the water will keep them from getting anything to hot also.
 
If you're doing a FOWLR, maybe go for the 2X96. You won't really need the extra light, and you will have to deal with less heat. Plus, there will only be 2, rather than 4 bulbs to replace.

If the hood has decent ventilation, then I don't see why the lamps have to be any higher than 6" from the water.
 
Thanks for the reply. I already ordered the the 4X65 lights so I guess that I'll just be spending more money in the long run. I'll just think of it as an investment because knowing me this tank won't be big enough come next year. ;) Really glad that you said 6" would probably be high enough because after looking at the setup it was going to look goofy with a really tall hood.
 
Sorry I was too late, it has been getting harder to post as work has gotten busier. The bright side is that you'll have more flexibility in mixing and matching bulbs with 4 slots.
 
Not your fault I'm impatient. :D I actually don't mind the extra cost of running more lights. I guess I was just hoping that if I got more wattage I'd hopefully be able to use it to my advantage in the future when I learn more about this hobby. Those tanks with the corals and such in them sure are nice lookin. I also ordered two 12" blue led tubes used for computer case lighting. I think they will make for some nice moon effects. Check em out here. 24 LEDS outta be enough I'd think.
 
Thought of the LEDs being to bright but went ahead and got two just in case. I have a modded computer case sitting here waiting on lights so they won't go to waste either way. I'll take some pics of how they look when it is all done. That is if my water ever clears back up after adding my LR.
 
You were right, way to bright with both of those lights I got for moonlights. What I ended up doing was busting one of the light tubes open and using the leds out of it. Don't get the kit that I linked to earlier. It has a button on it to change the pattern the light uses. Only problem is every time that you turn it off it defaults to a fast flickering light. To get a steady output from it you have to hit the button.

With the help of a carpenter friend of mine (actually, he did it while I watched) I managed to get my hood done this weekend. The PC lighting is really nice and the tank is coming along really nicely. Need more rock and whatnot but I'm taking my time. No real rush.

hood-on-tank2.jpg


hood-on-tank-open.jpg
 
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