Help deciding on reflectors

[FinalPhaze987]

So i'm anxiously awaiting my tax return money and one of the things on the top of my "gotta get" list are a good set of reflectors. I've been looking into the lumenarcs but dont know if i need the mini or the large. My tank measures in at 72x24 (LxW)...which would give me the best coverage? Would you guys suggest any of the other reflectors? (lumen max, lumen bright, etc.) The bulbs sit about 9 inches off the water surface..

Im currently running spider reflectors and they do the job...but not as good as i would like them to since i have alot of wasted light spilling off to the sides...

Any input is appreciated..TIA

 

[seminolecpa]

Call Pacific Garden supply. They are very helpful and will stear you in the right direction.

 

[iani]

I think you are going to want 3 minis.

 

[jkreefer]

I have same size tank and am running 3 minis on a DIY light rack with 2 72"VHO's

 

[Elite]

Are you using any supplement (T5 or VHO)?? If not I would go with the regular LIII. It's 19.5"x19.5" so it will cover your tank better than the mini. If I remember correctly, the mini is 14.5x14.5.

 

[iani]

The minis throws a light that covers a 2x2 areas. I believe the regular LIII covers a larger area.

 

[tuberider]

I'd go with the minis, it will give you a little more room to work in the tank.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Ditto on the minis, while the regular sized ones will work fine, most people don't keep that many corals right up against the glass to really give a poo about needing lots of light... and as mentioned if you have supplemental lighting (or maybe you just want it later on and don't know yet!) the minis will give you the proper room to work with.

 

[Raddogz]

After seeing the mini's on large sized (210g) tanks I'm beginning to rethink the mini's for my 120g rather that the regular LA3

 

[Dyngoe]

After much research for my next tank and many responses I believe Lumenarc Minis or LumenMax3 would be perfect for your tank. You could get away with two if you also had significant additional T5 lighting but three would be better with two T5s/VHOs for actinic supplimentation only.

 

[FinalPhaze987]

Thankx for the responses...yea i was leaning toward the minis...were running T5s for actinics and was thinking of mounting them on the outer rim with SLR's..(similar to jkreefers setup)..

The large sized ones arnt much more, but im affraid it would over shoot the tank again and we would loose the T5s to top it all off..that and working space in there would really suck..

How do you like the LA3's on your tank Eileen? I honestly havnt seen these things in action..im pretty much going with whats tested and proven..

 

[Dyngoe]

I haven't sen them personally, but the reviews I read say the L3s are identical to L minis.

 

[Elite]

If you are using T5s, use the mini. You want to leave at least 5" in the front so you can stick your hand in. The LIII is much better than the mini.