Need help with lighting for 125 gallon tank?

Hey everyone, so I just set up a 125 gallon tank I already figured out what top canopy I'll be using that fits perfectly. But I'm stuck on where I should get my light. Also being it is a 72 inch long tank. I'd like to have a hang on the ceiling type of light or a hang on the back but I have two hang on the back filters atm. So my guess would have to be going with a ceiling light or just a normal lay on top light that's 72 inches. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

Is this a freshwater or a saltwater? Are you adding corals or live plants?

I personally like the LED lines by fluval. I don't see many people on here recommending them, and you'd need a smart phone to control them (they're compatible with an app you download and use as a remote control for the light)

But they have saltwater and freshwater options specifically tailored to A. grow live plants or B. sustain corals.

There's another one too that's more, just for fun. I have the older model of this light (that is the same thing but came with a physical remote opposed to a digital app) called the Fluval AquaSky. This light mimics sunrise and sun sets and you can run it on a timer through the app (I believe). It also replicates thunderstorms and you can modify the colors on it, so if you want a purple light one day and a green light the next, you can do that. You might think the thunderstorms would freak your fish out, but for some and with the right food applications, it can promote breeding.

as far as fitting goes, every model has extenders on them but the largest one is only 60". So you'd need to purchase two of the 24-36" ones or two of the 36-48" ones. I would personally do the second option because the light will sit all the way across the aquarium, the first option would leave dark spots on the ends and in the middle if you went with those but....where I work we have a 125 G planted display with the fluval aquaskys and they work well. This tank has a middle divider but...I believe at 125G your tank should also have a middle divider as well, for structural reasons.

The extenders are pulled out and have...lips on them where they'll sit over the rim of the aquarium. For the 125 at work, we don't even have a top on that aquarium. It's an open lid aquarium with the lights perched on top. . no ceiling mounting necessary. - though, those types are really cool to have, I think those would be more like metal halides.

 

Is this a freshwater or a saltwater? Are you adding corals or live plants?

I personally like the LED lines by fluval. I don't see many people on here recommending them, and you'd need a smart phone to control them (they're compatible with an app you download and use as a remote control for the light)

But they have saltwater and freshwater options specifically tailored to A. grow live plants or B. sustain corals.

There's another one too that's more, just for fun. I have the older model of this light (that is the same thing but came with a physical remote opposed to a digital app) called the Fluval AquaSky. This light mimics sunrise and sun sets and you can run it on a timer through the app (I believe). It also replicates thunderstorms and you can modify the colors on it, so if you want a purple light one day and a green light the next, you can do that. You might think the thunderstorms would freak your fish out, but for some and with the right food applications, it can promote breeding.

as far as fitting goes, every model has extenders on them but the largest one is only 60". So you'd need to purchase two of the 24-36" ones or two of the 36-48" ones. I would personally do the second option because the light will sit all the way across the aquarium, the first option would leave dark spots on the ends and in the middle if you went with those but....where I work we have a 125 G planted display with the fluval aquaskys and they work well. This tank has a middle divider but...I believe at 125 gallon your tank should also have a middle divider as well, for structural reasons.

The extenders are pulled out and have...lips on them where they'll sit over the rim of the aquarium. For the 125 at work, we don't even have a top on that aquarium. It's an open lid aquarium with the lights perched on top. . no ceiling mounting necessary. - though, those types are really cool to have, I think those would be more like metal halides.

That sounds like a perfect idea what do you think about these lights? I'll post picture below. They are definitely going to be more expensive but I was wondering what you think about them, I noticed there wattage was dramatically more powerful so in turn wouldn't these be a better option if I wanted more light? I would probably only get two at most but one if i could use it if i had to get anymore than 2 I think I would go with the fluval option what's your thought?

 

Lights

 

Well...There aren't necessarily 'good and bad' lights, it just depends on what you're looking for. I have experience with the fluvals, and I've enjoyed using em so those are what I always go with.

So, for plants, they prefer blue and red spectrum lighting. This LED does have blue and red spectrum, but it looks like it's majority blue and white. White light grows algae.

AquaSky LED.
Extendable range: 48-60 IN (122-153 CM)
LEDs: 84 (56 WHITE, 28 RGB)
Wattage: 35 W
Lumens: 2,400 LM
Color temperature: 3000 - 25000K

Mars Aqua
Channel one: Royal Blue(450nm), Blue(470nm)
Channel two: Green(520nm), Red(660nm), Neutral White(6500K), Cool White(12000K)
Lens Angle: 90°
Input Voltage: AC100-240V
Frequency: 50-60Hz
Lifespan: 100,000 hours
Wattage: 300 W
Lumen: 4173 110V or 4159 210V

Well...I can say the reason that says it is '300' watts...is because the fixture is faceted with 100 3W LED's. There are 20 rows of 5 led's, the Aquasky only has 83, 56 white and 28 RBG.. and the wattage doesn't necessarily affect how bright the light will be. You're looking at the kelvin value for that, or the color temperature. It appears as though the Mars Aqua has a wider spectrum on the color temp....BUT the aquasky maxes at 25000k, whereas the Mars Aqua only goes to 12000k.

So, on the image below the colors aren't true to the graph (which isn't helpful....) but it gives you an idea of what the kelvin range means and essentially, the higher the kelvin, the more white the light is.

According to the amount of power this other light is going to draw, it appears (per marketing) like it's going to be a brighter, better light (in all honesty). BUT.....if my aquasky is only 35W and it puts out the kind of light that it does, I could only imagine what this other light would be light....honestly I think it's marketed a little too well. but it does have very good reviews.

Lumens also factors into how bright a light is, the higher the lumens, the brighter the light. and apparently, the Mars Aqua has about double the lumens than the aqua sky has - but it also has about 20 more (probably white) LEDs on it. I'm bias, so go with your gut. .