Lighting for 75 Gallon Mixed Reef

[reefpanda8]

Hey guys just wanted an opinion on my lighting. I have a 75 gallon rimless running 2 Kessil A360xs and I’ve been seeing a lot of shadowing especially the way I have my rock work set up. I anticipated that some parts of the tank will undergo shadowing which is fine because I intend to grow coral on the islands themselves. My question is should I add a third light between the kessils to reduce shadowing and increase par numbers in that area for sps? Or would 2 kessils be sufficient? If not which lights should I get? I’m trying to avoid getting into the hybrid lighting and mainly want another LED in between… reading about noopsyche k7 iii or should I just break the bank and get a radion xr30? Here’s some pics of the current set up:

lights are about 7” above the water, and yes iphone camera makes the shimmer bonkers but it’s a little softer in real life. Also i have a bunch of surface agitation which I will alleviate soon. Thanks!

 

[CasperOe]

Why don't you start with the lights you have and see down the line if more is required to mitigate the shadowing you are seeing now? Rent a PAR meter instead and take some readings - see where you should put each of the coral you're planning on keeping.

I love the clean look of the Kessils- what you could do if you feel it's needed (.. or if your corals tell you so!) is to add a T5 on either side. There are a number of brackets out there to support this.

Or you can look at adding supplementary light in the form of LED strips.

For now, i would just stay put and not spend any money just yet

 

[nereefpat]

That will be a nice looking tank. Is that a SCA?

I’ve been seeing a lot of shadowing especially the way I have my rock work set up.

I agree that your rockwork is part of what you're seeing. If it were mine, I would probably remove the top rock from each formation, maybe the top two on the left. There would be a spot for one of them in the bottom right of the right formation. You couldn't really put corals, other than encrusters, on those top rocks anyway since they're so close to the surface. Two offset formations like your sort of have, IMO, looks the best. But I would play around a little bit.

Kessils by design give more shimmer but also more shadows. It's just how the point source works. It's good and bad.

My question is should I add a third light between the kessils to reduce shadowing and increase par numbers in that area for sps? Or would 2 kessils be sufficient? If not which lights should I get? I’m trying to avoid getting into the hybrid lighting and mainly want another LED in between… reading about noopsyche k7 iii or should I just break the bank and get a radion xr30?

If you are thinking of adding another LED, I would add another Kessil rather than trying to mix in an Radion or Noopsyche. Even a Kessil 160WE in the middle would match and would help. Or you could wait and see how branching SPS looks, if you need more light or not.

 

[reefpanda8]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I know get a little impatient with these issues arise, but I think you all are right. Just wait and see how everything comes together. I'm still in the middle of my cycling period so i'll just see how my corals take to the scape and the lighting at first and then consider adding more lighting down the road.

 

[BAMatter]

Couple LED bars would be nice