2 or3 bars on 20 long

[Radicalrob1982]

Hi all. Thanks for reading.

I purchased a or3 blue sky light a while ago. Orphek recently brought out some new acrylic mounting arms with a 7/8 inch capacity for rimless tanks. My 20 long rim is slightly less than that so I'm hoping it fits. One thing I wasn't sure of was the mounting height. I think it's only 5 inches approximately above the tank.

I also wanted to buy another or3 day light and have both of those lights on my tank.

What I'm asking is if I use both of these lights above my tank will it be too much par? Being only. 16 inches from the sand bed I'm a bit concerned.

Does anyone else have a 20 long with or3 bars for lighting?

I'll be receiving my mount in a few days and I'll post a pic of what they look like once it's set up for those who may be interested. No I'm not trying to sell anything. I just seen them come out and for small rim or rimless tanks they look pretty decent


Any help would be appreciated

Thanks.

Rob

 

[Timfish]

It would help to know what animals you're keeping. My gut says 2 is fine but ideally having PAR levels your corals like best would help.

 

[Radicalrob1982]

It would help to know what animals you're keeping. My gut says 2 is fine but ideally having PAR levels your corals like best would help.

Hi.

I'm thinking some digitatas and some Monti caps or chalice on top. Some acans and poplyps on the bottom and some LPs like a torch or a couple branching hammers in the middle.. I was hoping to achieve around 180 to 250 par in the upper 1/3 of the tank for the lower demanding sps. Basically aiming for about 80 to 100 par on the sand bed.

Something tells me it may be a good investment to get both lights up and running and rent or buy a par meter.

From what I've read I think one bar can put out I think about 200 par at 15 inches.

I don't think two lights together would cause 400 but maybe 250 with better coverage?

May end up having to upgrade to a deeper tank like a 30 gallon to get good par levels at the right depths

 

[Timfish]

PAR will be additive with two fixtures. Depending on how far apart your lights are it's possible to have higher PAR than eihter fixture is putting out. Renting a PAR meter would be a good idea but lux meter's can be useful if you can get readings from someone else's tank to judge your tank by.

 

[Radicalrob1982]

One of my lfs have a par meter that they rent. Once I get both lights and two mounts I will then rent the meter. Definitely will post on the matter because there isn't a ton of info on these lights compared to other brands. It would be nice for the info to be there for others. A 20 long is a pretty popular choice for a beginner reef. Would like to see the results I get from both lights on my tank and post results. All in all these lights would work well on a 30 or 40 breeder as well.

 

[Radicalrob1982]

Hi. My orphek rep said the blue plus 24 inch or3 will put out about 240 par at 14 inches. Which I believe is great for sps corals providing stable parameters.

Really curious as to what two bars would do. I know for sure it will be a better spectrum. From what else I've read is that one or3 bar is roughly the equivalent to two t5 bulbs. I really like the hybrid look and ordered a 24 inch sunblaster t5 (single bulb fixture). Honestly for a 20 gallon at 12 inches deep the one bar should be all that I need for par. Gonna try a nice coral plus bulb or even a 6500 bulb and see what it looks like. I. Think with the intense coral pop of the or3 with a nice blanket of whiter light will make the tank look fantastic.

 

[cmoore806]

How did this work for you? I am setting up a 20 long for a coral quarantine and really struggling to find a simple and not super expensive lighting option

 

[Radicalrob1982]

Hi. I tried one for a while but I think they're too much par with the aura acrylic mounting bracket. These put out about 240 par at 14 inches which is quite a bit. I wouldn't recommend them for a 20 long unless you can get them a good 12 or more inches above the water with a shallow tank.

But as far as appearance, one of these with a coral plus t5 attached looked amazing. Gives a really nice blue spectrum and enough white /red/ pink to illuminate darker corals.

For a 20 long I'd say you'd want to get those bars at least 24 inches from your sand bed if you choose two. Should get 100 to 150 par from there.

The aura bracket they sell is fantastic and should last forever. It's very adjustable but only goes up about 9 inches from bottom to top. Honestly two of these bars on a 16 to 18 inch deep tank would be ideal. If you have any other questions feel free to respond