2x Radion G5 XR15's enough for 48" long tank?

[Troylee]

There's no friggen' way an XR15 covers a 36" x 36" area unless you put it on the ceiling and get no PAR. BRS claiming 4 times the square footage for an XR15 over a Hydra is nonsense. 4 times the area while having only 16% more power (watts) and giving more punch?

A have a single g6 xr15 over my 24x24x24 cube its giving me exceptional growth on Sps! I don’t have any supplemental lighting either.. I could see it working on 36x36 as my XR 15 only sits 5” off thr water right now.. obviously you wouldn’t have good growth on Sps out of that 20” ish box range directly under it but plenty for lps and softies around the outside edge..

 

[Spare time]

Keep in mind too that SPS corals don't need super intense light. With prominent blue light you likely hit photosaturation much sooner compared to a "white" light at the same par value. Dana Riddle had a tiny experiment on this with a metal halide and a blue/white led strip where the led hit photo saturation far before the metal halide could achieve the same. Again, a single xr15 will be fine over a roughly 20x20-24x24 inch area.

 

[nereefpat]

A have a single g6 xr15 over my 24x24x24 cube its giving me exceptional growth on Sps! I don’t have any supplemental lighting either.. I could see it working on 36x36 as my XR 15 only sits 5” off thr water right now.. obviously you wouldn’t have good growth on Sps out of that 20” ish box range directly under it but plenty for lps and softies around the outside edge..

You could say the same thing about a Hydra, right? It can light a 2' cube, including SPS, but outside of the 20" box would be LPS/soft territory.

My original point was that the two fixtures are relatively close in power, and I wouldn't expect much of an upgrade.

 

[Spare time]

PS I say this not as an ecotech fan (as I am not a fan of AI/Ecotech by any means) but rather that I think people worry too much about intensity of their lights when nearly every decent light in the hobby can grow what you want at the recommended mounting height and spread.

 

[Troylee]

You could say the same thing about a Hydra, right? It can light a 2' cube, including SPS, but outside of the 20" box would be LPS/soft territory.

My original point was that the two fixtures are relatively close in power, and I wouldn't expect much of an upgrade.

I’d agree with that.. I was just pointing out it would light a 36” square without issues on the g6 it’s a very flat light that’s even all the way across

 

[Tamberav]

Thinking about upgrading the lighting over my Red Sea Reefer 350 to radions. I have 2 Hydra 26HDs in a 4 bulb t5 hybrid fixture over it, and while everything is doing well, I think some radion G5's will give me a little more punch for the SPS. Would I get enough coverage/spread from two of the G5 XR15's with the footprint of my tank? The dimensions are 48"Lx20"Wx21"H

Will you keep the t5? I have two xr15 over my 48” tank and would not use them alone unless doing softies and LPS.

Maybe take a look at Reefi lights. A lot more powerful at the same price point.

Otherwise I would plan to get 3 xr15.

They have the name radion but are still small little square boxes of about 100 watts each.

 

[nereefpat]

Maybe take a look at Reefi lights. A lot more powerful at the same price point.

Now, those would have "punch." Uno 2.0 has the dimensions as an XR15, but 270 Watts.

 

[Zoajohn]

Will you keep the t5? I have two xr15 over my 48” tank and would not use them alone unless doing softies and LPS.

Maybe take a look at Reefi lights. A lot more powerful at the same price point.

Otherwise I would plan to get 3 xr15.

They have the name radion but are still small little square boxes of about 100 watts each.

Yes keeping the t5 hybrid as well. Hoping to buy used though, so g5's would come out cheaper than 2 reefi's