4 xr30 Blue 5ft tank

[adams901]

I was running 2 xr30 blues over my 525xl at an overall intensity of 35% giving me about 300 par halfway down the tank.

I've borrowed another 2 from a friend to see what the coverage with 4 is like, and have had to drop the intensity down to 20% as par levels shot up to high 400s and even 500 in some places, this again was halfway down.

Doesn't feel right running them at such a low intensity, not sure if the par is wrong or if they are just that powerful.

 

[ADAM]

What PAR meter are you using?

 

[Hersheyb]

i have a 5 foot tank and i'm running 3x xr30 blue at 65% and it's perfect.. 35% is super low

 

[adams901]

65% overall intensity? Are your point intensity still set to 100% with all channels maxed out%

How deep is your tank?

I was originally running at 45% but corals were not happy, was told 30 to 35% is what a few settled on and that I should test par as I would be surprised.

Watched the BRS par test and got my self a seneye based on their results. Not the best but it does give a ball park figure close to the more expensive ones

With 4 xr30 blue I had to drop overall intensity to 25% to match the 350 par I previously had.

 

[Hersheyb]

65% overall intensity? Are your point intensity still set to 100% with all channels maxed out%

How deep is your tank?

I was originally running at 45% but corals were not happy, was told 30 to 35% is what a few settled on and that I should test par as I would be surprised.

Watched the BRS par test and got my self a seneye based on their results. Not the best but it does give a ball park figure close to the more expensive ones

With 4 xr30 blue I had to drop overall intensity to 25% to match the 350 par I previously had.

all channels are set to 100% and overall intensity at 65%. Tanks is 62"x30x24h i have the lights mounted perpendicular to the tank. All my corals are doing great even the ones towards the top of the tank. I also have a frag tank 48x30x12h w/ 2 xr30 blue mounted perpendicular (overall intensity on this tank is 50%). I got these lights since they came out, I believe back in Feb. I didn't acclimate the tank to the new lights or anything I just switched them over from Orpheks.. so the tank is used to high lights. If 25-35% is working for you then stick to it...

 

[adams901]

all channels are set to 100% and overall intensity at 65%. Tanks is 62"x30x24h i have the lights mounted perpendicular to the tank. All my corals are doing great even the ones towards the top of the tank. I also have a frag tank 48x30x12h w/ 2 xr30 blue mounted perpendicular (overall intensity on this tank is 50%). I got these lights since they came out, I believe back in Feb. I didn't acclimate the tank to the new lights or anything I just switched them over from Orpheks.. so the tank is used to high lights. If 25-35% is working for you then stick to it...

My tank is 22" high and lights are about 9" above the surface

Just curious how high your lights are?

I'm trying to get a few of the more difficult SPS frags growing as I've never had much luck.

 

[Hersheyb]

My tank is 22" high and lights are about 9" above the surface

Just curious how high your lights are?

I'm trying to get a few of the more difficult SPS frags growing as I've never had much luck.

all lights are mounted up using the RMS system... so about 7"- 8" or so?

 

[SeeFu]

i run 3 xr30's on a 20 deep tank. i have mine set to around 30%.

 

[ReefPig]

Hi,
I have a 3 x 2 foot tank and have two XR30 blues (mounted 8.5” above the water), I have the exact same results with a Seneye.
For months I was running at 17%, as this was 250-350 PAR range, but my corals started to pale out.
A few days ago I turned it up to 20%, which accordingly is 400-500.

I‘m currently trying to get hold of an Apogee meter, as I’m 100% convinced the Seneye is giving false reading.

Heres an interesting test for you, very briefly turn your lights up to 35%, keep the seneye still for a few moments and let it adjust.
Did it give you nearly the same results as it did at 20%?

Mine does.
I think the issues is the two light units are quite close together, as I get very different results when I turn off one of the units.

 

[adams901]

I did get a higher reading at 35% as that's what I initially was running when I added the other 2 lights.

I guess the reading would be higher as the lights are quite close and theres an overlap.

Unfortunately none of my lfs rent par meters and for a decent one it's a big outlay for something I would only use a couple of times.

I thought SPS browned out if there wasn't enough light, and bleached if the light was too strong?.. not really has much to do with more difficult SPS.

 

[proxy001]

Oh I am so happy to read this thread. I am struggling like hell adjusting my 180g to the xr30 pro. Mounted parallel to tank.
I fried a few frags, softies are doing great.
I have 3 XR30 PRO G5 mounted about 8 inches AWL.
I started with radiant program, point intensity untouched. Overall intensity at 50%, didn't go well .
My monti plate right under the light is doing ok, the one on the edge of the tank turned white.
So... logical conclusion is my light intensity was too high right? or is not enough ?
I lowered it to 30%, no help. Remember the radiant program peaks only 4 hours.

After reading and reading, I settled on the SPS AB+ template at 30-35 % overall schedule intensity, again not touching the program point intensity that I left at 100%. More bleaching, LPS retracting a bit.
The BRS test video points in that direction: they achieve PAR goal at 30% ish.

I tried asking as many people as I could to have reference points and the answers are all over the map, as in this thread, from 20% to 70%.
I am starting to wonder about difference between units.

I gave up and ordered a good par meter, as this is the only definitive way to have an answer.

Did ecotech designed the G5 to be mounted 6 ft over water??

 

[adams901]

I think the blues would put out more par on the ab+ than the pro as all channel s are at 100%.

Would be interesting to see if the more expensive par meter gives similar readings as the seneye.

I've had a couple of SPS bleach, with one on a really slow STN, I'm leaning towards it being the lights but it's throwing me as I though SPS browned out if the light wasn't strong enough.

My acans are slowly starting to look better, they have been shriveled up for the last 4 years.

I honestly thought there would be a lot more discussions on settings and photos showing successful tanks.

I know they have only been out for a few months, but I'm not so sure they sold well, even Facebook groups are a bit empty on the search results

 

[proxy001]

I think the blues would put out more par on the ab+ than the pro as all channel s are at 100%.

Would be interesting to see if the more expensive par meter gives similar readings as the seneye.

I've had a couple of SPS bleach, with one on a really slow STN, I'm leaning towards it being the lights but it's throwing me as I though SPS browned out if the light wasn't strong enough.

My acans are slowly starting to look better, they have been shriveled up for the last 4 years.

I honestly thought there would be a lot more discussions on settings and photos showing successful tanks.

I know they have only been out for a few months, but I'm not so sure they sold well, even Facebook groups are a bit empty on the search results

Exactly
My bird nest is bleaching from the bottom up with brown spots up. Makes no sense at all.
I’ll report back with my numbers with the apogee 510