5.5ft x 2ft x 1.5ft, full SPS, Radion or Hybrid?

inspii · Aug 16, 2021

Hello.

I’m going to get a tank which has dimensions 160 x 60 x 45cm, which is roughly 5.5 x 2 x 1.5 feet.
I already have 9 Radion XR 15 Pro here (don’t ask why), 5 G4 and 4 G5. All G4s have diffusers, the G5s don’t.

I plan to go for 90% SPS in this tank.

Would you guys do 4x 80W T5 with a bunch of Radions (6-9) in the middle?
Or do you think it’s a good idea to buy an additional G5 and do 2 rows of 5 Radions each, with alternating G4 and G5?

so it’s a bit like

————————————————————
T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5
T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5
G4 G5 G4 G5 G4 G5 G4 G5 G4
T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5
T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5T5
————————————————————

versus

————————————————————

G4 G5 G4 G5 G4

G5 G4 G5 G4 G5

————————————————————

the additional price would be similar/comparable, option 2 (led only) can save me the bulb changing hassle.

what would you choose?

best regards

Dcal · Aug 17, 2021

*No first hand experience* but i like the first configuration and have seen it in a ton of yt vids and always have loved the color balance and shimmer it gives

however i have only seen it implemented with xr30s

Funston07 · Aug 17, 2021

Would definitely do hybrid. The radions will give you the control while the t5 will produce the needed Par for SPS dominate tank without running your radions at a high intensity. T5s are tested and proven for many years. Sure you gotta change bulbs every so often but hybrid fixtures are fairly cheap and the quality of light the T5 produce is hard to mimic. Just my opinion, either way will work.

nereefpat · Aug 17, 2021

I'm a T5 guy, but...

I would just run the 9 Radions that you already have. Either 9 in a row, or two rows of 5 & 4, depending on rockwork/layout of corals. That should be enough for a 63"x24" tank. And if not, Radions aren't worth what everyone thinks they are worth.