8foot tank with 4 halides. Need advice on supplemental lighting!

[mrbh22]

So here is my problem. I am in the process of building a 8foot planet 310 gallon sps dominated reef. The stand has been built to the same height as the bar it will be sitting next too. I plan on running the halides for 4-8 hours (all depending on what the corals want.) but I need supplemental light. I like the look of halide and t5s. But I won’t have any “control” over them. I could go xho blue reef brites and get the LED pop we all love but I would have no white to go along with it. The reason I want to have control over the spectrum is that being that this tank is set basically on the bar if I have friends over to hang out and consume adult beverages I want to be able to show off the tank while we all have a good time. I know I won’t turn the halides on just to show off the tank. And turning all blues on (reefbrites) doesn’t appeal to my eye when showing the tank off. The last option I have is to use my 3 radion xr 15 gen 4 lights and I will have all the control I want from my phone but to work them in I will definitely not get the coverage I want out of them because the halides take up a lot of space in the canopy. So the radion placement would be less than ideal.
I was hoping someone would make a controllable full spectrum “BAR “ style light by now but I haven’t heard of any. So I would like to hear if anyone has input to solve this issue. Thanks in advance. And if u want to check out my build thread the link is attached to my avatar

 

[pandaparties]

Reef Brite makes 50/50 strips with white in there in addition to blue, would that not work?

50/50 Lumi Lite Strip LED

Lumi Lite 50/50 LED Strips are ideal for a single light tank, or adding a full-spectrum light to other lights that may be lacking in certain spectrums. 50/50 LED strips provide a balanced blend of alternating Actinic Blue and White LEDs. These are great for FOWLR aquariums, and pair very nicely...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[mrbh22]

Reef Brite makes 50/50 strips with white in there in addition to blue, would that not work?

50/50 Lumi Lite Strip LED

Lumi Lite 50/50 LED Strips are ideal for a single light tank, or adding a full-spectrum light to other lights that may be lacking in certain spectrums. 50/50 LED strips provide a balanced blend of alternating Actinic Blue and White LEDs. These are great for FOWLR aquariums, and pair very nicely...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I looked at those but I think that the blue and white channels are not controlled separately. I think it’s just dimmable. If they are controlled separately someone please let me know because that would be ideal

 

[pandaparties]

I looked at those but I think that the blue and white channels are not controlled separately. I think it’s just dimmable. If they are controlled separately someone please let me know because that would be ideal

If you don't actually need them for growth and your halides/t5s cover it then why not just get some lighting type RGB LEDs in your hood for show? Cheap/flexible and easy to control, just put em on for a few hours when you have guests

 

[mrbh22]

I know that will for sure be the cheapest option. it totally makes sense as well. i wonder how bright they would be? i might buy some and try it out. if i dont like them then i will just repurpose them somewhere else in the bar.
thanks for the idea!

 

[RMS18]

I'd look at orphek before reefbrite. I sold my RB for Or3 and could not be happier. Orphek is releasing a dimming controller for Or3 soon. Early 2021 is what I was told by them a few times. You can add 2 blue plus and 2 reef day light bars if you want to mix. Then use the controller to shut off / dim the reef day or blue plus. They throw a good amount of par out and a much better shimmer than RB.

 

[Imaexpat2]

I got two words for you....Reef Brites!!! I am using them over a couple of my tanks as the sole lighting and happy with them and the look I have going. The dimmer switch which gives you 5 levels of intensity is well worth the extra 8 bucks!!! They are available in Actinic, day and 50/50 led arrangements.