Advice for changing lights over established reef

[Zoajohn]

I am upgrading my two Hydra 26 HD's over my reefer 350 in a 4bulb T5 hybrid fixture with two Radion XR15 G5 blues, and will be getting a 3rd xr15 next week as well. What would be the best way to make the switch without a PAR meter? Should I just try to match the total wattage output? I'd appreciate any advice

 

[SPS2020]

That's going to be a big change. I would have recommended you look at the Luxdium pucks for your 26HDs. However, this is coming from someone who prefers AI over Radion. It will be interesting to see how you like the change.

What corals do you have in the tank?

 

[bushdoc]

I would set new lights on 50% Acclimate over 4 weeks and try to much spectrum.
Corals can easily rebound from insufficient light, but not always when they bleached.

 

[mike550]

If you can’t use a PAR meter then I’d use @bushdoc approach. I dont think wattage will equate to light output for you LED lights

 

[Zoajohn]

I would set new lights on 50% Acclimate over 4 weeks and try to much spectrum.
Corals can easily rebound from insufficient light, but not always when they bleached.

Went with this suggestion. At 50% acclimation they appear to be dimmer than the settings i was running on the hydras (AB+ with blues and whites slightly higher) so shouldn't be any issues other than spectrum adjustment.