front to back coverage

Matt groves · Jul 18, 2019

what is the front to back coverage on a photon v2+-

im trying to light a 48x36 30 inch tall tank and have thought about the photon 48 with 4 t5's 2 on each side probably all blue plus or maybe a mix - any other ideas?

Ron Reefman · Jul 18, 2019

Matt, that would certainly work.

I did 2 t5 bulbs with my Photon V2. I did white in front and blue in the back and I didn't like that I couldn't really control them other than off and on. So I got an inexpensive led fixture that looks a lot like the Photon as far as looks go. I had to make legs, but that wasn't hard. The fixture is all white and blue 3 watt leds and 2 dimmers. I placed it behind the Photon and just run the blue leds. I like the look as the tank looks a bit deeper from front to back with it being a bit more blue in the back.

Reef Breeders · Jul 18, 2019

Matt groves said:
what is the front to back coverage on a photon v2+-

im trying to light a 48x36 30 inch tall tank and have thought about the photon 48 with 4 t5's 2 on each side probably all blue plus or maybe a mix - any other ideas?

Hey Matt,

Our Photon 48-V2+ with the accompanying Aquaticlife Hybrid kit will cover your tank well. We have 24" wide kits available that will give you a light nearly 2 feet front to back with the bulbs attached.

Matt groves · Jul 18, 2019

I was thinking about having 1 t5 on each side of the photon powdered by a ballast so I could turn one on each side on then the other 2 - have a bit more control while still keeping coverage- I think atleast idk how much the photon does in front to back coverage though

Reef Breeders · Jul 29, 2019

Matt groves said:
I was thinking about having 1 t5 on each side of the photon powdered by a ballast so I could turn one on each side on then the other 2 - have a bit more control while still keeping coverage- I think atleast idk how much the photon does in front to back coverage though

Our Photon V2+ covers 24" front to back, 30" for low light areas but that's a bit wide. We also offer supplemental LED bars with similar spectral output to T5s- the LumenBars. That would be like adding 1 x T5 bulb to each side, and they have their own individual power supplies. I would recommend more than just one T5 on either side for a 36" wide tank though. You can DIY the aquaticlife to be one side vs the other with the power cords, their current configuration is one bulb on each side per plug.