Help me pick an LED for new SPS tank

oreo54

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Hi all -

I’m cycling a Waterbox AIO 35.2 with the purpose of it being SPS dominated in the future. I know it won’t be ready for quite a while, but want to start planning (and saving) for the lighting. I would appreciate your thoughts on what lighting would work given the focus on SPS and the dimensions of the tank.

The dimensions of the display portion of the tank are 23.6"×15"×17.7". I would like the spread of the light to cover most of that without too much light spill.

Here are my limitations:

1. LED only
2. No ability to hang from the ceiling so it needs an arm option
3. Spread and blending are important so something with a diffuser is preferred
4. Par should be 200 - 350 in the SPS zone

Thanks for helping me with this!
Check out ghl Mitras 7204( white or black).
It is still a "square" form factor but the 7206 would be overkill.
Max 131w.

Gotchas though.1) Arm mounts to the cabinet not the tank
2) Some are not impressed by programming

Overall though gets very decent praise.

A quality 6 tube t5 runs about the same cost

Start at 13 minutes or so....and a lot of patience from there. :)
 

LeftyReefer

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Neptune sky is by far best spread and colors ive seen
The Sky doesn't have the greatest spectrum or spread though.... good, but not the best.

Telegraham says the Noop K7 has a better spectrum than the Sky, so does the older Gen 4 XR30 Pro, so do several other lights like the Reefi's, Mitra's, etc...

The Sky also scores about the same as the Noop K7 and Gen 4 XR30 when it comes to spread too, so it isn't any better than those options when it comes to spread either. so worse spectrum and same spread than much cheaper lights.

Check his reviews on the humblefish site where he compares the K7 to the Sky and a bunch of other popular lighting options. The thread is full of all kinds of good info and reviews. he spent all kinds of time tearing into a SKY and other popular lights and tested their claims.

Noop K7 review
Reefi review
Sky guts
Sky overview

his take on the K7 V3.

"PAR is good. With the whites turned down to replicate AB+, the V3 hits 97% of the average PAR produced by the XR30 PRO Gen 4. Bring those whites up to add a hint of full-spectrum, and you won’t be disappointed. I like a whiter light, and the PAR is impressive.

The spectrum is awesome, beating the stock spectrums of most AI offerings, the Neptune shared Sky spectrum, and dang near nailing the Ecotech Gen 4 Pro’s output.

Spread is at 75%, besting the Gen 4 XR30, and to date, matching what BRS would consider to be dang good. Here’s Jimbo’s caveat…y’all know I don’t like fresnel/beam expanding lensed lights like the Kessils, but the open-air spread on this thing is up there with the best of them. 75% is totally respectable, but you’ll get shadows. Ain’t no way around that.

Wattage measured right around 116W, and the power supply was a little warm. That’s the expected power draw for these output numbers. Nothing to see here.

Long story short, if you want a light to match last-gen elite class lighting, this is it."


A few of his takes on the Sky

"One of the major marketing point of Sky is it being a panel light, thus the spread is better. But I can comfortably say that it's a myth and it's busted with all the test data available. The same results were showed with Philips Coral Care Gen 2 test from BRS. Its spread has higher hot spot than Radion Gen 5 despite a lot larger lighting panel. Just saying it's bigger does not necessarily mean it's better."


"The Sky will grow corals. No doubt. I know this because when tested the same way, it dang near matched the maybe ~$400 used Gen 4 XR30."
The Noops, Gen 4 XR30 Pro, and the Sky all came in with pretty much identical spread scores at 75%. A cheap $130 Smat Farm light bested them all with 78% spread score, btw.

So for $210 each, you get a light that has a better spectrum than the Sky, and spread just as good if not better than the Sky. again, for a mere $200 each.

A couple Noops and a couple led bars for additional coverage, would be magic. For less than the price of one Sky alone.

The fact that they just upgraded it to give it wifi control now, and kept the same $200 price is just icing on the cake.

You can certainly spend a bunch of money on lights like the Sky, but there is no reason you have to, when a K7 for $200 each will do anything just as well if not better than the expensive lights.
 

Acros

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I run a similar tank (IM25 lagoon, same width and length, but only 12” tall), acro dominant.

If you want to have just one light, I would go with Neptune Sky or ATI Straton Pro. You will greatly benefit from the larger panels these two lights have, when growing acros.

I run a single XR15 G5 Blue with two 24” supplemental LED bars. Tank sits at 300-370 par with radions running at 80%.

16AE633A-EAAC-4CB0-BAB0-63740E8B48B4.jpeg


If you are ok with adding multiple lights on that tank, you have a lot more options. 2 of any current gen LED light will get the job done.

I have used AI Prime 16HD (too loud, fan is always on, plastic body does not help with passive cooling), AI Hydra 32HD(much quieter, the heat sink helps) and Radions (can mount closer to water, but otherwise similar to AI Hydra).
 

Tamberav

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I run a similar tank (IM25 lagoon, same width and length, but only 12” tall), acro dominant.

If you want to have just one light, I would go with Neptune Sky or ATI Straton Pro. You will greatly benefit from the larger panels these two lights have, when growing acros.

I run a single XR15 G5 Blue with two 24” supplemental LED bars. Tank sits at 300-370 par with radions running at 80%.

16AE633A-EAAC-4CB0-BAB0-63740E8B48B4.jpeg


If you are ok with adding multiple lights on that tank, you have a lot more options. 2 of any current gen LED light will get the job done.

I have used AI Prime 16HD (too loud, fan is always on, plastic body does not help with passive cooling), AI Hydra 32HD(much quieter, the heat sink helps) and Radions (can mount closer to water, but otherwise similar to AI Hydra).

what did you buy to mount those led bars? I want to do something similar with radions. Thanks!
 

X-37B

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I run a similar tank (IM25 lagoon, same width and length, but only 12” tall), acro dominant.

If you want to have just one light, I would go with Neptune Sky or ATI Straton Pro. You will greatly benefit from the larger panels these two lights have, when growing acros.

I run a single XR15 G5 Blue with two 24” supplemental LED bars. Tank sits at 300-370 par with radions running at 80%.

16AE633A-EAAC-4CB0-BAB0-63740E8B48B4.jpeg


If you are ok with adding multiple lights on that tank, you have a lot more options. 2 of any current gen LED light will get the job done.

I have used AI Prime 16HD (too loud, fan is always on, plastic body does not help with passive cooling), AI Hydra 32HD(much quieter, the heat sink helps) and Radions (can mount closer to water, but otherwise similar to AI Hydra).
Interesting as I run 8 16's on 3 different system and the fans are not very loud, imo.
However I have heard that comment before.
 

Acros

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Acros

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Interesting as I run 8 16's on 3 different system and the fans are not very loud, imo.
However I have heard that comment before.
I still keep a 16HD for my QT system.

I agree with your comments in various threads about the look. AI Prime 16HD running all channels at equal strength is a very pleasing look.
 

X-37B

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I still keep a 16HD for my QT system.

I agree with your comments in various threads about the look. AI Prime 16HD running all channels at equal strength is a very pleasing look.
I run radion xr15 blues on my 80g and could not get the look I wanted. I am going to do the gen 6 upgrade but go with the pros.
I run 2 16hds with the radions to get the color I wanted.
This is my 16hds schedule.
Resized_20220814_102837.jpeg
 

Acros

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I run radion xr15 blues on my 80g and could not get the look I wanted. I am going to do the gen 6 upgrade but go with the pros.
I run 2 16hds with the radions to get the color I wanted.
This is my 16hds schedule.
Resized_20220814_102837.jpeg
I would be very interested to hear how G6 Pro look compared to Prime 16HD.
 

X-37B

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ClownSchool

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I don’t know what you mean by 48” and 1w leds? You mean an expensive brand you bought? Which one? Sounds like one of the led bar types with the legs?

This is the reefi I was talking about.

I don’t know what you mean by 48” and 1w leds? You mean an expensive brand you bought? Which one? Sounds like one of the led bar types with the legs?

This is the reefi I was talking about.

Thank you for the link. When I searched your suggestion, my results showed a Fluval light bar that I briefly used last year without success and thought they were the manufacturer.
Even searching again, I found no results for the light you suggested. Now seeing your link, I realize I was looking at the wrong light. My apologies.
I’m still surprised my search engine found no results for that light’s name.
 

ClownSchool

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I would be very interested to hear how G6 Pro look compared to Prime 16HD.
The G6 at WWC’s farm looked amazing, much higher par potential than the G5, and were set at 35% of what the G5’s settings were before they switched.
I know they’re expensive, but they seem well worth the money. They claimed the coloration SPS produce under these lights are hands-down the best they’ve seen when compared with other lights.
When I asked about Neptune Sky, the manager of the farm just chuckled and shook his head.
 

Tamberav

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The G6 at WWC’s farm looked amazing, much higher par potential than the G5, and were set at 35% of what the G5’s settings were before they switched.
I know they’re expensive, but they seem well worth the money. They claimed the coloration SPS produce under these lights are hands-down the best they’ve seen when compared with other lights.
When I asked about Neptune Sky, the manager of the farm just chuckled and shook his head.

I would like to see a par map side by side before I would believe WWC telling me the par is so much better assuming the settings were the same/similar.

The drivers are identical.

A quick google on reef2rainforest states G5 peak par is higher... because G6 has more spread. Makes sense... spreading the light out would spread the par out over more surface.

 

vetteguy53081

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Ai Hydra 26 or 32hd

Orphel OR3-60 Sky blue and blue plus

@noopsyche K7
 

Jubei2006

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Mitras lx7204. 24x24 spread. Useful light to 32 inches deep. 4 pucks for even spread, plus you still get decent shimmer (not quite as good as kessil or halides). Yes software is a little clunky, but not difficult to learn. I use the 7206s and 7204s on my big rank.
 

oreo54

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I would like to see a par map side by side before I would believe WWC telling me the par is so much better assuming the settings were the same/similar.

The drivers are identical.

A quick google on reef2rainforest states G5 peak par is higher... because G6 has more spread. Makes sense... spreading the light out would spread the par out over more surface.
The power supplies are identical.
Driver mA's ( per channel) are unknown.
Also the efficiency of converting wattage to photons.

Not judging one way or another btw.
 

Tamberav

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The power supplies are identical.
Driver mA's ( per channel) are unknown.
Also the efficiency of converting wattage to photons.

Not judging one way or another btw.

On BRS website announcement it says the divers are the same too. So you can easily upgrade your G5 to G6.

Found it: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/content/post/ecotech-marine-radion-g6-announcement-and-overview

It doesn't look to be a par boost to me since drivers/power supply and so on look to be the same. It looks like they just shifted spectrum back towards G4 and increased the spread.

I don't think I saw any side by side par measurements floating around though.
 

oreo54

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On BRS website announcement it says the divers are the same too. So you can easily upgrade your G5 to G6.

Found it: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/content/post/ecotech-marine-radion-g6-announcement-and-overview

It doesn't look to be a par boost to me since drivers/power supply and so on look to be the same. It looks like they just shifted spectrum back towards G4 and increased the spread.

I don't think I saw any side by side par measurements floating around though.
Yea you are probably right but not "exactly" from the video.
Fact the " upgrade" is just diodes and optics that infers the circuit board is identical or an upgraded light could look different than a new g6. Honestly that is still possible and unnoticeable to the human eye.

Changing diodes in this case would probably be only a minor par change.
Say cyans produce fewer photons per watt than warm whites ( made up example).

Overall I don't see how a gen 6 would be significantly higher ( or lower) in par than a gen 5. Even less so for a gen 5 and converted gen 5. :)

Only direct, well designed measurements would be definitive.

 
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Spare time

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This is due to marketing ploys and not going to happen. T5 and halide will always be king. While LED marketers will do what they can to try and discredit to be able to charge higher prices.

Idk about t5 but halides I can definitely see going away. The market demand for these will probably fade but when Idk
 

oreo54

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Idk about t5 but halides I can definitely see going away. The market demand for these will probably fade but when Idk
Well it's anyone's guess but I think T5's will go first.
The light density and where they are used will keep mh's around longer barring some led " revolution"...

One of the " gotcha" points is if there is a new equal output equal cost replacement technology.
Replacing a 54 w tubes with leds with equal cost is much easier than replacing 1000w metal halide.

People rely on the " specialty" catagory as a shield but that won't make any difference if there is an economic substitute.

Lcd vs crt is a fair example. There are still things crts we're better at than lcds.
You can argue about all the drawbacks of crts but if a 36" lcd costs $5000 crts would probably still be here

https://www.techwalla.com/articles/the-history-of-flat-screen-tvs
In 1997, Sharp and Sony introduced the first large flat screen TV. It was created using the PALC technology and measured 42 inches, a record size at the time. This first model sold for more than $15,000, making it well out of reach for most Americans. Manufacturers quickly discovered that PALC technology was too expensive and unreliable for wide-scale use, so they abandoned PALC in favor of plasma
 
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