LED Lighting suggestions for RSR XL425

krakenwrangler · Mar 22, 2019

Just recently purchased a RSR XL425 and was looking for suggestions on LED lighting options. Would like to stick with the EM Radion series.

Debating between the following:

Two (2) XR15 Pro
Three (3) XR15 Pro
Two (2) XR30 Gen 4

Tank will start off with softies and LPS, would like to do SPS later in an established tank. Would like option to just add another light if needed. Many people say that the XR15 is more than enough and the XR30 would have to be reduced significantly to avoid intense PAR to the tank.

jda · Mar 22, 2019

Dimensions will help. Not everybody knows what a XL425 is.

How fast will go you from softies/LPS to SPS? It will matter. ...like in another generation, or will these lights be doing both?

krakenwrangler · Mar 22, 2019

Dimensions 22" x 22.6" x 47"

Would like to start SPS 6-9 months after tank start.

jda · Mar 22, 2019

I would get 4x xr15s. Then, you can add more if you need to. You can spread a pair of 15s out more than the two pucks would be in a 30. 4x 15s are the same money as a single 30, right?

Some hardcore Acorpora folks use 3x xr30s to cover a 2x2 area... not all of them, but some. Most acropora folks with Radions have added T5s to them, or they raise them way up high and run them at 100% on all channels.

When you get into SPS more, there are Montis, Birdsnest, Poci and Stylos (MBP&S) and then there are acropora. MBP&S are easy, but some acropora really need a lot of light and can suffer from shading and shadowing quite a bit more. Make sure that the advice that you are getting pertains to the type of SPS that you want to keep - a pair of xr15s might be OK for some monti caps, but it will not be OK for most acropora.

krakenwrangler · Mar 22, 2019

jda said:
I would get 4x xr15s. Then, you can add more if you need to. You can spread a pair of 15s out more than the two pucks would be in a 30. 4x 15s are the same money as a single 30, right?

Some hardcore Acorpora folks use 3x xr30s to cover a 2x2 area... not all of them, but some. Most acropora folks with Radions have added T5s to them, or they raise them way up high and run them at 100% on all channels.

When you get into SPS more, there are Montis, Birdsnest, Poci and Stylos (MBP&S) and then there are acropora. MBP&S are easy, but some acropora really need a lot of light and can suffer from shading and shadowing quite a bit more. Make sure that the advice that you are getting pertains to the type of SPS that you want to keep - a pair of xr15s might be OK for some monti caps, but it will not be OK for most acropora.

Many thanks to your advice, i would like to eventually get some montipora and acropora down the line. Then another question would be for softies/LPS would i be fine with two (2) XR15s or three (3) XR15s?