Light for SPS

[vishal1107]

Hi all,
I am new to reefing and I am very confused with lighting.
I really don't wanna go for hybrid or t5
As
- it's like complete pannel of light covering while tank
- T5 don't give default options to change the color, need to buy multiple lights to get what I need.

My tank is 4.5ft by 2ft by 2ft

I really liked radion xr gen 5 series.

Confusion is:
All says xr15 is like 50% of xr30. Well it's not completely true as went through varius videos and comparisons
And figured out that if you run xr15 at 100% than its peak PAR is around 200 on 24' depth, on the other hand xr30 runing with on 50% will give you nice 300 PAR at 24'.

I've got recommendations that buy 4 XR15 or 2XR30 for sps tank.

But if I buy 4 XR15 then I will get 200 PAR spread on my 4.5 ft at 100%
And if I go for 2 XR30, I will get good 300 spread at 50%.

But xr15 option will give me good spread and less shadow on the other hand xr30 will give me future proofing to increase PAR but when coral grows it will create shadows.

My budget allows me to buy either 2x 30 or 4x 15

Not sure which is the best option for me.


2nd- I love blue as it pops corals but I also like to have some white in certain situations like when any guest comes as white shows good spectrum also good for taking photos.

Please help me guys as lights are huge investment.

 

[TLO45]

I purchased x15’s on my reef a few years ago with my display being 22” high and I ended adding T5’s and using the x15’s as a supplement. If you were planning on lps, zoas ect the x15’s maybe ok but sps I’d suggest the x30’s. Better to have too much with the ability to cut back than not have enough (such as in my case) and have to add lights. That being said I am very happy with my light setup now. I personally made my current light rail which consists of T5 down the middle and x15’s on the sides angled towards the center of the tank. Pretty cheap fix and added enough par for my sps to take off. However if you want to go with strictly Radions I’d strongly recommend the x30’s.

 

[TLO45]

Here’s what I did.

 

[vishal1107]

Here’s what I did.

Omg, you are blasting it with light brother. Looks great

 

[vishal1107]

I purchased x15’s on my reef a few years ago with my display being 22” high and I ended adding T5’s and using the x15’s as a supplement. If you were planning on lps, zoas ect the x15’s maybe ok but sps I’d suggest the x30’s. Better to have too much with the ability to cut back than not have enough (such as in my case) and have to add lights. That being said I am very happy with my light setup now. I personally made my current light rail which consists of T5 down the middle and x15’s on the sides angled towards the center of the tank. Pretty cheap fix and added enough par for my sps to take off. However if you want to go with strictly Radions I’d strongly recommend the x30’s.

Ya you are definately right about that. Having more and ability to cut it down is better but that way if I don't get enough spread in my 4.5 ft, I am afraid that I would have to buy one more and it's really expensive

 

[ScottB]

I would certainly go with 4 X 15s to get better spread and less shadowing. 200 PAR at the bottom is plenty.

 

[srobertb]

Hi all,
I am new to reefing and I am very confused with lighting.
I really don't wanna go for hybrid or t5
As
- it's like complete pannel of light covering while tank
- T5 don't give default options to change the color, need to buy multiple lights to get what I need.

My tank is 4.5ft by 2ft by 2ft

I really liked radion xr gen 5 series.

Confusion is:
All says xr15 is like 50% of xr30. Well it's not completely true as went through varius videos and comparisons
And figured out that if you run xr15 at 100% than its peak PAR is around 200 on 24' depth, on the other hand xr30 runing with on 50% will give you nice 300 PAR at 24'.

I've got recommendations that buy 4 XR15 or 2XR30 for sps tank.

But if I buy 4 XR15 then I will get 200 PAR spread on my 4.5 ft at 100%
And if I go for 2 XR30, I will get good 300 spread at 50%.

But xr15 option will give me good spread and less shadow on the other hand xr30 will give me future proofing to increase PAR but when coral grows it will create shadows.

My budget allows me to buy either 2x 30 or 4x 15

Not sure which is the best option for me.


2nd- I love blue as it pops corals but I also like to have some white in certain situations like when any guest comes as white shows good spectrum also good for taking photos.

Please help me guys as lights are huge investment.

So…

I purchased 3 XR30’s for my 6’ shallow tank to “upgrade” over Kessils and T5’s. I’m very happy but will caution they look a lot like T5’s (I upgraded from a large
T5 fixture). I have the diffusers and the spread is fantastic and even but if you want water movement like you would see with metal halide, you need a combination of Kessils + T5’s or Kessils + Radions (or Stratons, etc, etc).

I’m fully aware I will need to bring out my aquatic life T5 fixture or another Radion when shading becomes an issue. But that’s a problem I’ll be happy to have!

I was going to get 5 of the XR15’s but the BRS salesperson cautioned me against it due to the size of the powerbricks. That was a lie. The XR30 power bricks are HUGE. The power brick on the XR30 is the size of a European hatchback. The 3 of them take up easily 2x the space as 4 Kessil powerbricks. So room should be a consideration.

Keep in mind Radion arm-mounts add up quickly. IIRC 5 mounting arms is $500 all by themselves. I went with the RMS mount across the length of the tank with end using the wire mount and the other end using the typical arm-on-the-tank mount and I think I spent about $200 (and I can add a few more lights for no mounting cost later)

 

[Yates273]

Just throwing it out there but have you looked into the Photon V2 which will save you money over 4 xr15’s and not that i have any experience with them they do grow some really nice corals. Just a thought. Take it or leave it

 

[vishal1107]

Just throwing it out there but have you looked into the Photon V2 which will save you money over 4 xr15’s and not that i have any experience with them they do grow some really nice corals. Just a thought. Take it or leave it

Every though is appreciated, really.
I never really heard of it but now I will be exploring it for sure before making my decision for radions...
If something is saving some bucks and giving optimal performance then I dont see why not .

 

[srobertb]

Every though is appreciated, really.
I never really heard of it but now I will be exploring it for sure before making my decision for radions...
If something is saving some bucks and giving optimal performance then I dont see why not .

Look at the ATI Stratons. Passive cooling I believe and great spread. They are getting 0 love on the big sites.

Personally while I like the Radions for growth and look, it looks like I have 3 mid-90’s shiny black video game consoles hanging over my tank. If overall aesthetic is a goal, the Stratons ceiling mount of Kessil arms look more sophisticated.

 

[ScottB]

Look at the ATI Stratons. Passive cooling I believe and great spread. They are getting 0 love on the big sites.

Personally while I like the Radions for growth and look, it looks like I have 3 mid-90’s shiny black video game consoles hanging over my tank. If overall aesthetic is a goal, the Stratons ceiling mount of Kessil arms look more sophisticated.

I was also going to mention the Stratons, but they are so difficult to source. If you can wait a few months... maybe. I LOVE mine, but unless you live in Europe, the wait is long. @Reef-Engineer did a very thorough, data-driven review of them here.

 

[Yates273]

Lol and you thought it was going to be an easy choice xr15 vs xr30. Good luck with whatever you choose

 

[vishal1107]

Look at the ATI Stratons. Passive cooling I believe and great spread. They are getting 0 love on the big sites.

Personally while I like the Radions for growth and look, it looks like I have 3 mid-90’s shiny black video game consoles hanging over my tank. If overall aesthetic is a goal, the Stratons ceiling mount of Kessil arms look more sophisticated.

Actually I did compaired kessils, kessil gives more shimmer compaired to radion and I am not much of a fan of shimmer or disco effect.. if I go for kessil, I would need to buy difusser as well. Other then that, personal observation: both kessil and radion give almost similar spread and par accross plus similar control as well on common price point

 

[srobertb]

I have used metal halides + T5, DIY LED panels I made myself, light cannons I made, AI, Radions, Kessils + T5, Kessils alone, maxxspects, and Amazon specials.

The Radions have produced the best growth for me since MH and T5’s and I can control the Radions color spectrum and don’t have the heat/bulb issues.

That being said, as you get old (like me) you find yourself buying the same things because they work and at this point “it just works” is great for most things in life. The aquarium is where I reserve my right to try new things so I say go with the Stratons!!

buy them gray market online!!

Actually I did compaired kessils, kessil gives more shimmer compaired to radion and I am not much of a fan of shimmer or disco effect.. if I go for kessil, I would need to buy difusser as well. Other then that, personal observation: both kessil and radion give almost similar spread and par accross plus similar control as well on common price point

kessils don’t have a diffuser. I had a360x’s over my tank up until a week ago and prior that I had a 4x80w T5 + the A360x’s. I still run a160’s over my nano reef and a “Sun” version over my planted tank.

people talk about “disco” and they are referring to the poor led blending noted on the Radion G4 and previous versions. I honestly didn’t notice it until someone pointed it out to me and then I couldn’t unsee it which is why I went with Kessils on my larger tank.

my G5’s with diffusers don’t suffer from this. There is a small bit of disco on the sand bed but no more than you would see diving and it’s largely uniform.

I ran the A360x’s for about 2 years. I had 55 degree reflectors on a few as needed. They create a shimmer; not a disco. At first I loved it. It is beautiful and gives the tank a lot of movement and energy. I still like it on the smaller tanks but as someone with anxiety I actually prefer the more subdued spread of the Radions now that I’ve run them for a week. Still great energy, good light, corals look beautiful, but my tank doesn’t look electric all the time.

Everyone testing these lights with expensive equipment has an agenda and as BRS has taken on a corporate partner their information seems even less about data and more about sales. Going by my eye and a $500 PAR meter I borrowed I can say that the Kessils underwhelmed in both saturation and PAR. I had to run them at 100% which even with lots of cleaning caused problems (3 died within a month of each other). There was definitely shading both to my eye and the underside of large SPS colonies. It’s only logical that a single point of light is not ideal for creating blankets of light but will give you better spectrum blending and penetration. Kessils should always be run with supplementation from T5’s or spread out LED panels. The newer Radions appear to offer more of a blanketed light and I’m confident that at worse I could add a 4th and turn them lengthwise over the tank to get more coverage if my SPS colonies start whiting out underneath again.

As far as spectrum, the Kessil’s lower/wider spectrum also sold me. However, from literally comparing the 2 side by side over the same corals in real time, the G5 makes the coral look better (using BRS’s recommended Kessil color settings).

To each their own. A lot of this is aesthetics and I’m relaying my experiences so I hope it won’t be viewed as argumentative.

 

[Rams]

Hi all,
I am new to reefing and I am very confused with lighting.
I really don't wanna go for hybrid or t5
As
- it's like complete pannel of light covering while tank
- T5 don't give default options to change the color, need to buy multiple lights to get what I need.

My tank is 4.5ft by 2ft by 2ft

I really liked radion xr gen 5 series.

Confusion is:
All says xr15 is like 50% of xr30. Well it's not completely true as went through varius videos and comparisons
And figured out that if you run xr15 at 100% than its peak PAR is around 200 on 24' depth, on the other hand xr30 runing with on 50% will give you nice 300 PAR at 24'.

I've got recommendations that buy 4 XR15 or 2XR30 for sps tank.

But if I buy 4 XR15 then I will get 200 PAR spread on my 4.5 ft at 100%
And if I go for 2 XR30, I will get good 300 spread at 50%.

But xr15 option will give me good spread and less shadow on the other hand xr30 will give me future proofing to increase PAR but when coral grows it will create shadows.

My budget allows me to buy either 2x 30 or 4x 15

Not sure which is the best option for me.


2nd- I love blue as it pops corals but I also like to have some white in certain situations like when any guest comes as white shows good spectrum also good for taking photos.

Please help me guys as lights are huge investment.

I use to have metal halide and t5 combo..tried XR30 gen5 and sold it back..t5s and halides are the best hands down

 

[TLO45]

For me personally I couldn’t get enough par for sps with x15’s by themselves. I was 200ish par at best and sand was at 50-75 in many spots. Once I added the T5’s and angled the Radions I’m at 350-360 at top of rocks and 150ish on sand which is working well since.

 

[vishal1107]

Thanks guys.. bought 2 xr30 blue... Running it for like 10 days now. It's kinda overkill for my tank but I can control the power.. it looks perfect...