lighting a 72" DT and a 72" Display fuge

[fermentedhiker]

I'm in the process of setting up a 125 gallon 72" DT and a 72x12x12" Display fuge mounted above the DT. The guy I got the DT off of was using three aquatic life edge 24" LEDs and was successful with softies.

I'm going to be running a mixed reef with softies , lps , and a BTA so I figured I'd need better lighting and thought about using the aquatic life fixtures on the fuge since it's so shallow power won't be an issue. The fuge will be zoos, palys, maxi mini, and slower growing macros. I started playing around with the lights today and they look like they are more for freshwater(1 white channel, 1 RBW channel, and 1 moonlight I guess). So I'm thinking they won't look right.

For the fuge I am considering a Current USA Marine IC or IC Pro. Any thoughts on if the Pro is needed for a 12" depth or not?

The DT is a harder thing to decide. Money being what it is an all. I mean 3xkessil, 3xradion, or 3xhydras all could do the job. It's just the thought of spending upwards of 1200$ or more for an Softie/LPS tank seems a bit much............to me at least. Other options are 3x mars aqua or equivalent, 2 32" mars aqua, sb reef, photonv2 is another way to go. Although with two braces three lights might avoid shading from the braces better?

For a better idea of my needs here's a list of my intended coral stocking in no particular order;
Florida ric
yuma
St Thomas
Carlgreni
RFA
Euphyllia
Gonis
duncans
favia
acans
BTA

 

[jda]

I would get a pair of the nicer Chinese fixtures... SB or ReefBreeders. ...or a 4 bulb 60" T5 unit.

 

[fermentedhiker]

I would get a pair of the nicer Chinese fixtures... SB or ReefBreeders. ...or a 4 bulb 60" T5 unit.

That's what I was leaning towards but I'm also wondering if 3 24" fixtures would be worth the extra cost because of the reduced shadowing?

 

[fermentedhiker]

Just noticed that the RB 24" photon V2 is more than a Kessil a360we? I would assume the V2 would have better spread because of it being a distributed led array instead of the more point source Kessil, but still. More thinking to be done.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Trying to figure out the best way to reduce shadowing without adding T5s. The way it's braced(2) makes three fixtures make more sense than two long ones but obviously more expensive. I've considered everything from 3xrazors, 3 RB V2, 3x Kessil a360, 3x sbox elite. I even went way off course and looked a BML ray 64 physiospec greenhouse

 

[jda]

The Photon V2 and the Kessil are not even in the same league, IMO - I would choose the photon any day and leave the kessil to smaller tanks.

The V2 can leave some unblended light and disco some... some people love this and some hate it. You will have way less shadows.

 

[fermentedhiker]

The Photon V2 and the Kessil are not even in the same league, IMO - I would choose the photon any day and leave the kessil to smaller tanks.

The V2 can leave some unblended light and disco some... some people love this and some hate it. You will have way less shadows.

Are the lenses removable on the V2?

 

[Chef Tommy]

Check out the Orphek light bars. Awesome spread & priced well. I added a sky blue & uv to my T5, though the reef daylight might be better suited for led only. The bars spread the light well so no shadows are in my tank when the T5 are off.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Check out the Orphek light bars. Awesome spread & priced well. I added a sky blue & uv to my T5, though the reef daylight might be better suited for led only. The bars spread the light well so no shadows are in my tank when the T5 are off.

I have, thanks. They look interesting. They don't currently make a 60-72" fixture yet, so I'd have to buy 2 36" ones and make a bracket to fasten them together. They did say that they are planning on a long fixture but couldn't say when it would be available.

Also looked at the aquaticlife t5 hybrid which would probably be one of the best look solutions but adding 4 led fixtures to it would be quite costly. I suppose if I went that route I could just wait and pick up the leds used as people upgrade and sell off their older ones.

3 of the sbreef 16" seem like the most cost effective option

 

[Chef Tommy]

The aquatic life t5 is nice. Just looked at one this weekend. I’ve been wanting a better looking fixture but may end up building a canopy. Hopefully Orphek makes the longer fixtures because I have seen a ton of improvements on my corals already.

 

[fermentedhiker]

So I got a deal on three used radion xr30 gen2 lights for my DT. I'll be mounting them on the RMS rail system. They obviously have more than enough power for an LPS tank, but I'm a little worried about shading from the point source nature of the pucks. Mounting them inline would give the greatest coverage, but mounting them sideways would reduce shading more since the pucks wouldn't be all on the center line. Thoughts on which orientation is better?

second question; since these have the original lenses in them would it be worthwhile to upgrade them to wide angle ones? 3x 35$ for the lenses. Seems like it would be an improvement in spread and the loss in par isn't important since it's going to be an LPS tank.

Third question; would getting the new diffusers be worthwhile in helping with coverage and blending? 3x 65$ starts to add up though. Seems a bit steep for a frosted cover, but if it does the job?

Lastly is there a good chance I will need..........or end up wanting to supplement them to reduce shading? If so what are the best options in terms of spectrum? ie would you supplement with a mostly blue or purple light and balance it with the radions whites, or go with a more daylight and balance it with the radions blue channel?

Thanks for the input.