Lighting decisions...

[RobW]

I'm thinking that I'm just going to go with T5 and radion xr30 pros

 

[MTBake]

2 36" hybrid t5 systems and some leds would work ok. Kessil, Ecotech or AI are popular.

I'd go with metal halide and t5 but I live in northern IL. A small fan and the ac running when it's hot out is enough to keep heat issues at bay for me. I have a 40 breeder with a 250 watt halide over two thirds of the tank and a Kessil 360we over the other third to help with shadows.

 

[RobW]

2 36" hybrid t5 systems and some leds would work ok. Kessil, Ecotech or AI are popular.

I'd go with metal halide and t5 but I live in northern IL. A small fan and the ac running when it's hot out is enough to keep heat issues at bay for me. I have a 40 breeder with a 250 watt halide over two thirds of the tank and a Kessil 360we over the other third to help with shadows.

listen I love halides. I'm not against using them at all. Had them on my last tank. Just looking to maybe try some new technology I guess.

 

[User1]

I hate having to replace bulbs. Replacing bulbs equals money that isn't working for me. MH generates heat and that heat has to be mitigated and/or released somewhere. Somewhere is in the house and somewhat into the tank. Heat then leads to evaporation. List goes on and on sort of like a wheel going round and round. A lot of things to factor in such has what you are planning on keeping and at what elevation in the home tank. Some of this has been touched upon here but it is worth repeating.

Know what you are going to keep and at what depth will help steer you to what sort of lighting you need. Otherwise, at least in my opinion, you will end up right back here and asking the same question again later when it is time to replace. 30" tall tank here and using LED's via the DIY route. Single bar multi channel chips with enough cooling and lens to punch through to the bottom of the tank. Needed more light replicate the bar and I just doubled the capacity. Want to try something different center of canopy has a hook that I was able to test the new Kessil 360x. Turn off DIY lights, turn on Kessil, compare par, depth, move on.

Short of it is that the hobby has evolved from 20 years ago both in equipment and what livestock we keep. I see a lot of options on the table of what people use for lighting but in the end I found it comes back to the hobbyist and their plans. Then they can fit the right lighting while spending the time and money usually once. Best of luck.

 

[Dana Riddle]

I have no vested interest in any lighting company and report results from testing in my small lab. I haven't tested any of the Radions so my comments are based strictly on wattage. Granted, wattage is not the best way to judge intensity but it is not unreasonable to assume more wattage equals more light produced (again, there are caveats!) So, here goes: The XR30w Pro consumes 190 watts. An Orphek Atlantik V4 consumes about 290 watts. Here is the light penetration of said Orphek at 17" below the water's surface (I think the light was about 3 or 4 inches above the surface.) Note that PPFD at a maximum is 500-500. I don't have a test tank deeper than 19 inches, but I think you should be able to get the recommended PPFD of around 200 at or near the bottom of your tank (in the old days, I recommended 100 PPFD as a minimum at the bottom, but then the popular corals in those days were Bubble and Elegance corals.) Personally, if I were in your situation (Florida) where heat transfer from the light to the aquarium might be an issue, I would go with LEDs (it's a plus that you can tune them spectrally.) Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[ecamden]

I just switched to kessil ap700 on my 180. I have 3 of them spaced 3.5in apart. Here are some par numbers at 50% and 100%

 

[RobW]

With the aquatic life T5 hybrid fixtures I can do 4 of the XR30 pros. I may not need that much power and can obviously dial them back. But I would like even lighting throughout the tank. With all the advice being given... my tank will sit in a custom wall unit. Floor to ceiling almost 9 feet tall. I'm remodeling the house and the space where the tank sits will have an exhaust fan that is ducted through the attic and out the soffit outside. This will be able to combat some of the heat created by whatever lights I choose. Also there is an duct jumper in the ceiling that will draw the cool air from the air conditioned living room to the inside of the lighting portion of the cabinet as the exhaust fan pulls the heat out. Should also help with humidity in the lower section of the cabinet as well. There is an open chase from where the sump and equipment sits all the way up to the lighting area. Basically it will be able to draw the air all the way through and out when the temperatures rise from the lighting being on. The fan will be thermostatically controlled. I'm not quite there yet but you can take a look at my build thread and see the lower portion of the wall unit coming together.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/robws-280-gallon-build.572693/

 

[vetteguy53081]

Halides still work but LED is the new Halides. So many types, HD, wireless, etc. LED is cooler in temperature, lasts longer and lightweight.
recommended are aqua Illumination, Kessils 360, or 700 series and Orphek Atlantik

 

[McPuff]

If you haven't checked out Orphek yet, I think you should. I'd love to put those over my tank at some point.

 

[Orcus Varuna]

Hey everyone, I need some lighting advice. I'm building a 280 gallon system right now. I've been out of the hobby for 10 years. I used to have T5 and halides before. My tank will be housed in a custom wall unit. I want to keep the heat down and go with T5 and LED. I guess my dilemma is which led fixtures to use. My tank dimensions are 72"L x 24"W x 36"H. So it is on the deeper side. I like the AI T5 hybrid fixtures that you can mount various light types to. I'm torn between the Kessil 360W's the AI Hydra 52's and the Radion XR30's. Which would any of you recommend and with what combination of T5 bulbs for a mixed style reef. Mostly zoas montis and across? Maybe a few softies and a bubble tip or two for some clowns?

Have you considered the ATI powermodule t5/led hybrid? I have the 24” and I love it. I would do either 2 36” fixtures or a 60” and do lower light corals on the ends of the tank. They use Phillips Luxeon and SemiLED diodes and if you run an equal number geissemann tropic and ati blueplus bulbs with the LEDs 75% all channels it gives you a nearly identical look to Phoenix 14k halides. I just moved and sold off much of my corals before moving so don’t mind the barren look and this is an earlier in the day pic if your interested I’ll snap and post a full midday color corrected photo for you tomorrow.

 

[RobW]

Have you considered the ATI powermodule t5/led hybrid? I have the 24” and I love it. I would do either 2 36” fixtures or a 60” and do lower light corals on the ends of the tank. They use Phillips Luxeon and SemiLED diodes and if you run an equal number geissemann tropic and ati blueplus bulbs with the LEDs 75% all channels it gives you a nearly identical look to Phoenix 14k halides. I just moved and sold off much of my corals before moving so don’t mind the barren look and this is an earlier in the day pic if your interested I’ll snap and post a full midday color corrected photo for you tomorrow.

Nice! Sure I'd like to see what it looks like.

 

[RobW]

Fortunately, I have plenty of time to figure the lighting scenario out. With the remodel of the house and the building of the tank system. It's not a rush. I haven't ordered any of the equipment yet. Once I get the plumbing and electrical stuff installed and get the drywall finished I still have to get all my new flooring in. Then I can get the base cabinet installed and start assembling the tank from the glass I'm having cut. Then it will be time to start worrying about the lighting system.

 

[Haim]

Look for the new Red Sea Fish Farm lighting.

 

[High ICP]

Looks good

But I want more shimmer and caustics in my tank

 

[Orcus Varuna]

Nice! Sure I'd like to see what it looks like.

Here’s midday 75% all channels running 2 ATI Blue+ and 2 Giesemann Tropic 6500k in a 24” ATI Powermodule WiFi. I know this look isn’t for everyone but it’s as close as I have gotten to the look of overdriven radiums or Phoenix 14k’s with LED’s/T5’s. I also love 6500k light and between the luxeon 6500k LEDs and two tropics I certainly have plenty of it lol.

 

[RobW]

Here’s midday 75% all channels running 2 ATI Blue+ and 2 Giesemann Tropic 6500k in a 24” ATI Powermodule WiFi. I know this look isn’t for everyone but it’s as close as I have gotten to the look of overdriven radiums or Phoenix 14k’s with LED’s/T5’s. I also love 6500k light and between the luxeon 6500k LEDs and two tropics I certainly have plenty of it lol.

I like the look of that. I like nice and bright.

 

[Mpek]

BRS did a video on what you want to do. It's worth checking out. They talked about the XR15 VS XR30 as far as coverage goes. To sum it up, you get better coverage as it relates to par and shadowing.
If money isn't an issue I would pair XR15s with T-5 aqua blue + and aqua blue special bulbs in the aquatic life hybrid fixture.
If money is somewhat of an issue go with hydra 52HDs and the same T5 setup. That's what I have on my 350 plus 2 kessil.
4 hydra 52HDs, 2 kessil 360s, and 2 hybrid 36" fixtures with 4 bulbs on each. Excellent coverage and grows every type of coral very well.
If you don't like the shimmer look, don't go with kessil.

My tank is 7'Lx32Wx30H

 

[RobW]

BRS did a video on what you want to do. It's worth checking out. They talked about the XR15 VS XR30 as far as coverage goes. To sum it up, you get better coverage as it relates to par and shadowing.
If money isn't an issue I would pair XR15s with T-5 aqua blue + and aqua blue special bulbs in the aquatic life hybrid fixture.
If money is somewhat of an issue go with hydra 52HDs and the same T5 setup. That's what I have on my 350 plus 2 kessil.
4 hydra 52HDs, 2 kessil 360s, and 2 hybrid 36" fixtures with 4 bulbs on each. Excellent coverage and grows every type of coral very well.
If you don't like the shimmer look, don't go with kessil.

My tank is 7'Lx32Wx30H

Sweet! Good info. Thanks

 

[MARK M. DAVIS]

I have 6 ai hydra 52 on 36” tank. Grow sps all the way down to the sand.

 

[RobW]

BRS did a video on what you want to do. It's worth checking out. They talked about the XR15 VS XR30 as far as coverage goes. To sum it up, you get better coverage as it relates to par and shadowing.
If money isn't an issue I would pair XR15s with T-5 aqua blue + and aqua blue special bulbs in the aquatic life hybrid fixture.
If money is somewhat of an issue go with hydra 52HDs and the same T5 setup. That's what I have on my 350 plus 2 kessil.
4 hydra 52HDs, 2 kessil 360s, and 2 hybrid 36" fixtures with 4 bulbs on each. Excellent coverage and grows every type of coral very well.
If you don't like the shimmer look, don't go with kessil.

My tank is 7'Lx32Wx30H

Wide angle beam on the kessils?