Lighting for new tank

tidefanjam · Jan 24, 2020

So I’m currently in the process of upgrading my 65 to a 120, I’ve had the sbreef 32 over my current tank since I started it 2 1/2 years ago and it’s grown my corals fairly well, but it getting on in age and I want to step up to have more control and grow more sticks, the tank is 48x24x24, my question is would 2 radion xr15’s be enough or should I shoot for 2 XR30w’s? I want to set this tank up just like I want, but still trying to keep it somewhat, sorta, affordable

DuckSlayer627 · Jan 24, 2020

For Acro's I would do the 2 XR30's and add a couple of T5's to fill in gaps.

tidefanjam · Jan 24, 2020

DuckSlayer627 said:
For Acro's I would do the 2 XR30's and add a couple of T5's to fill in gaps.

i have been leaning toward the 30's or possibly a couple of the new hydra 32's, i have wanted to try some T5's, some of the new hybrid fixtures look pretty good

jda · Jan 24, 2020

2 30s won't likely be enough once those sticks start to fill in. 4x 15s can do the same thing and you have more flexibility in moving them around/apart.

kensomebody · Jan 25, 2020

Following along, my tank is similar, and I'm at a similar stage, but my coral goals are different than yours (mostly LPS maybe low demand SPS, not huge on sticks) but maybe my thoughts would be helpful....?
I just ordered two xr15's for my new 120. It seems the general consensus on the forum is that this may be a bit underpowered/stretching the reach of the lights to fill the tank.
There are a lot of costs when setting up a new tank and I didn't feel the need to start off with $1700 in lights while the tank cycles/stabilizes. I won't be starting with expensive or high demand corals within the first several months or year, this setup should provide me enough light to start growing what I like and several paths to upgrade in the future if (when) needed.

My plan when needed is to add the Aquatic life T5 Hybrid, I also have a center brace so having 3 LED/puck lights doesn't seem to work, and going to 4 XR15's is a big step up in cost. With the center brace I think the fill from the T5's will be important and the T5's + 2 XR 15's should grow everything I want. I Imagine even a fair amount of SPS especially closer to the pucks.

If/when more power is needed I'm guessing the Hybrid +4 XR 15's should be able to grow about anything on a 48" tank, and so if I decide I want to grow a bunch of sticks I have a clear path to do so. I've read about people using three XR 30's on a 4' tank for high SPS growth but again with a center brace this seems difficult to place and I would be pushed towards the hybrid. Again though take this with a big grain of salt right now as this is purely hypothetical and I'm not an SPS guy.

The basis of this all is that the XR30's are basically the same price and output as two XR 15's, Generally you get more flexibility in terms of when to spend money and light placement starting with XR 15's. For this reason I felt like there was very little downside to starting with 2 xr 15's no matter what the next steps would be since I could simply buy more if needed and not lose anything vs forking over the money and starting with the XR 30's off the bat. If my thought process is wrong I'm sure somebody will chime in below, and look forward to others thoughts.

(this is all assuming you are set on using radions, as I'm sure others may recommend comparable AI or other lights which are also good options, just not my ultimate goal or vision for the tank)

tidefanjam · Jan 25, 2020

kensomebody said:
Following along, my tank is similar, and I'm at a similar stage, but my coral goals are different than yours (mostly LPS maybe low demand SPS, not huge on sticks) but maybe my thoughts would be helpful....?
I just ordered two xr15's for my new 120. It seems the general consensus on the forum is that this may be a bit underpowered/stretching the reach of the lights to fill the tank.
There are a lot of costs when setting up a new tank and I didn't feel the need to start off with $1700 in lights while the tank cycles/stabilizes. I won't be starting with expensive or high demand corals within the first several months or year, this setup should provide me enough light to start growing what I like and several paths to upgrade in the future if (when) needed.

My plan when needed is to add the Aquatic life T5 Hybrid, I also have a center brace so having 3 LED/puck lights doesn't seem to work, and going to 4 XR15's is a big step up in cost. With the center brace I think the fill from the T5's will be important and the T5's + 2 XR 15's should grow everything I want. I Imagine even a fair amount of SPS especially closer to the pucks.

If/when more power is needed I'm guessing the Hybrid +4 XR 15's should be able to grow about anything on a 48" tank, and so if I decide I want to grow a bunch of sticks I have a clear path to do so. I've read about people using three XR 30's on a 4' tank for high SPS growth but again with a center brace this seems difficult to place and I would be pushed towards the hybrid. Again though take this with a big grain of salt right now as this is purely hypothetical and I'm not an SPS guy.

The basis of this all is that the XR30's are basically the same price and output as two XR 15's, Generally you get more flexibility in terms of when to spend money and light placement starting with XR 15's. For this reason I felt like there was very little downside to starting with 2 xr 15's no matter what the next steps would be since I could simply buy more if needed and not lose anything vs forking over the money and starting with the XR 30's off the bat. If my thought process is wrong I'm sure somebody will chime in below, and look forward to others thoughts.

(this is all assuming you are set on using radions, as I'm sure others may recommend comparable AI or other lights which are also good options, just not my ultimate goal or vision for the tank)

I’m not set on radions, still back and forth between them and the hydras, although I do like the 48” reefbreeder light, possibly supplemented with t5’s. My current tank is a 24” deep 65 with a center brace, I’ve had the 32” sbreef over it for 2 1/2 years and really haven’t noticed hardly any shadowing from the brace, it’s mostly lps/ zoas, and rock flower anemones which have all done great. I do have a birdsnest which grows like a weed, but I have added 2 acros on a high rock and just recently got the fever for more of those in my new tank...

tidefanjam · Jan 25, 2020

jda said:
2 30s won't likely be enough once those sticks start to fill in. 4x 15s can do the same thing and you have more flexibility in moving them around/apart.

I can see where you have more control over where the light is with the singles

Reefer40b · Jan 25, 2020

Nothing wrong with the reefbreeders photon V2's 48in and a couple lumen bars

NanoDJS · Jan 25, 2020

using any puck style light in that tank and trying to grow SPS out into colonies you would need 8 of them to make for blanket coverage. or you will get shadowing , best bang for the buck would be 8 primes , which is the same cost as 4 xr15s it will also make for less hotspot action , I am lighting the same sized footprint with 3 redsea 90 and 4 x 54w T5 and its massive overkill. you could also use multipucks like 4 xr30 or 4 64's sideways and keep a narrow top acroshelf, its really one of the hardest tasks to accomplish the "blanket" no single solution is perfect yet. The primes do work and have been proven for the money its very viable imho plus you can scale it up as they grow into new spots , like start with 4 then save for the rest as your frags grow in

DenverSaltyFarm · Jan 26, 2020

i Have the same tank dimensions with 2 hydra 26 hd led lights and was not enough lighting spread so I purchased the t5 hybrid fixture adding 4 t5s to the tank as well and it was a great improvement to the whole tank and sps sticks. I then added a t5 shop light as well making 6 t5 bulbs and the 2 leds and the lighting is perfect for me. I do have a par meter and getting 400 par at the top of my rock work 150 at the floor of the tank across the whole tank.