Mixing lighting on 8 ft tank

[DylanE]

Hi all,

I'm wondering what the visual effects of mixing lighting sources on an 8ft tank will be. I'm upgrading from a 4 ft that currently has 2 gen 6 radion xr30s. I've build up a collection of things over the years, and currently also have a gen4 xr 30 and 2 redsea reefled 90s. I was thinking of getting one more gen6 xr30, using all 4 of the radions, and placing the reef leds in between for better coverage. Would it look wonky to have 3 different types of light running? The new tank will have a canopy, so I wont actually have to look at this motley crew. The other option is just getting 2 more xr30s and running them with 1 or 2 orphek or4s for added coverage.

 

[JGT]

I have 7 Radions over an 8’ tank and I alternate between blues and pros. No discernible difference visually between them.

 

[bobnicaragua]

The issue I foresee is that the Red Sea LEDs are so purple. Having 2 on an 8 foot tank might be an issue with color blending.

I would go with the OR4s and Radions. You’ll get better coverage and color blending that way.

If you do go with the Red Sea LED\Radion mix, you probably need more than two Red Sea LEDs to even out the color.

 

[DylanE]

I have 7 Radions over an 8’ tank and I alternate between blues and pros. No discernible difference visually between them.

Hmm, that's quite a bit more light than I'm planning on. How'd you decide on 7? Are you running them perpendicular or parallel to the tank? My plan is only a few random sps with mostly lps and such.

 

[DylanE]

The issue I foresee is that the Red Sea LEDs are so purple. Having 2 on an 8 foot tank might be an issue with color blending.

I would go with the OR4s and Radions. You’ll get better coverage and color blending that way.

If you do go with the Red Sea LED\Radion mix, you probably need more than two Red Sea LEDs to even out the color.

Gotcha, that makes sense. I've only ever used one as a sump light, so I don't know how they look during actual reef lighting. Good to know.

 

[JGT]

Hmm, that's quite a bit more light than I'm planning on. How'd you decide on 7? Are you running them perpendicular or parallel to the tank? My plan is only a few random sps with mostly lps and such.

Wanted each light to cover just over a foot of tank length. Running parallel.