Nano Tank - XR15 or XR30 for SPS

[PugsAndFish]

I'm going to pick up a Radion G5 this Black Friday if Ecotech has a sale. My tank is an Innovative Marine 25 (24 x 20 x 12). I have a few acropora with an AI Prime HD. The acros are hanging in and growing but the color just isn't there. For example, my red planet and christmas miribilis are turning green. Fox flame is pale. Other easy acros like slimers growing just fine. I think the lights just aren't strong enough.

It's a mixed reef and I just have a couple of acros now but I want to keep acros near the edge of the tank as well. Probably will have about a dozen acros. Rest of the tank is mainly zoanthids and a few LPS like a favia or torch here and there. The XR15 will probably do the trick since the tank is very shallow but I want to keep a few acros near the bottom or edge. I also don't want to be out of luck with I end up needing more power down the line...where it be because I turn the whole tank into acros or I upgrade (although unlikely anytime soon).

So...

1) XR 15 or XR 30 for my case?

2) Blue or Pro? I do like to run my tank a little blue for the color but heard Pro is better for growth?

3) Another option I am exploring is getting a XR 15 and adding another down the line. But I don't see any ways to mount 2 XR15s on a 24" tank unless you do DIY.

 

[jx.reef]

I’d go with the XR30 if you want to keep sps on the edges. I’ve got an XR30 blue over my nuvo 20 and it’s growing about 30 something sps frags pretty well. The XR15 didn’t have enough spread.

 

[Flux Capacitor]

BRS did some good videos on both of the lights you're considering. If you haven’t watched them they are worth a look. I have 4 xr-15 on my 5 foot tank, and I get really good spread and par numbers. Once my tank fills out I anticipate adding a 5th, but for now I have plenty of light all the way to the bottom of the tank.

 

[PugsAndFish]

BRS did some good videos on both of the lights you're considering. If you haven’t watched them they are worth a look. I have 4 xr-15 on my 5 foot tank, and I get really good spread and par numbers. Once my tank fills out I anticipate adding a 5th, but for now I have plenty of light all the way to the bottom of the tank.

yup saw those. brs says xr30 for a 24 x 24 x 24 sps cube but my tank is half the height which is why i think i can get away with xr15 but like @Linjx said i might miss the better coverage of the xr30 even in a small tank.

it's a hard decision when there's a $400-500 difference lol. might just bite the bullet for a xr30 so i have no regrets.

 

[Flux Capacitor]

Yea that’s probably a good call. You can always turn the xr-30 down, and on the plus side when you upgrade to a bigger tank it can work there too!

 

[Bpb]

Two xr 15’s will work better than one 30. Your issue is in delivery not in wattage. Two light sources over a 24” length is preferable for branching corals. There will be more scatter light and more angles of incidence which means more complete wrapping of light around the branches.

A pair of reef fi uno would be a stellar option. Smaller company. But more robust construction and even better spectrum

 

[PugsAndFish]

Two xr 15’s will work better than one 30. Your issue is in delivery not in wattage. Two light sources over a 24” length is preferable for branching corals. There will be more scatter light and more angles of incidence which means more complete wrapping of light around the branches.

A pair of reef fi uno would be a stellar option. Smaller company. But more robust construction and even better spectrum

Agree. I prefer 2 XR 15 over a single XR 30 since the cost is the same. The only deterrent is that there are no good mounting options. I don't want 2 of those clunk RMS mounts looming over a 24" tank. Just looks odd and ugly.

If there was a way to use a single mount to hold up 2 XR15s that would be awesome. I can then buy one at a time given my needs. I see some hanging options from the ceiling that would look clean but I rent so thats not possible for me unfortunately.

 

[92Miata]

The RMS mounts are awesome because they're chunky.

Theyre the only lights I don't regularly read about people dropping in their tanks .

 

[Reef.]

I don't want 2 of those clunk RMS mounts looming over a 24" tank. Just looks odd and ugly.

Lol good word, my thoughts too, I would still go for one 15 now and maybe there is another mount option in the future or you could always diy one, has to be better than what’s on offer now.

 

[Reef.]

The RMS mounts are awesome because they're chunky.

Theyre the only lights I don't regularly read about people dropping in their tanks .

I’ve never read of anyone dropping their light in the tank, and definitely not on a regular basis, and if they did that is either down to them or the bracket, nothing to do with the chunky mount.

 

[PugsAndFish]

What do you guys think about the Reef Brite add on? Another idea is to get the XR15 Pro and then add the Reefbrite. The Reefbrite strips are just 10' though so I'm not sure if that actually helps with spread on the edges of the tank.