Nicrew HyperReef 200 vs 150 for 48x24x26

[jeff60gcube]

In the middle of setting up my new tank and am curious which would be the best route to go for the lighting,

150g tank - 48x24x26
There is a middle brace, which is 22 inches from each side.

Would a 150 or 200 watt hyperreef be better? I planned on two, one for each side of the brace essentially.

The tank would be majority zoas, mushroom and softies as far as coral goes.

 

[fishywishy]

200w is better but if you just want some softies i would just get a couple of 150w’s

 

[jeff60gcube]

is the thought of one per braced side being enough light accurate?

 

[rtparty]

2 150s is plenty. One on each side

 

[fishywishy]

is the thought of one per braced side being enough light accurate?

Yes

 

[oreo54]

In the middle of setting up my new tank and am curious which would be the best route to go for the lighting,

150g tank - 48x24x26
There is a middle brace, which is 22 inches from each side.

Would a 150 or 200 watt hyperreef be better? I planned on two, one for each side of the brace essentially.

The tank would be majority zoas, mushroom and softies as far as coral goes.

Personally, get which you want to spend. There is almost never a point of too much light when your lights are infinitely dimmable.

400watts over a 150gal deepish tank is not excessive historically speaking.

There IS a $160 difference between the 2 choices.

One thing to consider is your "preferred" color.
Note that the below light is not ran at 100% all channels.
This is the new 200w light btw.
NOTE: Manuf. data from Amazon
Generally one can just multiply the lower numbers by 0.75 to "estimate" the 150w fixture.
Roughly....

 

[oreo54]

Note the "old" Gen 1 150's are only $200 each.
New gen 2 are $320
New gen 2 200's are $400.

$80 coupon is available on amazon.

 

[jeff60gcube]

I’m thinking imma do 2 150w gen2 and pay separately and get the $140 off…

 

[Daz_1978]

Did you place your order yet?

I have a frag tank that has 1 x Nicrew Hyperreef Gen 1 100W with the controller. The tank is 30" wide, 24" high, & 15" deep (front to back). I have the light set at 10% white and 65% blue. The par levels range from 50 at the outside edge of the bottom (furthest area from the light in any tank) to 160ish near the top shelf of the rack (roughly 7-8" below the top of the water).

The higher wattage is mostly needed to pound par deeper into the water, and most tanks are roughly the same depth. Unless you did want to get into the world of higher light corals, like Acro's. The difference in a 55g and yours is that yours is thicker front to back... no deeper. The light spread is the same left to right as it is front to back... so you don't need more wattage per gallon.

All that to say... I'd be willing to bet that 2 x 100W would be more than enough for a softy tank, and even LPS, on your tank.

As far as Gen 1 vs 2... Marketing hype, unless you're a marine biologist doing research. The really nice part about the Gen 2 IMO is that you can turn the red, green, and yellow off!!! I have black fingernail polish over mine :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:.

The Gen 2 controller does have better looks on the graphics, but works just like the Gen 1 on Gen 1 lights (only 2 channels).

I just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents since you're looking at budget lighting options... The 2 x 100W Gen 1 lights would run you only $300 vs 2 x 150W Gen 2 for $600.

 

[jeff60gcube]

I ended up with two 150w and the controller off Amazon. They were almost $100 off each so I figured I’d spend the money.

 

[Daz_1978]

You'll have more than enough light to go to SPS in the future, should you decide.
There's a YouTube video of a guy doing PAR readings on his 100g with 2 x 150W Hyperreefs. He has them set to 60% white & 100% blue... His readings are 90 in the darkest part of the tank (enough for most softies) and over 300 at the top of his rocks. He can cook most softies.

BC Innovate is the channel name.

 

[jeff60gcube]

Thanks! Hoping to setup after Xmas so I’m sure I’ll have questions about programming them next.

 

[ovrsier]

I’m thinking imma do 2 150w gen2 and pay separately and get the $140 off…

I did this three times for the discount on each light..lol! amazon wouldnt apply it if all 3 lights were purchaced together.

 

[Hooz]

As far as Gen 1 vs 2... Marketing hype, unless you're a marine biologist doing research. The really nice part about the Gen 2 IMO is that you can turn the red, green, and yellow off!!! I have black fingernail polish over mine :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:.

You don't have to be a marine biologist to appreciate a broader blue spectrum and more violet. Your coral will appreciate it for you. ;)

Also, the wider beam angle (more light bouncing off the glass, less shadowing, lower mounting height, etc.) will also be pretty evident just from looking at the tank.

As for covering the red, green and "yellow", those are also important "colors" of the spectrum, both for photosynthesis in the coral, and for color rendering for your eye. Yes. You can absolutely GROW coral with nothing more than 450nm blue LEDs, but the coral and fish won't be much to look at. I saw a comparison of coral grown by the same guy under Kessils and Gen 1 Nicrews, and he noted BIG color differences between the same corals under the different lights... and he's a BIG Nicrew guy.



I'm not even a Nicrew guy, but the Gen 2 is definitely a better light than the Gen 1, both in practice and on paper. Spectrum and spread matter quite a bit.