Radion lighting layout for 125g

[sstanley223]

Anyone have opinions or suggestions for these light fixture layouts I'm considering for a 125 gallon mixed reef build? These are xr15's and the first uses an xr30. I'd love to use all xr30's but that is beyond my budget and I already have 2 xr15's. I'm kinda leaning towards the first cause I thought it would be cool to mix the different fixtures.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Looks like an Aqueon tank layout?

I have six Kessil A360WEs in my tank, two in each compartment. They are oriented in two parallel rows of 3.

 

[sstanley223]

Looks like an Aqueon tank layout?

I have six Kessil A360WEs in my tank, two in each compartment. They are oriented in two parallel rows of 3.

Yep! Aqueon. I like the idea with 6 Kessils a wa

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Yep! Aqueon. I like the idea with 6 Kessils a wa

I'll see if I can find you a picture of the layout I used. I may not be able to get one posted until tomorrow, though.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Depending on how high off the surface of the water you mount them, you will want to stay to the center of each divided portion or else the cross-bracing will cause too many shadows and affect the aesthetics of the tank.

 

[Zack33]

I think if you go with the first one you'll be happy! The XR 30 will provide a better spread and help make up for any shadow the 2 XR15s might give you.

How high off the waters surface are you hoping to mount them?

 

[sstanley223]

Depending on how high off the surface of the water you mount them, you will want to stay to the center of each divided portion or else the cross-bracing will cause too many shadows and affect the aesthetics of the tank.

Good point. I was considering the multi mount if I went with 4 like this picture

 

[sstanley223]

I think if you go with the first one you'll be happy! The XR 30 will provide a better spread and help make up for any shadow the 2 XR15s might give you.

How high off the waters surface are you hoping to mount them?

Standard rms mounts or the multi mount. So I think 9"

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Good point. I was considering the multi mount if I went with 4 like this picture

The closer you mount to the surface of the water, the more you can bypass the shadowing effect. For what that's worth.

 

[JDtimk]

Do you want all led or open to mixing with t-5?
I would go with the xr15s over the 30s.

• 3 xr15s (less coverage or par need coral)
• 4 xr15s (higher coverage or par need)
• and then a tube of t-5 on either side of them, you could probably get away with a single 60" tube on either side for a mixed reef set up.

I have 4 xr 30s over my 120. I think they are about 12+ inches or so over the water. I also use diffusers on them which i think is a very good investment. I still have a t-5 tube on either side of the radions. This produces very good coverage in the tank. I turn the fixtures down to around 45% or 50% and with the t-5s i get a very even 250- 300 par in the upper half of the tank. 150 or so on the bare bottom of the tank.
I didn't buy them all at once so i used what i had collected over the years. If i were to light this tank with radions again from scratch, I would buy six to eight xr 15s for greater flexibility in coverage.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

+1 on the T5s. I run two T5s...one on either side of the LEDs. They do a great job of filling in the shadowy areas if you run them continuously.

 

[sstanley223]

So this is an upgrade from my 65gal. I had a 6 bulb t5 on it. Looked awesome but I never cared for having a large fixture over it. I replaced it with 2 xr15s. Now it looks dark with bad shadows and everything stopped growing. I was trying to avoid a large fixture over the 125 but I do miss the t5s. Are there any supplemental t5s that aren't ugly and huge? Lol

 

[Zack33]

What about supplementing with some more LEDS, such as a reefbrite strip or the new Orphek bars?

https://orphek.com/or-bar-led-light/

I'm thinking of adding a bar or two from orphek myself.

 

[sstanley223]

What about supplementing with some more LEDS, such as a reefbrite strip or the new Orphek bars?

https://orphek.com/or-bar-led-light/

I'm thinking of adding a bar or two from orphek myself.

Those look awesome! Thanks!

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I took a couple of pics for you with my setup on the Aqueon 125 tank . You can see the diy T5s as well.

 

[sstanley223]

I took a couple of pics for you with my setup on the Aqueon 125 tank . You can see the diy T5s as well.

Wow! You're not playing around! Thanks for sharing. I have Kessils on a smaller system.

 

[sstanley223]

I did get my hands on 3 of the 4 xr15s this weekend! Thanks for the input from everyone! I also really like the idea of adding a LED bar in the future to even things out!

 

[sstanley223]

Took a while but there it is!

 

[Reefman71]

How’d o

Anyone have opinions or suggestions for these light fixture layouts I'm considering for a 125 gallon mixed reef build? These are xr15's and the first uses an xr30. I'd love to use all xr30's but that is beyond my budget and I already have 2 xr15's. I'm kinda leaning towards the first cause I thought it would be cool to mix the different fixtures.

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[Reefman71]

How did it turn out? I’ve got the same tank and was looking at the 3rd drawing with 3 XR15’s the new G5’s.