Replace or Supplement My Current Lighting?

[nickkohrn]

My current system consists of the following items in relation to my question:

Aquarium: Waterbox 100.3 (3’x2’x2’)
Lighting: 3 EcoTech Radion XR15w Pro (2 G4 and 1 G3) with diffusers
Structure: Bonsai structure
Corals: SPS & zoanthids

Below, you can see what my display:

My Radions run at 100% for most of the day and the PAR levels range from 350 at the top down to 100 at the bottom. A couple of the shelves will get shadowed when the corals grow larger and branch out. This made me think about replacing my current lights with XR30s or putting them into an Aquatic Life L.E.D/T5 hybrid fixture. If I replace my XR15s, then I would replace them with three XR30s and then them so that each has a cluster of L.E.D.s in the front and the other cluster in the rear.

I realize that replacing my current XR15s with XR30s will be an expensive process, so I’ve been leaning toward adding the hybrid fixture. However, I plan to make any changes slowly, so the expensive process of replacing my XR15s with XR30s can be done.

I’d like to be able to have more high-light-loving corals, such as Acropora, on the bottom shelves, so I need to increase the PAR that reaches the bottom of my display.

Do you have any thoughts, recommendations, or suggestions?

 

[Jon Fishman]

Move your lights to about 4" above the waterline maybe? Remove the diffuser.....


EDIT: Also, great looking tank.... "sand looks more natural" pfffft..... nonsense.

 

[nickkohrn]

Move your lights to about 4" above the waterline maybe? Remove the diffuser.....

I did try removing the diffusers, but the disco effect is quite distracting and undesirable. The glass of the aquarium refracts the light and projects the effect onto my floor since the system is bare-bottom.

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

3 Xr15's are more than enough for your tank imho. How much PAR do you want? Removing the diffuser should get you some PAR back. Remove the eggcrate that is in a way "polarizing" your light.

 

[nickkohrn]

3 Xr15's are more than enough for your tank imho. How much PAR do you want? Removing the diffuser should get you some PAR back. Remove the eggcrate that is in a way "polarizing" your light.

I’d like to get 250 PAR or so at the bottom-right shelf. Right now, it’s getting ~100 PAR. The light diffuser panel is on there temporarily, until I get a mesh cover. The aforementioned PAR values were measured without the panel on the tank. So, even when I get a mesh cover, I’ll still have less PAR at the bottom, which is where I’d like to raise it most.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Add a 4th one then? one in front of another and side-by-side?

Scrapping all lights seems excessive.... those lights should be plenty for that tank.