SPS successful lighting schedule with complete hybrid system- halides, T5 and LED- how long to run each?

[acropora4u]

my tank is 60" x 36" x 24" tall, so 225 gallons, lighting consists of 2x250w halide ( on either end) and 1 x gen 5 radion in the middle of the halides. 2 x orphek OR3- 60" x 4 x 80w T5 - 60" . i don't know how long to run each light and when to have them all on at same time or for how long. this tank is going all acropora. Please share your thoughts on how to run these lights- FYI, the lights are all 11" to 12" inches off the water - halides are at 12" the rest are 11" from water. thanks Dean

 

[blaxsun]

I would probably look at adding another XR30 at some point to balance it out. With respect to the Radion, I'd just run the standard AB+ schedule adjusted for your sunrise/sunset. The halide and T5 experts can probably weigh-in on ideal settings for those.

 

[guylaga]

I wont call my self an expert by any means, but I'm running a 8x60" ATI Sunpower from 0930 to 1630 and Reefbreeders Photon 50" from 0730 to 0930 with ramp up from 0730 to 0930 and ramp down from 1630 to 2130.

Everything is about 10" off the water, the reefbreeders are angled inward since the ATI takes up most of the space over the tank.

 

[jda]

I run my halides for 8-9 hours to carry the heavy load since they offer the best spectrum. I don't have T5s on my main tank, but on the frag tanks, I turn them off while the halides are on to save the electricity and bulb life - they don't add much when the halides are on for me, but they might be more necessary for you with a 36" deep tank. I have a ReefBrite strip on one frag tank and I only turn it on for an hour after the other lights go off so that I can take photos of stuff if I am selling and people want to see them - these are just for you, so just turn them on when you are wanting to view stuff at a spectrum that you like to look at.

Basically, let the best light do most of the work and then supplement from there for both coverage and to make your eye happy.

 

[X-37B]

On my 120 I run my halides, 2 250 watt, for 8hrs. I run 2 OR3 light bars for 9 hrs. The OR3's come on 15 minutes before and are on 15 minutes after the halides. I am not a fan of the heavy blue but the OR3's do complement the halides, imo.

 

[acropora4u]

I run my halides for 8-9 hours to carry the heavy load since they offer the best spectrum. I don't have T5s on my main tank, but on the frag tanks, I turn them off while the halides are on to save the electricity and bulb life - they don't add much when the halides are on for me, but they might be more necessary for you with a 36" deep tank. I have a ReefBrite strip on one frag tank and I only turn it on for an hour after the other lights go off so that I can take photos of stuff if I am selling and people want to see them - these are just for you, so just turn them on when you are wanting to view stuff at a spectrum that you like to look at.

Basically, let the best light do most of the work and then supplement from there for both coverage and to make your eye happy.

tank is 60" long 36" side to side and 24" deep