Waterbox 130.4 Lighting
- Thread starter zoous
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Probably a lot depends on how tall your rocks are, how you mount the lights, etc. I had 3 over a 6ft tank that wasn't as wide front to back nor as deep and I rented a par meter and found I was pretty low. I added on the Aquatic Life Hybrid and it was better. But now after upgrading to a bigger tank I'm up to 5 XR15s and the Aquatic Life fixture and I'm still not hitting crazy par numbers (AB+ program going to 90%).
I don't really want to tell somebody to double the money they're spending and unless somebody comes along with that exact setup most of us can only guess. If I were going to suggest something it would probably be start with the 2 XR15s and rent a par meter and see where you're at. I could be completely wrong as my rocks aren't real high and I was running with the AB+ program. I did test a couple different intensities and even with them cranked there was a lot of spots that were lower than I wanted. Directly under the light on a high point of rock I was getting good numbers but that meant basically 3 spots, one under each puck at the highest point of the rock. How you run them/mount them will impact the par. But I wouldn't be shocked if you find that you're not quite where you want to be with just 2.
BRS has some good videos on lighting with their BRS/WWC hybrid method and they kinda seem to prefer more XR15s so you can space them differently over XR30s.
I also like my Aquatic life Hybrid fixture and feel like it helps with some of the shadowing.
So short version from some random guy over the internet that doesn't have that same tank or know much about your plans, if you want 2 XR15s I'd start there, rent or borrow a par meter and just be prepared that 2 may not be enough.
BRS has some good videos on lighting with their BRS/WWC hybrid method and they kinda seem to prefer more XR15s so you can space them differently over XR30s.
I also like my Aquatic life Hybrid fixture and feel like it helps with some of the shadowing.
So short version from some random guy over the internet that doesn't have that same tank or know much about your plans, if you want 2 XR15s I'd start there, rent or borrow a par meter and just be prepared that 2 may not be enough.
PS - If it helps at all you can see my current setup in post 21 https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/huff’s-750xxl.590567/page-2 and going from memory (my notes are at home) when I test with a MQ-200 (not the underwater one) with all 5 XR15s running at 90 and all 4 T5 bulbs on (2xblue+ and 2xCoral+ I think) there isn't a single coral that's above 400par after calculating the correction. If memory serves there are a couple spots that get close but most are closer to 300.
tqpolo
Active Member
I have two XR30's Pro on a Reefer 350. If I set up a tank today I would go for the 48" Illumagic. I like the smaller pucks but more of them. The overlapping lights prevent any hot spot and create a more well lit tank.
tqpolo
Active Member
They are G4 with diffusers. The diffusers are only help for color blending but not for spreads. I get shadowing front to back and not side to side.
What I don't like is how strong they are right underneath the light. The diffusers should help with hot spot too but the PAR difference away from the center is large.
tqpolo
Active Member
What got me is RB's video on Luis' tank.
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