What lights to run

Shortben09

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I currently have a 75 gallon frag tank. It is 48" long, 24" wide, and 16" tall. I am running 2 kessil A360WE's over right now. Possibly considering switching to the X version to get the angle adapters and get better angles on them. I am also wondering if it would be a decent idea to run 4 to eliminate shadows and get a better spread since the dimensions already max out the spread of the lights anyway. Any thoughts?

20201208_161951.jpg
 

Ron Reefman

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IMHO, 3 at the least, and 4 seems reasonable.
 

Biglew11

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I have a 75 marineland tank 48long 18 deep 21 tall. I'm run 2 a360x and a 4bulb t5 hybrid fixture.

You already have 2 A360WE's might be cheaper easier to just add. 2 more of those.
 
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Shortben09

Shortben09

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Yeah I've heavily considered just adding 2, but my problem with them is the difficulty to angle them. I would rather get the Xs. There is a guy local selling them fairly cheap used in good shape. I do appreciate the input guys. I'm also considering just doing 2 Xs with a T5 like you have. Which would ultimately be cheapest not needing mounting. Or just adding a T5 with my current lights.
 

vetteguy53081

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If you have the budget, 4 is your magic number coverage and PAR
 
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Shortben09

Shortben09

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lol not sure what to do yet. think I might try the whole t5/led hybrid route and see what happens. need to get rid of those extra nero powerheads and that kessil h160 first and free up some money to move on to the next purchase.
 

Marc2952

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I currently have a 75 gallon frag tank. It is 48" long, 24" wide, and 16" tall. I am running 2 kessil A360WE's over right now. Possibly considering switching to the X version to get the angle adapters and get better angles on them. I am also wondering if it would be a decent idea to run 4 to eliminate shadows and get a better spread since the dimensions already max out the spread of the lights anyway. Any thoughts?

20201208_161951.jpg
Depends what kind of corals you trying to have, i also have a basic marineland 75 gallon and even with 4 kessil a360x i found there is still some shadowing ( depends on your aquascape too ) so i added 2 reef brite strips and all is well now, but i am going sps dominate. If its for LPS or softies then 2 or 3 is more then enough.
 

jda

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Frags don't usually have issues with shadowing if you are keeping them in a normal type of way with egg crate and not letting them get too large. However, Kessils are not powerful at all and you will likely need more output and coverage. If you don't have many frags yet, then just put the kessils more together and keep the frags in the middle under them. No need to light edges if you don't have frags there.
 

Marc2952

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Frags don't usually have issues with shadowing if you are keeping them in a normal type of way with egg crate and not letting them get too large. However, Kessils are not powerful at all and you will likely need more output and coverage. If you don't have many frags yet, then just put the kessils more together and keep the frags in the middle under them. No need to light edges if you don't have frags there.
Putting them closer will cause a big hotspot BRS did a video on it, the kessils give enough power if you put 4 on a 4 foot tank (ive had to lower mines to 60% to where i can get 350-450 PAR on my upper rockwork.) The issue is the puck design of the kessil that causes shadowing even with 4 of them on a 4 ft tank.
 

Purkey Pets

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Yeah you're right, I'd go with the T5 Hybrid over additional hotspots.

Aquatic Life version is 36" x 18" so it would be an even 6" spread around the whole fixture to all edges of the tank

My choice would be:
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Coral Plus

Link to their color guide for a 4-bulb system:

Best ATI Bulb Combinations for Your 4 Bulb Fixture
 
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Shortben09

Shortben09

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you don't think the 48" version would be the one to go with? I like the 36 being cheaper, just assumed the 48 would be the ideal choice with the tank being 48 long. The only thing I don't like is the fact that they have no shape to them. just a flat fixture, so that won't help eliminate that blind you get when you sit on the fish couch lol
 

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