Xr-15’s not cutting it!

VintageReefer

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I switched my lense to high intensity for a smaller tank which fixed the low par.
This is a 180g tank, those lens will help but he will need many more lights, as coverage area will diminish and he doesn’t have enough lights to begin with
 

twentyleagues

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Just for reference my tank internal dimensions are 28x27x24. I am not 100% on the actual coverage with the 120 reflector on the reefi but I think its 36x30 mine sits about 11.5" off water surface running at 150-ish watts at peak out of 270. I have 250ish par at about 12" down, 100-125 on the sand. 2 of these would cover the 48x36x24 tank np, You may need to invest in supplemental lighting down the road to handle shading. Just for giggles before corals were added I had it at 250w 100% all channels and sand was cooking at around 400 par.
 

Shawnd08

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Hey everyone. Looking for some advice/guidance. I currently have 2 Ecotech XR-15 Pro lights on my reef. The tank is 48”x 36” x 24”! I have the output power set at 90% using the AB+ lighting scheme. The lights are about 12” off the water. I finally got a par meter and took readings today. I was hoping to see 100 - 150 on the sand. Instead I was shocked to only see a reading of 32 par. All of my LPS are doing well, but I have lost a few SPS frags. Even at the top of the reef I am only reading 150 par. Going to re-check tomorrow but am planning to get new lights.

Please offer up light suggestions or what changes I can make to see if the XR-15’s can do better.
Add 1 or two AI blades to the XR15s. If you can lower the XRs closer to the water you will increase the par quite a bit.

They also have a high intensity lens kit for the G6 XRs but I dont think two XRs would be enough still.

I have 2 xr15 g6s with a 39inch blade grow on the front and I just added a 21 inch to the back that I removed from another tank. My tank is 48"x24"x19" and par at the sand bed is 150-200 and 400+ top of rock. This is with the XRs at 70% and the Blades at 65%. With just the XRs at 7 inches above the water at 90% I see low 100s at the sand bed and 250 at the top of my rock work.
 

rtparty

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Many in here are missing the 36” front to back. 99% of the recommendations in here aren’t going to cover that footprint.

The “more PAR, more better” crowd is also interesting….this was all the rage 10-15 years ago and we killed more coral than any other event in the hobby. It’s a terrible way to look at and judge lighting

Also funny to see so many “tHe XR15 iS tOo WeAk”

Guess all this was under lit? :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:

IMG_1511.jpeg
IMG_1495.jpeg
 

spsick

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Not sure who told you those would light a 36” wide 24” deep tank but you would need like 8 to do that effectively. I would add some Quanta bars at front and rear for fill.
 

VintageReefer

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Many in here are missing the 36” front to back. 99% of the recommendations in here aren’t going to cover that footprint.

The “more PAR, more better” crowd is also interesting….this was all the rage 10-15 years ago and we killed more coral than any other event in the hobby. It’s a terrible way to look at and judge lighting

Also funny to see so many “tHe XR15 iS tOo WeAk”

Guess all this was under lit? :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:

IMG_1511.jpeg
IMG_1495.jpeg
Great looking tank! Nobody saying they won’t work, it’s just you have 6 and he has 2, and would need $2000 more in xr15’s plus possibly led bars
 
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Mastiffking

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I agree that you will need more than just 2 x XR15s BUT you should also double check your app - when you go to adjust the power which you say is at 90% - is the SCHEDULE at 100%? The default is 50% - which means you are only pushing 45%. I made this error and went a long time with much less par with my 2 x XR30s.
That went completely over my head. But thank you for pointing that little issue out. Here is my adjusted schedule. Still only 65 par at the sand. It’s awesome I get 600+ 3 inches from the light!
 

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Mastiffking

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Not sure who told you those would light a 36” wide 24” deep tank but you would need like 8 to do that effectively. I would add some Quanta bars at front and rear for fill.

Many in here are missing the 36” front to back. 99% of the recommendations in here aren’t going to cover that footprint.

The “more PAR, more better” crowd is also interesting….this was all the rage 10-15 years ago and we killed more coral than any other event in the hobby. It’s a terrible way to look at and judge lighting

Also funny to see so many “tHe XR15 iS tOo WeAk”

Guess all this was under lit? :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:

IMG_1511.jpeg
IMG_1495.jpeg
Not under powered when you have the correct number of them!
 
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Mastiffking

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Many in here are missing the 36” front to back. 99% of the recommendations in here aren’t going to cover that footprint.

The “more PAR, more better” crowd is also interesting….this was all the rage 10-15 years ago and we killed more coral than any other event in the hobby. It’s a terrible way to look at and judge lighting

Also funny to see so many “tHe XR15 iS tOo WeAk”

Guess all this was under lit? :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:

IMG_1511.jpeg
IMG_1495.jpeg
Oh and beautiful tank!
 
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Mastiffking

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If you're willing to bite the bullet on a new light. You could get a single light as long as you can mount it high enough.

Selectable power 150/200/240 watts. It's cheaper than a single xr15

That looks like a nice light! Do you have any experience with it?
 

14 foot reef

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If you're willing to bite the bullet on a new light. You could get a single light as long as you can mount it high enough.

Selectable power 150/200/240 watts. It's cheaper than a single xr15

I have three of the new Atlas above my first of 5 frag tanks in my new frag farm,
I love the Atlas Lights by Quanta
My tank is 72 x 48 x 20
 

rtparty

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Great looking tank! Nobody saying they won’t work, it’s just you have 6 and he has 2, and would need $2000 more in xr15’s plus possibly led bars

My tank was also larger and I clearly stated in my original post the OP didn’t have nearly enough lights.

He could light the 48*36 with 4 XR15s just fine. Especially for LPS. They can easily cover the 24*18 area with SPS PAR.
 
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Mastiffking

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My tank was also larger and I clearly stated in my original post the OP didn’t have nearly enough lights.

He could light the 48*36 with 4 XR15s just fine. Especially for LPS. They can easily cover the 24*18 area with SPS PAR.
When I saw your original post that I needed more…I cried inside and my wallet ran away!
 
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Mastiffking

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So far after some research while fighting with Covid…( I can use that as the excuse for the wife. Covid made me do it! ) I am deciding between

1. 3 - Reefbuilders Meridian 24”
2. 2 - Orphek Natura iCon
3. 2 - Quanta’s

Thanks for all of the help and suggestions!
 

14 foot reef

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So far after some research while fighting with Covid…( I can use that as the excuse for the wife. Covid made me do it! ) I am deciding between

1. 3 - Reefbuilders Meridian 24”
2. 2 - Orphek Natura iCon
3. 2 - Quanta’s

Thanks for all of the help and suggestions!
The Quanta's are also pre-wired to be dimmable, not just the 3 manual power outputs of 150, 200, & 250 watts,
they are very versatile
 

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