Xr30W or ATI DIMMABLE SUNPOWER T5 LIGHT FIXTURE

[sergebmw2]

Hi guys iam setting up a 120 gallon system. Want to eventually grow SPS and LPS. i have read a lot and did my homework and watched BRS TV on both have narrowed it down to 2 light options i want to run on my reef tank.

1) XR30W GEN 4

2) ATI 48' Dimmable SunPower T5 8x54W

Any suggestion on which one is better to run for over all color and growth?

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

While I have not owned either I have visited tanks running these fixtures.

From what I've seen, you may get some faster growth with the ATI. But the colors under the Xr30W have been much more vibrant than those I've seen under T5.

 

[sergebmw2]

the LED shimmer is super nice and i love the looks of it. They too grow nice SPS corals and LPS but from what i hear a lot if the issue with shadowing once your coral colony grows out. i use to run 3 10K halide with T5 on my 180 gallon but that was before LED fixtures were popular let alone affordable.

BRS even talked about doing the T5 and LED combo that ATI sells but man its a lot of $$$

thank you everybody in advance and thank you Js.Aqua.Project for you r input.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I’ve run both. I found the Radions make the tank look best, but the T5 make the actual coral colors look best, not to mention growth. For my primarily Acro tank, ATI T5 is the only way to go. That said, on my next tank I’ll probably go with an Aquatic Life fixture and run both Radions and T5. I think that’s the best combo currently.

 

[Scorpius]

The way the tank looks is subjective, coral health is not. If you're going to go full bore sps someday then get the T5 every time. T5's are plug and play and have minimal shadowing. They just grow coral. Period.

If you're going to dabble in sps you can get away with led's.

 

[Daniel Waters]

For SPS, I would recommend the ATI. However, I think LEDs are great for providing shimmer, dawn / dusk applications, and the royal blue color they can put out is really stellar looking in my opinion. Thus, I'm a fan of hybrid approaches. You could do a 6 bulb ATI fixture and add a couple of actinic / deep blue LED bars on each side and you can have the best of both!

 

[Chef Tommy]

I’d also vote for ATI. Daniel has a great thought as well, I’m running 4 blue+ with 2 Orphek bars and am super happy. T5 are great for a mixed tank & my led bars provide the shimmer and aesthetics.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

You don’t need 8 bulbs. That’s a lot of par. It’s one of the reasons the growth is so good.

Get a non dimmable and some leds.

 

[Daniel Waters]

I concur with @saltyfilmfolks on recommendation of using non-dimmable fixture also on the T5s. Save the extra money. I don't think dimming is really needed. Corals shouldn't have any trouble handling light from the T5's and if you're really worried about needing to reduce your lights on the ATI fixture, just adjust your 2 channels duration they are on. I run one channel (4 bulbs) about 7.5 hrs and have the other channel (2 bulbs) on about 5 hours. Plus, I have LEDs that ramp up and down to supplement the T5s, but I prefer to let the T5s do the majority of the "work".

 

[sergebmw2]

Love the idea of running 6 or even 4 bulb t5 with some led’s. Only reason why iam even leaning on the 8 bulb T5 is cause iam able to pick one up. 48” 8 bulb dimmable power-sun with 15 bulbs. 8 of them used for 3 month rest are new sealed. For a whopping.............. $700

 

[T-5unsystem]

T5's with LED supplementation (shimmer, pop, moonlights) for the win!

 

[Daniel Waters]

Love the idea of running 6 or even 4 bulb t5 with some led’s. Only reason why iam even leaning on the 8 bulb T5 is cause iam able to pick one up. 48” 8 bulb dimmable power-sun with 15 bulbs. 8 of them used for 3 month rest are new sealed. For a whopping.............. $700

Geez. That's a no brainer then in my opinion! That fixture is 17.5" wide I believe. If your tank is 24" wide, you could still get an actinic / royal blue type LED bars for at least one side, maybe both. Just depends if you want them. You certainly wouldn't need it.

The 8 bulbs will be great. You can really fine tune your color using various bulb combinations, and you have a lot of options on how to run your 6 bulb channel and the 2 bulb channel. Some people use the 2 bulbs for dawn / dusk, but you could add in some 6500K daylight bulbs and just run them a couple of hours a day for extra growth. Use the other 6 slots for your preferred bulb / color mix. So many options!