Lighting a 5'x3' area

[YHSublime]

Hello WAMAS!

 

With so many decisions on lighting these days, I'm looking for suggestions on lighting a hypothetical five foot by three foot area, SPS dominated. What would YOU do?! 

 

Do I love what metal halides can do for me? Yes I do! Do I want that heat, electric, and constant bulb replacement? No I don't!

 

Do I adore T5 and love the combo look with a nice blue strip of supplemental lighting! Yes I do! Do I want to keep track of that many bulbs? No I don't!

 

Do I think LED's are the bees knees and am smitten with all the color combos I can create, and have seen first hand experience of what can be grown with them? Yes I do! 

 

A couple of years ago, I would have gone with a few Evergrows and called it a day, but I don't think their reputation is still around, even though I think they were fantastic lights for the price. Looking hard into the Orphek's. In this case x2 of the Atlantik V4 (gen2) lights. I'd like to see as little mounting points as possible, and would like to hear what others have to say. 

 

Picture for interest:

[epleeds]

5’x3’ ???

 

holy H-E-double hockey sticks Batman. 

[YHSublime]

18 minutes ago, epleeds said:

5’x3’ ???

 

holy H-E-double hockey sticks Batman. 

 

Hypothetically, if you had that tank, what would you do for lighting?!

[madweazl]

I've read a number of posts (check out R2R) regarding people replacing LEDs and boards in the Orpheks; enough that I dont think I'd even consider them (especially over a black box that provides 95% of the same for a fraction of the cost). Many of the LEDs within an array dont last long term (UV for instance) so there are drawbacks there as well. A tank that size will be extremely expensive to light with the higher end LEDs (i.e. four or five XR30s due to the width for an acropora dominant tank). 

[epleeds]

I love my radions but 6 of them would be super painful. 
 

I would probably go with a mixture of T5 and Ocean Revive T247’s. On a custom 80:20 aluminum rack. That would be the most cost effective way to lite the reef. 
 

it will fill in all your shadows and grow anything in the tank. 
 

but if you had the money, 6 radions would be the *&#@

 

and then don’t forget the 6 MP40’s also.

Edited October 28, 2019 by epleeds

[pizzaguy]

My last tank was all t247 ocean revives. That's my vote. 

[pizzaguy]

Unless moneys no object. Then radions it is

[ImGoingCoastal]

Aqua illuminations lighting was 20% off since the new stuff is coming out. Maybe a handful of 26s or 52s?

I've seen quite a few used xr30s on r2r?

Those would be the route I'd take. Maybe toss them in a hybrid fixture?

[YHSublime]

Unless moneys no object. Then radions it is

Money’s an object, lol


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[YHSublime]

I've read a number of posts (check out R2R) regarding people replacing LEDs and boards in the Orpheks; enough that I dont think I'd even consider them (especially over a black box that provides 95% of the same for a fraction of the cost). Many of the LEDs within an array dont last long term (UV for instance) so there are drawbacks there as well. A tank that size will be extremely expensive to light with the higher end LEDs (i.e. four or five XR30s due to the width for an acropora dominant tank). 

Yeah, it gets pricy. I don’t think I can ball with the high end.

I love my radions but 6 of them would be super painful. 
 
I would probably go with a mixture of T5 and Ocean Revive T247’s. On a custom 80:20 aluminum rack. That would be the most cost effective way to lite the reef. 
 
it will fill in all your shadows and grow anything in the tank. 
 
but if you had the money, 6 radions would be the *@
 
and then don’t forget the 6 MP40’s also.

I’m thinking x2 MP60s and x2 MP40s. I’d love 6 radions, but there’s a slim chance of that!

My last tank was all t247 ocean revives. That's my vote. 

The T247s, do they come bigger? That’s just like, 6 cords, ya know?

Aqua illuminations lighting was 20% off since the new stuff is coming out. Maybe a handful of 26s or 52s?

I've seen quite a few used xr30s on r2r?

Those would be the route I'd take. Maybe toss them in a hybrid fixture?

I like the AIs, but also kind of expensive. And a lot more cords.

[Apcoleman]

Over my 250DD (5x3) I ran 4 radions and 3 4ft T5 bulbs. The T5s really helped everything take off and I ran them from noon until 630. My LED cycle started at 10am and were in the lunar cycle by 830

[YHSublime]

Over my 250DD (5x3) I ran 4 radions and 3 4ft T5 bulbs. The T5s really helped everything take off and I ran them from noon until 630. My LED cycle started at 10am and were in the lunar cycle by 830

That’s a good combo

[menglish]

My vote is for a LED/T5 combo.

you have the benefit of both kind of lights.

Get a retro fit kit

[madweazl]

You can replace a lot of T5s in an 8 build fixture for the cost of LEDs. 

[going deep]

Check out the aquatic-life led/T5HO hybrid mounting fixture.  I have a 48 in on a 60 by 26 tank using XR30 radions and mixture of T5s.  It comes with multiple mounting brackets for different  brands of leds.  

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aquatic-life-debuts-led-t5ho-hybrid-mounting-system-fixture-reef-hobbyists-have-been-waiting-for.322301/

[zygote2k]

5x3 Area? 5) Pendant Kessil or 3) AP700’s.

 

[YHSublime]

On 10/30/2019 at 10:02 AM, menglish said:

My vote is for a LED/T5 combo.

you have the benefit of both kind of lights.

Get a retro fit kit

 

Yeah, I'd build out the T5 side if I went this route.

 

On 10/30/2019 at 6:31 PM, madweazl said:

You can replace a lot of T5s in an 8 build fixture for the cost of LEDs. 

 

That's true. But that cost never goes away!

 

6 hours ago, going deep said:

Check out the aquatic-life led/T5HO hybrid mounting fixture.  I have a 48 in on a 60 by 26 tank using XR30 radions and mixture of T5s.  It comes with multiple mounting brackets for different  brands of leds.  

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aquatic-life-debuts-led-t5ho-hybrid-mounting-system-fixture-reef-hobbyists-have-been-waiting-for.322301/

 

Yeah, those are pretty clean, but at the $600 price point for 2, I'd just as soon retro a hood for T5 with "X" led choice scattered through.

 

2 hours ago, zygote2k said:

5x3 Area? 5) Pendant Kessil or 3) AP700’s.

 

 

I've not considered Kessil. I imagine you're thinking 1 for every foot, but I would consider 6, and go for two rows of three instead. The AP700's look nice, but that's like $2500 in lighting for 3. 

[madweazl]

5 A360s wouldn't do it, you'd need almost double that due to the width unless you had a narrow rock structure (8 would probably work). I dont think the cost will ever average out; by the time you've caught up in price to the LEDs with replacement bulbs, the emitters in the LEDs have also degraded to a point where they'll need replacement (they use phosphors as well, especially the blue).