Best lighting option for my setup - interested in opinions

[lbacha]

Hello R2R

I've been mulling over this question for a while and I have my opinion but I thought I would start this to see what the members thought.

So some background:
I started a small tank with the goal of acquiring equipment for an eventual swap out to a bigger tank. The lighting I started with is a SBreef 16" wifi (it has worked well and will eventually be used over my quarantine tank).

Current tank 12" x 24" x 7" tall: this tank has worked well and will be used as a frag tank or quarantine tank eventually. I built it on a 24" x 24" stand and the sump is oversized ready for a larger tank to be added once my SPS frags start to grow.

Future tank 24" x 24" x (18-24") tall: I have a 18" x 18" x 18" cube tht is a high tech planted tank and I like the 18" depth since you can reach the bottom without getting. Your armpits wet.

So based on the tank size above I'm looking for some thoughts on best lighting options that will work with my current shallow tank (I can always mount the light higher if needed to reduce par). It needs to work on the future tank as well.

Some key info
- the tank will be rimless so the option has to be able to work suspended above the tank
- the tank will be high flow and sps dominant, my biggest concern with the sbreef is the hot spot in the middle that makes increasing par on the edges hard
- I want to be able to adjust par levels for acclimation purposes
- No MH as I don't want to deal with the heat
- I'm open to a hybrid T5/led approach if justified but I would prefer 100% led to eliminate bulb changes.
- I have a par meter so I can measure settings
- I would like to be able to easily (app control or some their way) change my lighting for taking pictures (more white and less blue)
- I have a neptune controller so being able to control it this way is preferable
- I have a reeflink for my vortechs
- I don't want to diy anything, I'm willing to retrofit t5's and leds or led strips like orphek slimlines and puck style leds but there needs to be an elegant way of retrofitting them
- I would like a moonlight option, it can be separate from the main lights

I know this is a long post and I'm sure everyone has an opinion but I'm looking for those opinions and the pros and cons of different options. I know what my opinion is and I will add that after I see some posts as I don't want this to turn into a thread on why my opinion is bad.

Thanks for the help Len

 

[Bpb]

Just get two of the sb fixtures and remove the optics, hang them closer to the water, and use the par meter. Two of the basic small ones would light that tank perfectly

 

[lbacha]

Just get two of the sb fixtures and remove the optics, hang them closer to the water, and use the par meter. Two of the basic small ones would light that tank perfectly

Does removing the optics eliminate hot spots? I'll try it with my current one and see but right now the par in the middle is crazy high and the 2-4" on the edge of the tank is a fraction of the center. It is working right now while I only have a few frags in the tank but there is a lot of lost space on the edges right now

 

[[Cameron]]

Hard to skip past the EcoTech Radion XR30W G4 with a diffuser. The XR15W works but the 30 gives you more room to grow if you have the cash.

 

[lbacha]

Hard to skip past the EcoTech Radion XR30W G4 with a diffuser. The XR15W works but the 30 gives you more room to grow if you have the cash.

Thanks for the reply, how does the diffuser effect par levels for the radion

Money isn't really an issue, I'm just curries what everyone thinks of the different options out there

Some lights I've considered
Radion xr30 pro
Kessil ap700
Kessil a360we
Orphek atlantik v4
Orphek atlantik c4 compact
Orphek slimlines 2-3 24" units

 

[Bpb]

Oh well if you have that kind of budget i would definitely get a pair or Orphek v4 compacts

 

[[Cameron]]

Thanks for the reply, how does the diffuser effect par levels for the radion

Money isn't really an issue, I'm just curries what everyone thinks of the different options out there

Some lights I've considered
Radion xr30 pro
Kessil ap700
Kessil a360we
Orphek atlantik v4
Orphek atlantik c4 compact
Orphek slimlines 2-3 24" units

The diffusers reduce par but they even out the color spectrum and make it more consistent. The EcoTech's aren't known for the stellar spectrum or blending at least until the diffuser is put in place. If money is no option, Orphek would top my list as a LED only option. Orpheks are good enough for commercial aquariums which to me means they are clear winner for a hobbyist that have the budget for them.

 

[lbacha]

Oh well if you have that kind of budget i would definitely get a pair or Orphek v4 compacts

I'm really liking the orpheks but there isn't a lot of reviews on them as far as coverage goes. A full size atlantik seems like overkill for my application (I would think 2 compacts would be even more overkill). A single compact supposedly will work coverage wise according to their coverage specs but I'd like to see par reading on the edges of a tank with the shorter fixture. I really like the slimlines but unfortunately they arn't dimmable so that makes them not very flexible for my application.

 

[Bpb]

I didn’t realize they’re not dimmable that is inconvenient

 

[lbacha]

I didn’t realize they’re not dimmable that is inconvenient

I have seen a setup where someone used a row of the reef and a row of blues and they were getting 100 par at the bottom of a 24" tank (they were mounted 11" above the water) so they are crazy powerful and at $250 each pretty affordable. The problem is they arn't dimmable so I would have to mount them way high on my tank

This is why I think the atlantik's are a better option but probably overkill. They are dimmable but the full size atlantik v4 is six slimlines side by side

 

[Neto]

in my experience led only are not sufficient. I would go with a T5/led fixture such as the ATI powermodule 8x24w