Help Lighting a 84x30x24

[GlassMunky]

So we are in the process of buying a new house, which of course means a new tank as well. We are deciding between either a 84x30x24 or a 96x30x24 tank.
I’ve never had a tank anywhere near this size before (biggest was a 90G) so I’m not sure the best way to go about lighting it.
On my old 90G system I ran 2 Radion XR-30s and eventually added 4x 54W T5s as well. I was kind of thinking of going a similar route where I went with 4 Radions as the main lights and fill in the gaps with T5? Will the 4 radions be enough for 7 or 8ft of coverage with the 30” front to back of the tank or will I need to run 2 radions for every 2 feet?
Or are there other things people are doing now I’m not aware of (been about a year away from the hobby other than keeping our anemone tank alive)? Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks!

 

[jda]

What are you going to keep? This is paramount. What you are describing would probably work for some stuff, but you could need double those units for others. If you are talking the highest of high light, then 10-12 Radions are not out of the question.

For super high light stuff, reflectors are your friend on large tanks... you kinda saw this when you added the T5s, but it is even on a larger scale now.

My typical advice on larger tanks is to listen to people who have actually solved your problem. Most of the advice that you will get is from people who have smaller tanks, and even nanos - while they mean well, what they are doing rarely scales. I light my large tanks with metal halides - less wattage and units than Radions and better coverage. If I was forced to use LED, I would cover nearly the whole top in some better Chinese black boxes.

 

[GlassMunky]

Thanks for the reply.
On my 90G the Radions worked great for a long time until my corals grew too big and started shading everything underneath, which is why I added the T5 to help with shadowing.

There’s a local guy who has a mix of LED and MH that kinda peaked my interests too. Kinda get beat of both worlds there with color and growth?

The tank would be a mixed reef of LPS and some SPS, I don’t think I’m going to go full blown sps but I do like sticks and havnt kept any since I got rid of the 90G (now we just have a 70G nem tank)

What are you going to keep? This is paramount. What you are describing would probably work for some stuff, but you could need double those units for others. If you are talking the highest of high light, then 10-12 Radions are not out of the question.

For super high light stuff, reflectors are your friend on large tanks... you kinda saw this when you added the T5s, but it is even on a larger scale now.

My typical advice on larger tanks is to listen to people who have actually solved your problem. Most of the advice that you will get is from people who have smaller tanks, and even nanos - while they mean well, what they are doing rarely scales. I light my large tanks with metal halides - less wattage and units than Radions and better coverage. If I was forced to use LED, I would cover nearly the whole top in some better Chinese black boxes.

 

[xaflatoonx]

Two T5 fixtures if you want that.
Or a crap load of LEDs. Either way - big tanks come with big costs. Lighting is no exception. And it only gets worst with longer length.

I love the dimensions though. That’s exactly what o was debating on between a 72x36 or a 84x30.

Went with 72 only because I can put one ATI fixture to light the whole thing up.

 

[jda]

For an 8 foot tank with 30 inches deep, you might need two rows of 4 Radions if you want to stock the whole thing front-to-back. If you want the rocks more towards the rear and leave the front without much coral, then one slightly staggered row of 6 might be OK. ...then add T5s to fill. Mixed, LPS and easier SPS are not all that light demanding... until they get large... which is what you saw already.

Two 8 bulb T5s in 48 inch would be really good. You can use the bulbs for 2 years on a mixed reef. Sure, it costs some to change them, but there is a lot of money left over from not buying 6 to 8 Radions... and you are probably already changing 8 bulbs (instead of 16) if you have LEDs. People cringe at changing 16 T5 bulbs, then then a year or two later, they have half, or more, of this amount doing the heavy lifting around their LEDs. You could add some Orphek light bars to help with dusk/dawn and stuff. A good quality ATI can last two iterations of LED lifecycles... or about ten years since most people use their LEDs for 4-5 years even though they are not burnt out (you don't see many tanks with 6 or 8 Gen 2 Radions above them anymore).

If you do want to look at some Metal Halides, look at 150w HQI for this tank... with a few T5s on either side to help span the 30 inches. 4 of these units at 150w are great coverage and not expensive. Although the performance would be superior, this is probably not necessary for a mixed reef.

 

[GlassMunky]

Your statement about not seeing many gen2 radions anymore has me curious, why is that? Is there a reason people switch other than just a newer version being out? I saw pretty decent growth and colors when I ran them.
The radions that I have now, and would use for this tank would be my old Gen2Pros and then a pair of Gen3Pros from a local reefer who’s selling them cheap. And then my old 48” 54WT5 retro kit with reflectors. Would probably need to get an extra set of those and use 2 on each side to make the full 8ft if I went the LED/T5 route.
But now my mind is thinking of how I could combine the radions I have and then also supplement with a couple MH maybe either 2X 150’s or 2X 250 with the radions filling in the areas between and around the MH? Sooo many options lol

For an 8 foot tank with 30 inches deep, you might need two rows of 4 Radions if you want to stock the whole thing front-to-back. If you want the rocks more towards the rear and leave the front without much coral, then one slightly staggered row of 6 might be OK. ...then add T5s to fill. Mixed, LPS and easier SPS are not all that light demanding... until they get large... which is what you saw already.

Two 8 bulb T5s in 48 inch would be really good. You can use the bulbs for 2 years on a mixed reef. Sure, it costs some to change them, but there is a lot of money left over from not buying 6 to 8 Radions... and you are probably already changing 8 bulbs (instead of 16) if you have LEDs. People cringe at changing 16 T5 bulbs, then then a year or two later, they have half, or more, of this amount doing the heavy lifting around their LEDs. You could add some Orphek light bars to help with dusk/dawn and stuff. A good quality ATI can last two iterations of LED lifecycles... or about ten years since most people use their LEDs for 4-5 years even though they are not burnt out (you don't see many tanks with 6 or 8 Gen 2 Radions above them anymore).

If you do want to look at some Metal Halides, look at 150w HQI for this tank... with a few T5s on either side to help span the 30 inches. 4 of these units at 150w are great coverage and not expensive. Although the performance would be superior, this is probably not necessary for a mixed reef.

 

[GlassMunky]

If you do want to look at some Metal Halides, look at 150w HQI for this tank... with a few T5s on either side to help span the 30 inches. 4 of these units at 150w are great coverage and not expensive. Although the performance would be superior, this is probably not necessary for a mixed reef.

Are there many people who still make the 150W lights and bulbs? Do they have 20K? I thought a while ago when I switched over that a lot of companies stopped doing the 150

 

[jda]

There are people who use the Gen 2, but not many. They are in the minority. I do not like to bet on the exception, but rather the rule... and the rule is that most people are on Gen 3 or Gen 4 and a lot of those Gen 3s will be gone when Gen 5 come along. I do not use them, but I think that some people see the downsides of what they have, then see something else and think that an "upgrade" will solve all of their issues... it is probably a preference thing over a necessity thing, but either way, it is real.

Your statement about "decent" kinda says it all... Most people who are spending the large money to set up large tanks are not looking for "decent," they are looking for better than that. I do not know if it was conscious or subconscious that you said "decent" but this is why I do not use LED over my acropora - I am not looking for "decent" or "just fine." People get to thinking that "decent" is not going to work them anymore and gen 2s turn into gen 4s.

14k Phoenix is available in 150w, which the best-of-breed bulb. Hamilton still has 150w stuff. It is true that there is more 250w stuff out there.

 

[Captain Quint]

I ran 4 XR30 G-3's on my 300g Tall ( 96 x 24 x 31 Tall)

Segmented the 8-foot tank by 2-foot squares equaling 4 Radions.

 

[GlassMunky]

I ran 4 XR30 G-3's on my 300g Tall ( 96 x 24 x 31 Tall)

Segmented the 8-foot tank by 2-foot squares equaling 4 Radions.

Do you have pics you could share?

 

[Captain Quint]

Do you have pics you could share?

Let me dig through to try to find. I took it down a couple of years ago.

 

[Captain Quint]

Looks like the initial part of my build from what I can find so far. Until my 4 G3's came in I had minimal light from an old Hamilton 250w mogul with T12 454 VHO's which are great but it got old buying bulbs ever 6 to 8 months.

I'll try a couple of different areas to look with Radions in place but have a few pics from the beginning.

Seeing these pics brought back some great memories. Thanks.

BTW, I saw you mentioning something about 20,000k bulbs. The bulb in the temporary fixture shown is a 20,000k Radium

 

[Jay Norris]

Hi, can you make your tank 36" front to back? Did you have a chiller on your old tank, because if your are using a MH/T5 you will need one come summer time. Go with the GHL Mitra's, the LX 7206 series, or Orphek 4 series LED's, as you would probably need no more then 6 Mitras, or 4 Orpheks for a tank that size. They will run a lot cooler, and you won't need to replace the bulbs every 9 to 12 months, plus if you like the look of the ramp up and down that only LED's really supply, it's a no brainer.

 

[Captain Quint]

Hi, can you make your tank 36" front to back? Did you have a chiller on your old tank, because if your are using a MH/T5 you will need one come summer time. Go with the GHL Mitra's, the LX 7206 series, or Orphek 4 series LED's, as you would probably need no more then 6 Mitras, or 4 Orpheks for a tank that size. They will run a lot cooler, and you won't need to replace the bulbs every 9 to 12 months, plus if you like the look of the ramp up and down that only LED's really supply, it's a no brainer.

I agree. If OP is going to use MH's be prepared to spend for cooling and ~$300 every 6 to 8 months for good bulbs not to mention a hefty electric bill.

Hence reasons I went LED on the one I showed. In fact, I went LED on everything but admit I miss halides sometimes.

 

[Captain Quint]

GlassMunky I've been having a difficult time with Photobucket regarding pics of the old Radions. I'll try again soon. It is diverting me and wants me to buy prints and such. Argh.

 

[Jay Norris]

I agree. If OP is going to use MH's be prepared to spend for cooling and ~$300 every 6 to 8 months for good bulbs not to mention a hefty electric bill.

Hence reasons I went LED on the one I showed. In fact, I went LED on everything but admit I miss halides sometimes.

I still run MH/ VHO bulbs on my living room tank, but will be switching to the Mitra's in January as all my bulbs need replacing. I already switched over the fuge with the Reef Breeder photon V2+ LED's, and will be switching the sump over to the Photons when I can find another good deal on a unit.

 

[RtomKinMad]

So we are in the process of buying a new house, which of course means a new tank as well. We are deciding between either a 84x30x24 or a 96x30x24 tank.
I’ve never had a tank anywhere near this size before (biggest was a 90G) so I’m not sure the best way to go about lighting it.
On my old 90G system I ran 2 Radion XR-30s and eventually added 4x 54W T5s as well. I was kind of thinking of going a similar route where I went with 4 Radions as the main lights and fill in the gaps with T5? Will the 4 radions be enough for 7 or 8ft of coverage with the 30” front to back of the tank or will I need to run 2 radions for every 2 feet?
Or are there other things people are doing now I’m not aware of (been about a year away from the hobby other than keeping our anemone tank alive)? Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks!

Depending on what fish you want to keep if you have the room I would go with the 96” tank! We just upgraded and wish we had started with this size. We Lov our new 8’ tank! I’m not sure about the lighting not my specialty but I wish you luck and hope you go for the larger tank!

 

[RtomKinMad]

Looks like the initial part of my build from what I can find so far. Until my 4 G3's came in I had minimal light from an old Hamilton 250w mogul with T12 454 VHO's which are great but it got old buying bulbs ever 6 to 8 months.

I'll try a couple of different areas to look with Radions in place but have a few pics from the beginning.

Seeing these pics brought back some great memories. Thanks.

BTW, I saw you mentioning something about 20,000k bulbs. The bulb in the temporary fixture shown is a 20,000k Radium

Thanks for the pictures! Your post makes me feel good about this exact size tank we just put I. Our living room above the basement. We reinforced the floors too! I lov the story about your tang in the pictures too!

 

[GlassMunky]

Your statement about "decent" kinda says it all... Most people who are spending the large money to set up large tanks are not looking for "decent," they are looking for better than that. I do not know if it was conscious or subconscious that you said "decent" but this is why I do not use LED over my acropora - I am not looking for "decent" or "just fine." People get to thinking that "decent" is not going to work them anymore and gen 2s turn into gen 4s.

I used decent just as the first word that came to mind. all the acros grew great, from plating guys to thick sticks to thin branches. and color was of course awesome. i thikn compared to say MH you wont get the same growth rate with LED but for the savings in energy and to not have me tripping breakers is worth it. and as mentioned before the tank wont be a full blown Acro SPS tank, i love my big acanthos too much haha. Although i am still considering a Mh/LED combo so who knows what ill end up with

 

[GlassMunky]

Hi, can you make your tank 36" front to back? Did you have a chiller on your old tank, because if your are using a MH/T5 you will need one come summer time. Go with the GHL Mitra's, the LX 7206 series, or Orphek 4 series LED's, as you would probably need no more then 6 Mitras, or 4 Orpheks for a tank that size. They will run a lot cooler, and you won't need to replace the bulbs every 9 to 12 months, plus if you like the look of the ramp up and down that only LED's really supply, it's a no brainer.

We don't want 36" cause then its too hard to reach the back with the tank going against a wall. yes i have a chiller that i used to run on a syatem that was about half this size, so not sure itd be enough, and the MH wouldn't be on all day plus im in NJ so its not too hot in the summer. for the LEDS, i dont really want to buy anything new, as buying the tank will cost enough, and i already have a pair of Radions and can get another pair Cheap so those would be the LEDS id use.