How many radions x30 required ? ( 500gallon )

[Faisal27]

Hello reefers

Just a quick question .. I have three radion x30 now in my 10 x 2.5 by 2.5 tank with polys/mushrooms and lps corals no sps just yet .. corals seem to be doing great but reading more into it people seem to think that for my size a tank I need much more.. so do you think this set up for now or not and should I add more when I start putting sps corals into my reef ?

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

From my understanding Radions have an recommend 24" x 24" spread which means to cover 10' you would need at least 5 fixtures to cover all of your tank but that would be the minimum. and could result in some shadowing so more would be recommended - but not required. BRS does say XR30 fixtures have a max 32" x 32" spread.

You could fill in gaps with some XR15 fixtures if you wanted.

 

[vertigo01]

I feel 6 would be just right for an LPS, softy dominate tank of that size.

 

[reefwiser]

If getting into SPS 10 would be best.

 

[jda]

If you want to dive into SPS, there are two different types that mostly have different levels of light. Your Montis, Birdsnets, Poci and Stylos (MBP&S) need about the same light as LPS and are not all that demanding and can handle some shadows. Acropora are different - most need a lot more light and are more sensitive to shadowing deaths. With fewer panels, they can do fine as frags and then start to suffer as they grow.

I think that the suggestion above using 5 for a lower light demanding tank with softies, LPS and MBP&S is pretty spot-on. If you really want to get into Acropora, then double that, if not more. Some prominent reefers (like Dr. Joshi in the post above) have used three Radions to replace each MH (he used 10 to replace 3) and and the only guy that I know locally with a high-end SPS tank with LED uses 12 over a standard 180g (6x2x2) - these folks are wall-to-wall acros, though.

With all of that being said, if you purposely choose your SPS well to be lower light and place them directly under a panel, then that might be all that you need.

 

[Faisal27]

If you want to dive into SPS, there are two different types that mostly have different levels of light. Your Montis, Birdsnets, Poci and Stylos (MBP&S) need about the same light as LPS and are not all that demanding and can handle some shadows. Acropora are different - most need a lot more light and are more sensitive to shadowing deaths. With fewer panels, they can do fine as frags and then start to suffer as they grow.

I think that the suggestion above using 5 for a lower light demanding tank with softies, LPS and MBP&S is pretty spot-on. If you really want to get into Acropora, then double that, if not more. Some prominent reefers (like Dr. Joshi in the post above) have used three Radions to replace each MH (he used 10 to replace 3) and and the only guy that I know locally with a high-end SPS tank with LED uses 12 over a standard 180g (6x2x2) - these folks are wall-to-wall acros, though.

With all of that being said, if you purposely choose your SPS well to be lower light and place them directly under a panel, then that might be all that you need.

Makes sense .. thanks for the input

 

[10Seconds]

With Radions and SPS the rule is typically 1 per foot.

The cheaper way would be to supplement them with some t5s. Or even MH.

Or maybe look at some LEDs with better coverage like the Atlantik v4

 

[Faisal27]

Will do thx

With Radions and SPS the rule is typically 1 per foot.

The cheaper way would be to supplement them with some t5s. Or even MH.

Or maybe look at some LEDs with better coverage like the Atlantik v4[/QUOTE

 

[AquaDaddy]

Is that 1 per foot or 1 foot in between? I am building a 66"x30"x24" tank and only plan to use Radions. I am torn between 3, 4, or 5. I don't mind using 5, but wow, that would be close together. Even using 4, there is only abou 7.5" between each light and on the ends. Thoughts?