How would you light this

[Matt groves]

ive gone back and forth on everything I can think of-

48 wide 36 deep 30 tall

Want led for controllability
Not opposed to adding some t5 for coverage
Not interested in mh

Canopy will be installed so height and looks don’t matter

Trying to stay under 1500$ ish range

2 lx7 Mitras placed side ways so one will cover a 36x24 area is my current idea

Mixed tank any sps would be easier version possible a clam in the middle under the lights if possible

 

[jda]

Maybe 3x of the 32 inch Photon V2s run front to back?

 

[SteveEreef]

I was also thinking of the Reefbreeder photon v2+. My thought was the 48 inch LEDs with the aquatic life T5s. The 32s that jda suggested would work too. 4or 5 Neopyche (spelling) May also be interesting.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I believe @Brew12 uses mitras might be able to give some input. I personally like zoning so like using ai primes for each 1 square foot of tank. And each light adjusted for the corals in its zone.
The light with the most lower light softies and lps also has a diffuser so its not as strikingly dissimilar from the rest of the tank due to being set at lower overall par.

 

[Matt groves]

I’ve thought about multiple smaller lights like 4-6 xr15 pros - also thought about 2 xr15 pros and 4 t5s then adding more xr15’s as need be

 

[Phil D.]

A couple Hydra 52 HDs would be great

 

[ndrwater]

Couple of Radion XR30's front to back would do the job nicely.

Or four 15's spaced evenly as well.

 

[Matt groves]

Would 4 xr15 get better coverage and penetration the. 2 xr15’s and 4 t5’s?

 

[Brew12]

I love my Mitras, but I doubt 2 of them will provide enough coverage. That is a very large tank. I have 3 of them over my 60"x30"x24" system with T5 supplements. You may not notice it with your eyes if mounted high enough, but I don't feel you could keep a clam happy due to low PAR. I feel it would take 4 of them on your system to get it well lit but that is way beyond your stated budget.

 

[Matt groves]

Think 2 Mitras with 4 t5’s would do it- I’m thinking about doing it in stages- maybe 2 Mitras and add what I need later-

Any issues with the Mitras and the height of the tank ya think?

 

[Brew12]

Think 2 Mitras with 4 t5’s would do it- I’m thinking about doing it in stages- maybe 2 Mitras and add what I need later-

Any issues with the Mitras and the height of the tank ya think?

The Mitras don't pump out the PAR that some other high end LED's do, but they have better spread imo. Shouldn't be a problem with a 30" deep tank unless you raise them high over the water to try and get more spread. I feel that 2 Mitras and 4 T5's would still make a clam and SPS challenging except for directly under the Mitras.

I also don't recommend Mitras fixtures for people who like to run their tanks on the blue/actinic side of the lighting spectrum. I like them because of they do great at providing white light. Doesn't make the coral pop (except during sunrise/sunset) but I feel the fish look much better along with some of the LPS and zoas.

 

[Matt groves]

Ok cool ty- the aquasscape will probably be 3 islands of rock mostly under the leds- I was thinking about blue plus and actinic t5’s to offset the whiteness of the Mitras- if I did a clam it would be somewhere under where the Mitras spread would overlap probably-

Thinking about it - if I put 4 48” t5’s - 2 front 2 back- those should cover 12-16” of tank- that leaves me with about 20-24” of space between them- should I place the Mitras side by side instead of front to back?

 

[Matt groves]

Best I could do on my phone- yellow option is side by side spanning the 48” blue option is front to back

 

[Brew12]

Best I could do on my phone- yellow option is side by side spanning the 48” blue option is front to back

I would do the yellow option. It should grow most of what you would want. You will need to take a PAR measurement to see how what you end up with where you want the clam. Or maybe hold off on the clam until you can get a 3rd Mitras and then mount all 3 like you have the blue ones in the future.

 

[Oldreefer44]

I Orphek Atlantic v4 would work very well for what you want. Suggest checking out the BRS video on them.

 

[Gareth elliott]

For par measurement if dont have access to true par meter, the seneye reef monitor gets pretty close except near the sides of the tank. And after you are done have something that measures ammonia, i find this most useful during observation qt.