Hydra 52hd much better than Hydra 26hd

[johnj]

iv got a rimless tank that's just under 6ft by 22 inch wide and 22inch high " im wonting 80% sps with few lps on deck or base of rocks

iv got x3 hydra 26 hd lights but just thinking if this will be enough light? and thing is that iv cut my D-D jump top know for x3 brackets ! would swapping 2 of the hydra 26hd lights for 52 hd lights make a big difference spread wise! or would you get shut of jump top and just add another hydra 26 hd light to make 4 lights

 

[GoVols]

To get an more even led spread, I go with 4 26 hd's

But.. It JMO...

 

[johnj]

To get an more even led spread, I go with 4 26 hd's

But.. It JMO...

Thanks buddy" asked because don't wont to get shut of 26s if the 52s not going to be much better" and will be cheaper to just add another 26hd

think you guys should pipe up with hydra experience (please)

 

[jda]

I would also use 2x 26s than half the number of 52s. You can spread them more and allow for less shadows. A 26 is just half of a 52, but the layout of the 52 is fixed whereas the 26 can be moved away from each other.

Just generally speaking, a 6 foot SPS tank will likely need a 26 per foot when these things start to grow and then maybe even some T5s down the road. ...you can add them as you need, but plan this into your future budget. These are not great lights alone for SPS colonies with the small pucks and point-source. They seem to work OK for frags and small stuff.

 

[EmdeReef]

iv got a rimless tank that's just under 6ft by 22 inch wide and 22inch high " im wonting 80% sps with few lps on deck or base of rocks

iv got x3 hydra 26 hd lights but just thinking if this will be enough light? and thing is that iv cut my D-D jump top know for x3 brackets ! would swapping 2 of the hydra 26hd lights for 52 hd lights make a big difference spread wise! or would you get shut of jump top and just add another hydra 26 hd light to make 4 lights

IME you’ll need at least 8 26s to get good coverage/spread of your 6ft tank for sps so getting 52s will be cheaper. Alternatively, you can put sps only close to the lights but I don’t think 4 will be enough for a full tank of sps.

I have 5x52s on my reefer 750 71” - 4 were enough to get a good spread though.

It’s a great light IMO and can grow frags and colonies perfectly fine. You may add a t5 but absolutely don’t have to.

 

[TARHEEL78]

This is my tank with only 2 of my 3 26s on at the time.

I don't have a pic with all 3 running but this is 2 26s with 4 T5s also on.

Don't know if that helps you at all but I may be able to post a pic with all 3 26s later.

 

[LARedstickreefer]

I’ve got some. I have two 26hd over my Red Sea reefer 170. That’s one per foot. I’d do one per foot, so 6 for your tank.