IM Lagoon 25 lighting

agfish12 · Mar 3, 2016

I currently have a kessil a150 sky blue over the tank. I want to add a little more light to the tank and eliminate the shadowing the led creates. I'm thinking of getting the t5 2ft retrofit kit from BRS

I'll making a canopy to have the kessil in the middle and a one t5 bulb on each side.

Your thoughts guys?

Will two t5s give me the extra light I want or do I need to go up to 4 bulbs at some point

Hentz · Mar 3, 2016

Hi agfish12,

What corals do you plan on keeping? Reason I ask is because if you run Softies/Zoas/LPS, you can get away with 2 bulb T5. If you're planning on SPS, I wouldn't hesitate to do 4 bulbs (2 in front, Kessil, 2 in back), giving you full coverage without shadowing.

agfish12 · Mar 3, 2016

It's a mix reef but sps dominant. some are happy and some are not as happy and I'm noticing it's because of self shadowing the single point light is creating.

Hentz · Mar 3, 2016

Well also, while the Kessil 150 is a great light, it doesn't put out the power many SPS require. I run one, in between my Hydra 26 HD's just because I had it laying around.

I'm SPS Dominant and ran an ATI 6x24 Dimmable T5 before I went full LED and supplemented with my Kessil 150.
So in that case, your light is really insufficient for SPS hence why they're not doing too well. Also water chemistry and flow have a huge role which I'm sure you know.

I would absolutely do 4 bulbs then. 2 in front and 2 in back. This cutting all shadowing, getting that slight Kessil shimmer while all 4 bulbs are going, and getting best of both spectrums.