LED Lighting Selection W/ Mounting Height Constraints

[Struggle]

We are planning to add a reef tank to our fish room and do not want to rework the rack we currently have. I thought I’d ask for suggestions before beginning the remodeling. If anyone has any suggestions they’d be greatly appreciated.

Budget: $1 to $2.5k but there is room to adjust if needed.

Aquarium: Either a 60G 24”X24”X24” cube or 120G 48”X24”X24”. The back and sides are painted satin black and it will have sand.

Corals: Must be able to support & promote SPS/LPS healthy growth with a quality spectrum. We are going to do a LPS build but would like to have the option to migrate to SPS in the future.

Constraints: Mounting will be less than 4” less fixture height as there is only that amount of clear space above the aquarium glass lid. Willing to do multiple fixtures if needed. Must be LED and we do not want to see the individual LEDs reflection on the sand or inhabitants of the tank.

Control & Operation: App control or similar method with presets, custom setting options, must ramp up/down, intensity level adjustments, sync with other fixtures, very minimal shadows if any and some shimmer but not heavy shimmer if that makes sense.

The lights will be dialed in with a par meter.

The ramping up and down is for us as we thoroughly enjoy the multiple different views we get throughout the day.

Visual Aesthetic Appeal: Not terribly worried about aesthetics of the light fixture but must not look like a Frankenstein contraption.

 

[Spare time]

With a light that close, you are going to be very limited. You would want something like the reef brite lumi lites if you want to avoid hotspots. Kessils would be my next choice but still those should be mounted slightly higher. You could deal with the hotspot issue of running more lights with a lower intensity but this would become pricey.

 

[Hydrored]

I would look at the ATI Straton

 

[Spare time]

I would look at the ATI Straton

That was my thought too but from this it appears it would still have quite a hot spot issue https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...nts-review-par-coverage-discuss.762808/page-5

 

[Hydrored]

That was my thought too but from this it appears it would still have quite a hot spot issue https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...nts-review-par-coverage-discuss.762808/page-5

Fair point

The lights themselves are very diffused and 1 or two would fit perfect for those tank sizes.

OP-

Check out GNC bars, they are controllable.

Right now I’m testing 6 G6 XR30’s, they do not have as bad of a hot spot with the new optics at the cost of lower PAR but great spread

In the last 3 years I have used Orphek Icons, Stratons, GNC Blueray Pros, Radion G4-G5-G6, Reefbrites, 250 MH on the one end of my tank

I personally would still do the Straton(s) with your budget, one of my favorite lights overall.

 

[Struggle]

Thank y’all very much for the replies I greatly appreciate it. I think I’ll go ahead and rework the rack so that I can mount the lights at the correct height so that I don’t have to second guess myself.

 

[gbru316]

The thing you want to look for is panel type LED. Not cluster type. That will allow you to mount them closer to the water while avoiding "spotlighting."


They're pricey (though still within your budget) but 3x Neptune Sky over the 120 (or 2x over the cube) should give you what you're looking for. They've got a built-in diffuser so the disco-ball effect is minimal. It's about as close to "flat" T-5 style lighting as you're going to find from LED.

 

[noopsyche]

Noopsyche lighting. Unique and fashionable appearance. they actually look really prettier than the pictures of noopsyche website, you won't regret buying it!