LED optics for a 30 deep tank

SuperTang · Aug 2, 2013

Look for advice for led optics for my 220 72x30x24. I'm going to purchase 3 of the reefbreeders 16 phantom(D120) fixtures and I'm undecided on the 90 or 60 degree optics. I know the 60 will penetrate water but will loose coverage. Will three 60 have enough light so I will not have dark spots? Any advice?

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Ron Reefman · Aug 4, 2013

Reefbreeders 16 phantom? We'll assume you mean a Photon 16. And that is not very much like an EverGrow D120. The Photon 16 has 48 leds plus 3 moonlight leds, the D120 has 55 leds and no moonlights at all. The Photon has a controller/timer built-in and the D120 uses dimmers. They are both Bridgelux leds and both made by EverGrow. The EG model that matches the RB Photon16 is the IT2040. The RB version of the D120 is the 'value fixture'.

So is your tank 30" deep, or 24"? You posted 72x30x24, that looks like 72" long by 30" wide by 24" deep (L x W x H is the standard format). I have EG IT fixtures over my 24" deep tank with 90 degree lenses. I run 90% power to the blue channel and 50% to the white channel and get 200+ PAR values near the sand. I have a 2 friends with a 30" deep tanks and the same lights. You could use 60 degree lenses, but I don't think you need them.

If I were you, I might consider a mix of Photon 16's and 24's. Like P24's at the ends and a P16 in the middle (unless braces are in the way). And unless the braces are really wide, I'd really go with 2 P32's (or 2 EG IT2080's from https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/oc...vive-grand-opening-sale-arctic-s026-d120.html ). The 2 IT2080's are cheaper than 3 IT2040's and you get almost 50 extra leds (and better PAR values too).

Ron Reefman · Aug 4, 2013

Duplicate... :frusty:

SuperTang · Aug 4, 2013

Thank you Ron for the response. Sorry tank is 30tall and yes the photon fixtures from reefbreeders. My t5 on my phone some times is to quick

. You are right about the p32 two are cheaper and have more LEDs. What do you think about the S026 fixture? I love the look. I can't decide between 2 of the P32s or 3 of tje S026.

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Ron Reefman · Aug 4, 2013

I had an EverGrow D120 (same as the Reef Breeders 'value fixture') over my 24g frag tank and 2 more over my 55g QT. They are very good fixtures and I liked them a lot. I did a huge group buy with EverGrow in China back in Dec 2012. Ten of us bought 24 fixtures for $5400 delivered by UPS Air from China. I can't say enough about how great they were to work with. But I tried an OR Arctic S026 just for fun (because it looks better). If I didn't like it, it was going over my big refugium. Well, I loved it. So much so that the D120 is over the refugium and I got 2 more S026's for my QT. They look way better, they spread light better, they don't have close to half the glare the glass widow led fixtures (like the D120, or IT series or RB Photons) have, they run even cooler than the D120's which run pretty darn cool already and the contact guys on there sponsor forum here at R2R were very helpful. Get together a couple of friends and buy 6 or more and they are only $165. When I got mine they were just out and selling for $219.

Hold off on buying for 4-6 weeks and you may be able to get both the S026 looks and a controller fixture all in one, but one with a cost savings twist. Ask in the OR sponsor forum and see if they are willing to share info yet.