LED Overload

[BearCook]

So far watching video's from BRS has been the bulk of my limited experience looking into the world of lighting for my new experience into joining the lifestyle of keeping an in home reef. Everyone in the Reef2Reef family that im becoming a part of has definitely helped me thus far. I had a previous post asking about should I t5 or not t5, to which i had a landslide of individuals definitely recommending i go with a T5 hybrid (aquatic life). Now despite my LFS (local fish store) telling me ill be fine with just a AI Prime. I looked into either a AI Hydra 32HD or a Kessil A360. Backround for this build is that i got an amazing deal on a 74 gallon rimless tank with bulkhead so my dimensions are 24x24x30. If i've researched this correctly both LED fixtures will give me great PAR results all the way to the bottom of my tank. Not trying to get to crazy here with customized spectrum and lighting. But, i want the best bang for my dollar and would really appreciate the communities take on which will be the better buy. At the end of the day im crazy about corals and want to provide the best lighting for coral health, with secondary thoughts on how appealing it looks, as I should get great shimmer and depth with the T5 full spectrums.

 

[oreo54]

So far watching video's from BRS has been the bulk of my limited experience looking into the world of lighting for my new experience into joining the lifestyle of keeping an in home reef. Everyone in the Reef2Reef family that im becoming a part of has definitely helped me thus far. I had a previous post asking about should I t5 or not t5, to which i had a landslide of individuals definitely recommending i go with a T5 hybrid (aquatic life). Now despite my LFS (local fish store) telling me ill be fine with just a AI Prime. I looked into either a AI Hydra 32HD or a Kessil A360. Backround for this build is that i got an amazing deal on a 74 gallon rimless tank with bulkhead so my dimensions are 24x24x30. If i've researched this correctly both LED fixtures will give me great PAR results all the way to the bottom of my tank. Not trying to get to crazy here with customized spectrum and lighting. But, i want the best bang for my dollar and would really appreciate the communities take on which will be the better buy. At the end of the day im crazy about corals and want to provide the best lighting for coral health, with secondary thoughts on how appealing it looks, as I should get great shimmer and depth with the T5 full spectrums.

Let's look at some err "recommendations":

ATI 24" 6x24W SunPower T5 High-Output Fixture

ATI 24" 6x24W SunPower T5 High-Output Fixture complete with individual parabolic-style reflectors for each bulb made from silver-coated 98% reflective German-made aluminum.

fragtasticreef.com

Common Sizing Guideline: soft coral tanks up to 70 gallons, mixed reef tanks up to 60 gallons and SPS dominated tanks up to 50 gallons. Recommended Tank Depth: up to 30" with carefully planned placement of corals. Power Consumption: approximately 144 Watts.

Next 250W Metal Halide

Product Review: Spectral Analysis of 250W Mogul base Metal Halide Lamps – PART II

This article presents the data on the remaining nine 250W mogul base lamps along with the comparison of all the 250W mogul lamps.

reefs.com

No idea of the depth measured though. Might have just missed it.

Switching to 400W MH is the cheapest/largest amount of photons.
Next LED:
You need approx 108 to 187 "Watts" of high quality diodes..Best diodes one could go to about 1/2 of that.
300W top end to compete w/ a 400W MH.

Like you said "visual quality" not considered.
Just have a large blue spectrum spread.

Hybrids are generally a "look" thing or supplementing for low par to begin with.