Led recommendations for 5'x3'x27"?

Shawn_S · Mar 15, 2023

Haven't been following the hobby for the last couple years. Need suggestions for my tank. Currently have 3 30" led fixtures running front to back as there's 2 tank braces. I believe they're Amazon fixtures we replaced a bunch of the leds on.

Mid'ish light demanding SPS and LPS mostly corals. Budget is more middle of the road, doesn't have to be cheap, but not all out.

blaxsun · Mar 16, 2023

Radion XR30s come to mind.

nereefpat · Mar 16, 2023

The 3 foot width is the challenge, especially LEDs. If you want 1 row, I would consider 3 Reefi Unos and hang them high-ish.

2 x 4foot Reefbreeders photons would be a good option.

What options are important to you? I know you said middle of the road budget, but how much is that?

Spare time · Mar 16, 2023

It would help it you could list desired features and ideal price range. I am leaning towards LED bars since you can space them out and cover the tank for a relatively cheap price.

Shawn_S · Mar 16, 2023

Spare time said:
It would help it you could list desired features and ideal price range. I am leaning towards LED bars since you can space them out and cover the tank for a relatively cheap price.

Honestly, simplicity and longevity would be top. There's 3, 300w MarsAqua lights on there now controlled by wifi outlets. Ramp up, at least dual channel, would be most basic. Could go north of $2k, realizing a lot of fixtures are $700+ and I'd probably need 3.

nereefpat said:
The 3 foot width is the challenge, especially LEDs. If you want 1 row, I would consider 3 Reefi Unos and hang them high-ish.

2 x 4foot Reefbreeders photons would be a good option.

What options are important to you? I know you said middle of the road budget, but how much is that?

Longevity and simplicity are the main proprieties. Just the basics on features, at least 2 channels, ramp-up would be nice, wifi is strictly a bonus. Somewhere $2k'ish would be budget, not looking to just spend to spend, if that makes sense. 3x Gen 6 XR30's would probably be outside budget.

The biggest problem lighting the tank is it has 2 3" metal braces front to back, so anything tank length shadows really bad. I do have a lot of room under the canopy (16" inside length) to rise or lower.

I don't mean "only" in a neg context, but would 3 Reefi Duos just be too much instead of 3 Unos?

(This is looking length wise)

Spare time · Mar 16, 2023

Shawn_S said:
Honestly, simplicity and longevity would be top. There's 3, 300w MarsAqua lights on there now controlled by wifi outlets. Ramp up, at least dual channel, would be most basic. Could go north of $2k, realizing a lot of fixtures are $700+ and I'd probably need 3.

Longevity and simplicity are the main proprieties. Just the basics on features, at least 2 channels, ramp-up would be nice, wifi is strictly a bonus. Somewhere $2k'ish would be budget, not looking to just spend to spend, if that makes sense. 3x Gen 6 XR30's would probably be outside budget.

The biggest problem lighting the tank is it has 2 3" metal braces front to back, so anything tank length shadows really bad. I do have a lot of room under the canopy (16" inside length) to rise or lower.

I don't mean "only" in a neg context, but would 3 Reefi Duos just be too much instead of 3 Unos?

(This is looking length wise)

I think you should go with either the ai blade, reef Brite, quanta, or similar bars. These are straightforward lights that will cover the tank for a low price. If you go for a pricey light, I'd look at panels like the ati Straton with maybe a supplemental bar on each side. However, I would think two of those would be fine

nereefpat · Mar 17, 2023

Bars or strips would be a decent option. Orphek and Reefbreeders ones even dim and ramp now. You might need 5 or 6 of them, so the mounting and cords can be a downside, but you have a canopy. I would not go near the AI Blades until they get their QC figured out. There are lots of folks here with problems: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aquaillumination-blade-announced.957896/page-22#post-11181521
Missing one end of the light, different spectrum on each end of the light, wire exposed on the cords.

Those ATI Stratons are serious lights. I was thinking they discontinued them, but it looks like you can still buy them? Aquacave even has them on sale.

You could get 6 Noopsyche K7s (2 in each section) for about 1200. Search threads on R2R to learn about them.

Spare time · Mar 17, 2023

nereefpat said:
Bars or strips would be a decent option. Orphek and Reefbreeders ones even dim and ramp now. You might need 5 or 6 of them, so the mounting and cords can be a downside, but you have a canopy. I would not go near the AI Blades until they get their QC figured out. There are lots of folks here with problems: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aquaillumination-blade-announced.957896/page-22#post-11181521
Missing one end of the light, different spectrum on each end of the light, wire exposed on the cords.

Those ATI Stratons are serious lights. I was thinking they discontinued them, but it looks like you can still buy them? Aquacave even has them on sale.

You could get 6 Noopsyche K7s (2 in each section) for about 1200. Search threads on R2R to learn about them.

+1 on the noopsyche and the stratons. Two very different options for price though haha