I'm setting up a 93 cube and considering my lighting options. I have a radion xr30 gen 3 pro that I will be using. However I'm not sure if the best option would be to get a second xr30 or to do a led/t5 combo. With a cube tank I'm not sure how to set up a combo unless I put the radion in the middle and have 2 2-bulb fixtures on either side of it. What are your thoughts?
LED T5 combo for 93 cube
- Thread starter Ds04384
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Get a t5s fixture like ATI or Tek. Take out two bulbs and put your radion inside it.
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Whoa that's an awesome idea. Is that more or less cost effective than getting two smaller fixtures and piecing them together
JMMJ13902
Valuable Member
I had a fixture laying around and putting the radion inside a fixture will make it look cleaner. You can add t5s from a retro fit kits but it only looks good when they sit inside a canopy.
ifarmer
Valuable Member
If you take out just 2 bulbs on the ati. Its.not big enough to.fit.the radion nor the hydra.Get a t5s fixture like ATI or Tek. Take out two bulbs and put your radion inside it.
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JMMJ13902
Valuable Member
I meant to say it would need all 3-4 bulbs to be taken out to fit. The one I used is a 6 bulbs Tek fixture and I only need to take out 3 bulbs.
That's going to be fine. Don't second guess your self. Just consider the height of the fixture. You'll want to keep the best spread possible with the led(lens choice/change?) and not so high there's no benefit from the t5.
Simply holding the led over an area marked out on the floor will let you know the mounting of the led and the possible need for a lens change..
I believe at 1 foot up it will cover the exact footprint of the tank, but with the obvious shading problems you'd expect from having one central led over a tank that size. I'm still not sure if I want two radions to alleviate that problem or one radion plus an additional different type of light
the t5 fill in from there. @12 in you'll get great par and not too much heat in the tank.
Im a bit more sol one more clusters over an area on my led for this reason. My 20x20x18 cube has a 16x8 led, my 48x 13 55g has 3 12inx6in fixtures for this reason.
I was trying to avoid going completely over to t5, I really enjoy the low energy use of leds and never having to pay for bulb changes. However, going from leds back to t5 is a pretty serious trend right now so maybe I should just jump on the band wagon lol
ifarmer
Valuable Member
those that started the hobby with LED light is hard to see themselves ever going to use or even convince themselves to try T5.
The reasons that you see lots of experience folks that going back to T5 or T5/LED or even MH because they have used them before and they know what T5 works for their tank or LED works for their tank.
The reasons that you see lots of experience folks that going back to T5 or T5/LED or even MH because they have used them before and they know what T5 works for their tank or LED works for their tank.
Velcro
2500 Club Member
A lot of truth there. I started the hobby with LED, then tried halide (radium 20k) and couldn't believe how much better I liked it... White LEDs imo are ugly and depending on the fixture can be disorienting. I then tried T5 and the color customization is amazing. It's a tough call for me between T5 and Halide now, but the only place LEDs have in my tank is as royal blue supplement strips... the only thing that T5 and halide can't replicate.
Ty Hamatake
Hi, my name is Ty and I'm a Reefer...
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I'm currently working on adding the LET retrofit kit to my Hydra 26s. If you have even a little experince in electrical and woodworking (unless you have a canopy laying around) you should be fine. Turns out I struggle with both so this retrofit has been pretty slow going...
