Lighting 30" x 48" with 4 G5 XR15s

[jmatt]

Gonna go with four units on two rails. Do I center them to their quadrant? Is the overlap in the center too much light? Too little? Does the 2.5 inch Eurobrace matter?

 

[jmatt]

Maybe slide the lights out in both directions to alleviate some overlap and hot spots...

 

[Lavey29]

BRS did a video where they used 3 lights on a rail and took par reading at different spacing. This may be applicable to you also. It ended up not being even with the middle light. Spaced out more. They were XR15s too.

 

[X-37B]

Gonna go with four units on two rails. Do I center them to their quadrant? Is the overlap in the center too much light? Too little? Does the 2.5 inch Eurobrace matter?

If it was my system I would run 4 30's spaced evenly down the middle. This would provide complete coverage, imo

I run 2 15's on my 48x24x16 and it needs 2 more. Right now I run a couple of 16hds on the outside until I get 2 more.

 

[jmatt]

If it was my system I would run 4 30's spaced evenly down the middle. This would provide complete coverage, imo

I run 2 15's on my 48x24x16 and it needs 2 more. Right now I run a couple of 16hds on the outside until I get 2 more.

I'm going with 2x2 since my aquascape will be independent mushroom-shaped structures (flat tops sitting on a pillar) and probably have a fair amount of shading. The hope here is the light coming at it from multiple angles will alleviate that. And it's 30" wide so I figured a wider tank might benefit from a wider array.

 

[jmatt]

BRS did a video where they used 3 lights on a rail and took par reading at different spacing. This may be applicable to you also. It ended up not being even with the middle light. Spaced out more. They were XR15s too.

You must have missed my thread where I was driving other people crazy trying to find a particular video. I've seen 'em all.

And as you point out, my revised layout with lights nudged toward the corners is trying to address the overlap they speak of in those videos.

 

[slythy]

On my 70g i use 2 xr15’s and 4 36” t5’s.

my tank is 48x18 so id think your setup would end up beeing pretty decebt for coverage.

this is the par i get with T5’s and my 2 xr15g5’s at 30%

 

[jmatt]

On my 70g i use 2 xr15’s and 4 36” t5’s.

my tank is 48x18 so id think your setup would end up beeing pretty decebt for coverage.

this is the par i get with T5’s and my 2 xr15g5’s at 30%

The lighting looks nice and wide.

I only hope I don't wind up regretting my planned aquascape. I love the idea of a lower half, of sorts, that will provide hiding spots for fish and inverts. Just hope it's not too much.

I'll have to do a dry run first just to see how it looks.

 

[X-37B]

I'm going with 2x2 since my aquascape will be independent mushroom-shaped structures (flat tops sitting on a pillar) and probably have a fair amount of shading. The hope here is the light coming at it from multiple angles will alleviate that. And it's 30" wide so I figured a wider tank might benefit from a wider array.

Ok. I just looked at your build thread and tank.

I'm going with 2x2 since my aquascape will be independent mushroom-shaped structures (flat tops sitting on a pillar) and probably have a fair amount of shading. The hope here is the light coming at it from multiple angles will alleviate that. And it's 30" wide so I figured a wider tank might benefit from a wider array.

The lighting looks nice and wide.

I only hope I don't wind up regretting my planned aquascape. I love the idea of a lower half, of sorts, that will provide hiding spots for fish and inverts. Just hope it's not too much.

I'll have to do a dry run first just to see how it looks.

I checked your build thread. Super cool possibilities with your flat rock scape.
If using the 15's I would opt for 6 15's or at least 3 30's. The reason is 3 15's will cover 48" and 2 won't from what I have observed with my system and others running them.
You can always get more but getting it right from the beginning without adding more might make more sense.
I have watched the brs videos too.
The gen 5 15's are strong lights, imo. But the spread is kind if weak. Gen 6's may help but from what I have read par is less.
Anyway I am following your thread to see the direction you go.

 

[MartinM]

Something like Stratons or T5s would make this a lot easier for you given the dimensions and aqua scape, if you haven’t already purchased the radeons.

 

[neonreef3d]

I have 48 x 24. And I saved lots of money by going with 3030 rails to make the suspension frame…using 3 xr15 with 2 orphek led bars. I designed and made all the mounting hardware myself.