Lighting a 60 Cube?

bshowe · Dec 29, 2014

Hi R2R!

So I am in the process of figuring out what lighting I want for my 60 cube. The tank is 2ft. x 2ft. x 2ft. I need your help and opinions! I want to do a mixed reef with LPS (Acans mostly) and Zoas at the bottom and some SPS at the top.

Originally, I was thinking a Kessil A360 W-E would look clean and nice over the entire tank. I liked them in the stores and the shimmer is amazing. Then people told me about shadows being an issue and now I saw the Radion XR15 pro in a store and like that even better. Plus I am adding a mp10 to the tank so the Radion would be nice with the Reeflink and everything working together.

My question is I am starting out with a brand new 24" AquaticLife 4 bulb T5 HO fixture (It was free!). Is it worth saving up to get the Radion XR30W or save some money and do a combo with the T5 and the XR15 Pro? (Already feeling broke and we don't have fish in the tank yet!) Could the tank handle just the XR15 pro as the only light or do I need the XR30? The XR15 says it has a 24" coverage...

I am a fan of T5s with the ATI bulbs and wondered if the combo would make the tank better for color and coral growth? What are your thoughts? Thanks! :happy:

bshowe · Dec 31, 2014

:bump:

CausticGuy · Dec 31, 2014

I say keep the T5 and add a reefbrite strip or two. The T5s are great for color and growth, the blue Reefbrites will add the actinic pop youre probably looking for. Adding the xr15 would also be fine, the xr15 alone will cover 24" but you will have lots of shadows, that's why you see recommendations for the xr30 more often, 2 clusters is better then one.

bshowe · Jan 8, 2015

CausticGuy said:
I say keep the T5 and add a reefbrite strip or two. The T5s are great for color and growth, the blue Reefbrites will add the actinic pop youre probably looking for. Adding the xr15 would also be fine, the xr15 alone will cover 24" but you will have lots of shadows, that's why you see recommendations for the xr30 more often, 2 clusters is better then one.

Thanks for the advice! I just put up the T5 light on my tank and I love it. I bought new ATI bulbs before I looked at the Aquatic Life bulbs and noticed one of them is a purple. Currently I am using 2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Coral Plus, and 1 ATI Aquablue special. Should I replace one of the whites with an ATI Purple Plus?

I also forgot that I had a Rapid LED build light sitting around not being used. I could pull it apart and make two stunner strips on either side of the light if I purchased the narrow heatsink. Any recommendations on what color leds I should use on them? Maybe use this to add the purple. I had a mix of royal blue, blue, cool white, neutral white, and uv leds.

Thanks for the help!

CausticGuy · Jan 12, 2015

Im running a 8 tube ATI on a 60 cube with 4 Blue plus, 1 Purple plus, 2 Actinic and 1 Aquablue. I plan on picking up a Coral plus to play with my combo a bit but I am happy overall. I plan to add either a reefbrite blue strip or a RapidLED actinic supplement strip to the tank. I would, like I said before, use LEDs for what they do best, royal blues! IMO, a blue plus and actinic t5 cant provide the fluorescence royal blue LEDs do. That's why I want to add them. If you go this route, I'd keep the bulb combo or possibly swap the Aquablue for another Coral plus depending on what it looked like. Rumor is the aquablue washes out non flouresecent corals a bit and when people ditch it for coral plus they don't go back. A purple plus with a coral plus and two blue plus may look a bit red/violetish.

bshowe · Jan 12, 2015

CausticGuy said:
Im running a 8 tube ATI on a 60 cube with 4 Blue plus, 1 Purple plus, 2 Actinic and 1 Aquablue. I plan on picking up a Coral plus to play with my combo a bit but I am happy overall. I plan to add either a reefbrite blue strip or a RapidLED actinic supplement strip to the tank. I would, like I said before, use LEDs for what they do best, royal blues! IMO, a blue plus and actinic t5 cant provide the fluorescence royal blue LEDs do. That's why I want to add them. If you go this route, I'd keep the bulb combo or possibly swap the Aquablue for another Coral plus depending on what it looked like. Rumor is the aquablue washes out non flouresecent corals a bit and when people ditch it for coral plus they don't go back. A purple plus with a coral plus and two blue plus may look a bit red/violetish.

8 Bulb T5 HO fixture on a 60 cube! Woah! :jaw:
That is a lot of light! I agree with the blue LEDs. When the blue moonlight LEDS come on this tank, the colors really pop at night unlike with the lights on.

My RapidLED build had two of the nano drivers so at max it says I could run two 9-10 LED strips. I find the purple bulbs interesting to bring out some reds in the corals. What if I switched the Aquablue for a Purple and added a few white leds with mainly blue leds (since I have some white leds)? Do you think that would stop the red/violetish wash you are talking about?