Lighting for a 3 foot wide, 22 inch deep tank?

arkodios · May 12, 2022

I am planning on getting a Proclear Prostar 90, which is 3 feet long and 22 inches deep. I want to run a mixed reef and eventually have acropora, so I need strong lighting. I don’t think 2 AI Primes will be enough. I also may run a hybrid T5-LED system eventually, is this ideal?

blaxsun · May 12, 2022

Maybe Hydras instead?

Lavey29 · May 12, 2022

I have the same size tank running two XR15 pro lights with a successful mixed reef.

nereefpat · May 12, 2022

Is 36x22" the length and width?

reefingaz · May 12, 2022

Definitely NOT Ai primes. I run a 30” deep tank with Kessil ap700 and Reefbrite XHO do the job very well.

arkodios · May 12, 2022

nereefpat said:
Is 36x22" the length and width?

No, length and height

nereefpat · May 12, 2022

arkodios said:
No, length and height

What's the width?

arkodios · May 12, 2022

nereefpat said:
What's the width?

20 inches

nereefpat · May 12, 2022

arkodios said:
I also may run a hybrid T5-LED system eventually, is this ideal?

I think it's probably always ideal to add T5, for shading and growth. But not everyone like the look.

I think Primes would work fine, but you might want 3 instead of 2 eventually as things fill in. You're right, I wouldn't call them powerful at only 59 watts at full power.

There are lots of LED choices, depending on budget and features you want. Neptunes and Stratons are a couple hundred watts each.

HudsonReefer2.0 · May 12, 2022

That’s pretty much the dimensions of a redsea xl300. 2 xr15 g5 pros will b fine. But wait til the g6 come out.

mtraylor · May 12, 2022

2-xr30 g5's

otzhorse · May 12, 2022

2 @noopsyche K7 V3. Great light reasonable price. There are plenty of forums discussing these lights on here. You will not go wrong.

dedragon · May 12, 2022

i looked at the prostar aquarium as well and decided to pass as it looks like it only has a durso overflow (very loud). Others like red sea or innovative marine have herbie or bean animal overflows which are a lot quieter

for lighting there are so many options, but knowing your budget and what you want for lighting spectrum or shimmer will help a ton. Do you like a blue light like ecotech ab+ or want more shimmer like the kessil? Full coverage t5 or similar like the ati straton?

HudsonReefer2.0 · May 12, 2022

mtraylor said:
2-xr30 g5's

If u we’re going all sps 3 xr 15 but I think 2 is sufficient and way less $ for a 36” system

mtraylor · May 12, 2022

I have a 36" x 24" frag tank. I originally bought 2 xr 15's for the tank to have mainly sps in after reading recommendations. I couldn't event get 300 PAR at the bottom of the aquarium 11" deep. I cant remember exactly what I was getting. I posted it somewhere here on the forum. Couldn't try and fit a 3rd, because of overflow in middle and didn't want to hang lights over the middle. I put 2 xr 30's on it and I will never look back. Everything in aquarium has awesome colors. Works great for me and i added diffusers which really makes even spread. Didn't have to worry about the loss of PAR

HudsonReefer2.0 · May 12, 2022

mtraylor said:
I have a 36" x 24" frag tank. I originally bought 2 xr 15's for the tank to have mainly sps in after reading recommendations. I couldn't event get 300 PAR at the bottom of the aquarium 11" deep. I cant remember exactly what I was getting. I posted it somewhere here on the forum. Couldn't try and fit a 3rd, because of overflow in middle and didn't want to hang lights over the middle. I put 2 xr 30's on it and I will never look back. Everything in aquarium has awesome colors. Works great for me and i added diffusers which really makes even spread. Didn't have to worry about the loss of PAR

Really?

mtraylor · May 12, 2022

Absolutely

mtraylor · May 12, 2022

You can see what I originally tried with the xr15's in my build thread. i need to update it now as much as changed. i sold those quickly as they were not up for the task I set out. My loss was someone else's gain.