Lighting for SPS-dominant mixed-reef?

hometown9 · Feb 13, 2020

I have a 50 Gallon Fusion Lagoon (30" long; 24" wide; 18" deep), and need to move on from my Radion XR30 Pro (Gen 4). It just doesn't color-up the SPS like I need it to. Tried AB+ and everything. They all brown-out over time.

Any recommendations? Problem I'm seeing are the T5 light fixtures (even hybrids) are either 24" or 36". 24" wouldn't cover the sides, and 36" is too long. Nanobox, RETRO are options, but any others? Want to cover the entire tank but don't overshoot by too much.

Reefer40b · Feb 13, 2020

I would say lighting is not why you sps are not coloring up... that light is tried and true for years now. I have personally never used that light but many do with very colorful sps. What kinda par are you putting on those sps?

madweazl · Feb 13, 2020

There are many people out there that have colorful corals that run Radions; the issue isn't the light. The more likely cause is "tried AB+ and everything." Set something and leave it; the ability to control LEDs cause more problems than just about anything else.

Duncan Tse · Feb 13, 2020

What are your nitrate and phosphate levels?

2Wheelsonly · Feb 13, 2020

hometown9 said:
I have a 50 Gallon Fusion Lagoon (30" long; 24" wide; 18" deep), and need to move on from my Radion XR30 Pro (Gen 4). It just doesn't color-up the SPS like I need it to. Tried AB+ and everything. They all brown-out over time.

Any recommendations? Problem I'm seeing are the T5 light fixtures (even hybrids) are either 24" or 36". 24" wouldn't cover the sides, and 36" is too long. Nanobox, RETRO are options, but any others? Want to cover the entire tank but don't overshoot by too much.

i'll echo others and say you're 100% wasting money if you are under the impression your light is preventing coloration. You're talking about LED lights that successful well know coral vendors use to grow their livelihood.

This has to be lack of nutrients or some type of pest you don't know about.

hometown9 · Feb 14, 2020

Thank you all for the replies. My NO3 levels are 5 and PO4 around .25. My ICP test came back fine, with exception of slightly elevated Nickel.

I've been running this setup for 3+ years now. I pretty much set and forget. Only dosing I do is Bionic 2 part. And aside from the coloration I don't have any other issues. As you can see from the pic the other corals are colored just fine.

Here is my Radion schedule. Maybe the intensity is too low?