Lighting options/recommendations--220.6 Waterbox

[joey123]

Hi all, I have been out of the game for a little while but will soon be setting up a 220.6 waterbox as a mixed reef tank. I am looking for lighting recommendations and ideas. Tank dimensions are approximately 72x25x24D. My last reef tank had T5s and LEDs, but I was thinking of going all T5 for this one(I felt that the T5s were my main tool last time and the LEDs were basically just for appearance), likely 2-36" setups. I am open to the Atlantiks or even Hydras if someone thinks they are markedly better and show a clear advantage commensurate with the cost increase. Was wondering what recommendations you may have for either T5s or LEDs. I have a chiller, so I wouldn't be opposed to MHs as well. Thank you for ALL input, I am always open to hearing what others like and think. Thanks!

 

[Big G]

Bump

 

[jstephens24]

can I ask why you didn't choose the plus version with the lights built into the price?

 

[joey123]

can I ask why you didn't choose the plus version with the lights built into the price?

I am purchasing this tank second hand, and the previous owner is not passing along the lights. As I said though, I'm somewhat fond of T5s (at least I was on the past), and I'm not entirely sold on the new hydra 32s that come with the tank. But if you think those are the way to go...please let me know!

 

[alfpiccolo]

Look into Illumagic Blaze + Vitamini Or T5.
Check out their Australia site for more info.

Reef Builder featured the Blaze and Luis Rosa also stitched from Radion to Radion T5 then a single Blaze.

 

[joey123]

As an update--I have purchased the 61" Aquatic life t5 fixture, and I am now looking at what LEDs to supplement with. Given the 6ft by 2 ft footprint of the tank, I was wondering if I could get away with 3 Radion 15s or 3 ai primes, given the T5 supplements, or if i need to go with radion 30s or prime 32s. My goal would be much of the heavy lifting being carried by the T5s and the LEDs providing color and more visual stuff. Thoughts?

 

[Daniel Waters]

As an update--I have purchased the 61" Aquatic life t5 fixture, and I am now looking at what LEDs to supplement with. Given the 6ft by 2 ft footprint of the tank, I was wondering if I could get away with 3 Radion 15s or 3 ai primes, given the T5 supplements, or if i need to go with radion 30s or prime 32s. My goal would be much of the heavy lifting being carried by the T5s and the LEDs providing color and more visual stuff. Thoughts?

I would think with 4 T5s and 3 XR 15s you should be fine (not familaiar with aqua illumination lights to have an opinion) although that really depends on your corals you plan to stock, your placement of the corals, your aquascape, mounting height of the fixture, and what you want to shoot for par wise (some people are content hitting 200 par for their SPS and some people want their SPS at much larger par values). I think you will be able to achieve 125 to 250 par throughout most of the tank with that setup. I'd start with the 3 XR15 radion pros regardless, and just add more units if needed. I think you get better distribution this way and you most likely would only need an extra 1 or 2, which would still be cheaper than 3 XR30s. Run the lights about 10" to 12" high to give you a bit better spread and reduce any hot spots. With "puck" style LEDs, more units the better to help distribute the light as broadly as possible. I'd do the pro version of the radions versus non-pro, though. The addition of the violet diodes alone are worth it in my opinion to go with the pro versus non pro version.

 

[joey123]

For anyone interested, I basically went with Daniel's suggestion and ordered 3 radion xr15 g4 pros. Should I desire more led power, I'll add one or two more and spread them accordingly along the fixture. Thanks to all for your feedback. And hopefully ill have some successful results to return with soon!

 

[BifrostReefer]

For anyone interested, I basically went with Daniel's suggestion and ordered 3 radion xr15 g4 pros. Should I desire more led power, I'll add one or two more and spread them accordingly along the fixture. Thanks to all for your feedback. And hopefully ill have some successful results to return with soon!

Any updates or pictures of the set up? I'm looking into a WB 220 for a mixed reef, but I'm not sure what I want for lights yet.