Lighting Recommendation

Timothy Davis · Apr 3, 2018

Hey Reefers,

Currently I have a 45 G JBJ RL tank. It is still relatively new. I only have a frogspawn, hammer, and an acan coral. Also some snails, and two clowns. When I bought the tank, it had a Marine Orbit LED, with Current Ramp Timer Pro. I would like to change lights. I have been looking at a lot of options, and a lot of people seem to recommend the XR30 (who can blame them).
I am kind of still in early stages of stocking, and am not 100% sure on being mixed, or strictly LPS. BUT, I do not want to limit myself as I may do SPS. I have considered a T5/LED combo.
Can anyone with this tank, or similar sized tank throw out their setup, and what they think?
Should I go T5/LED? If so, what setup? I would like to maintain the "sleek" look, but also not obliterate my bank account. I am open to all thoughts, and suggestions.

Bpb · Apr 3, 2018

While I can appreciate wanting the tank to look attractive even with the lights off, you have to accept that there will 100% be a tradeoff with light effectiveness and how minimal and sleek it looks. Period. There is simply no way around it.

While I PERSONALLY find fixtures like the Giesemann Spectra and the ATI Powermodule WiFi to be super attractive fixtures, just about every single person who values a sleek look finds them bulky and unattractive.

Those are at the extreme high end on pricing for a single light fixture but would offer the absolute best light quality and characteristics of any option on the market really.

The lower power, fewer bulbs, smaller form factor, and lighter weight you get, you will be trading off color and coverage

Not saying this about YOU but some people think they can get away with something as tiny as a pen light over their tank and still develop excellent colors and growth.

Actual options out there are plenty. But in the realm of tiny led fixtures, to match the coverage you would get from a “bulky” looking fixture with bulbs, you’ll need several, pay 2-3x as much, and then have several sets of power cords, mounting arms, controllers, apps, programming, and then still likely get it wrong if you’re new enough. Just food for thought. Just remember. There will always be a tradeoff from sleek to quality of light.

rich nyc · Apr 3, 2018

I use the Giesemann verve which I like. Smaller and great output

DipSpit · Apr 3, 2018

My father once told me:

A human can only have two of three things. Time, Money or Health. When you are young you have time and your health, but no money. When you are middle-aged you have money and health, but sadly, no time. When you are old, you have time and money, but alas, no health.

Similarly, with a price constraint, a light is the same way. Considering it is one of the single most important factors in building a reef ecosystem, I would get the best LED light you can afford. One time fee and no yearly bulb costs coupled with flexibility and ability to grow whatever you put under it. For this I would *highly* recommend 2x XR15 pros. The peace of mind Ecotech sells with each of their peices of equipment is probably my biggest selling point with performance a close second.

Timothy Davis · Apr 3, 2018

Bpb said:
While I can appreciate wanting the tank to look attractive even with the lights off, you have to accept that there will 100% be a tradeoff with light effectiveness and how minimal and sleek it looks. Period. There is simply no way around it.

While I PERSONALLY find fixtures like the Giesemann Spectra and the ATI Powermodule WiFi to be super attractive fixtures, just about every single person who values a sleek look finds them bulky and unattractive.

Those are at the extreme high end on pricing for a single light fixture but would offer the absolute best light quality and characteristics of any option on the market really.

The lower power, fewer bulbs, smaller form factor, and lighter weight you get, you will be trading off color and coverage

Not saying this about YOU but some people think they can get away with something as tiny as a pen light over their tank and still develop excellent colors and growth.

Actual options out there are plenty. But in the realm of tiny led fixtures, to match the coverage you would get from a “bulky” looking fixture with bulbs, you’ll need several, pay 2-3x as much, and then have several sets of power cords, mounting arms, controllers, apps, programming, and then still likely get it wrong if you’re new enough. Just food for thought. Just remember. There will always be a tradeoff from sleek to quality of light.

Thank you for your input! I actually find the ATI Powermodule to be in the realm of sleekness that I want. It is pricey, but could be worth it. Do you think it would provide the spread needed? Also in your first picture, what attachment did you use to hang that light?

Timothy Davis · Apr 3, 2018

DipSpit said:
My father once told me:

A human can only have two of three things. Time, Money or Health. When you are young you have time and your health, but no money. When you are middle-aged you have money and health, but sadly, no time. When you are old, you have time and money, but alas, no health.

Similarly, with a price constraint, a light is the same way. Considering it is one of the single most important factors in building a reef ecosystem, I would get the best LED light you can afford. One time fee and no yearly bulb costs coupled with flexibility and ability to grow whatever you put under it. For this I would *highly* recommend 2x XR15 pros. The peace of mind Ecotech sells with each of their peices of equipment is probably my biggest selling point with performance a close second.

Well said @DipSpit,

So would you recommend two XR15 pros, vs one XR30 Pro for the sake of spread?

DipSpit · Apr 3, 2018

Timothy davis said:
Well said @DipSpit,

So would you recommend two XR15 pros, vs one XR30 Pro for the sake of spread?

Yes, spreading the pucks out is a better option here.

EDIT: Though one could be sufficient depending on the aquascape and coral requirement.

Bpb · Apr 3, 2018

Timothy davis said:
Thank you for your input! I actually find the ATI Powermodule to be in the realm of sleekness that I want. It is pricey, but could be worth it. Do you think it would provide the spread needed? Also in your first picture, what attachment did you use to hang that light?

No problem. Those aren’t actually my tanks just representative pics of those fixtures. I really believe the ati Powermodule to be the best all in one unit on the market. The led quality, reflector quality and output are simply perfect and it would cover beautifully.

I was going to correct myself. The Orphek atlantik v4 falls into the category of a single sleek led fixture with high quality diodes, excellent spectrum, good temperature control all in a thin panel and single power cord. It’ll cost about as much as a kessil ap700 or Radion xr30, but have better spread, coverage, and spectrum

hart24601 · Apr 3, 2018

I like Orpheks and that is what I would go with if getting a new system. Check out the BRS review of them. The compact might be enough for the tank, I am not 100% sure of the coverage. Dana here wrote a post about the "ideal" light spectrum keeping in mind that varies dramatically with corals, but overall it looked pretty darn close to the orphek spectrum.

lbacha · Apr 3, 2018

hart24601 said:
I like Orpheks and that is what I would go with if getting a new system. Check out the BRS review of them. The compact might be enough for the tank, I am not 100% sure of the coverage. Dana here wrote a post about the "ideal" light spectrum keeping in mind that varies dramatically with corals, but overall it looked pretty darn close to the orphek spectrum.

I just put a orphek atlantik v4 over my tank and I love it. The colors are a lot different than many of the newer led's out there. To my eye it seems closer to the look you got with the older 6500 MH with actinic VHO's I had 20 years ago.