Looking for feedback on a few lighting options

HiddenUser · Jun 16, 2015

Being the indecisive person I am I cannot decide on a light fixture for my tank build. My tank will be 72L x 30W x 28.5H and I'm planning to have a mixture of LPS and SPS.

Right now I have 3 options that I'm investigating...
1. Run 4-5 Radion Gen 3 Pros (I already have 2 Gen 3 Pros, So I'd have to purchase 2-3 more)
2. Sell my Radions and switch to single 60" ATI Powermodule LED/T5 Hybrid fixture
3. Sell my Radions and switch to 3x Orphek Atlantik 2.1V fixtures.

My Radions can grow coral, but I'm noticing color loss / morphing with some of my LPS. Some of my rainbow Acans, Favia, and other LPS are no where near as vibrant as they were when I first got them. I assume it's because they came from T5 lit systems and are morphing as part of the adjustment to LED lighting.

Going T5 / LED hybrid seems like taking a half step backwards, but it seems like T5 provides more of a turn key (there isn't 2 billion different settings in terms of color and intensity to mess around with) experience and has a more proven track record for growth and coloration (at least for the time being).

Orphek Atlantiks seem like they can grow coral well, it appears that they put a lot of R&D into their fixtures, and thus far Scott has been awesome at answering questions. My concern is that the fixtures are $1k a piece, they don't really disclose much about the LEDs they use, I've been told that the LEDs are 'not off the shelf' yet the fixtures are manufactured in China, there are not a TON of reviews (assuming because the price point of these lights directs people elsewhere) and of the reviews I'm finding are a bit mixed.

The Atlantiks stretch the budget a bit, but something keeps drawing me back to them...maybe it's just clever marketing on their part?

d2mini · Jun 16, 2015

Probably not worth the expense to switch to #3.

Adding more Radions would definitely help you get better coverage. For 72", 5 units would be about right.

Option #2 would work, too. Just know that it will be a different look than your Radions. The majority of your light is coming from the T5s with this fixture. The LED are supplemental.
@Diesel might chime in on this one since I believe this is the fixture he owns.

How long ago did you switch lighting? It will take a bit for coral to adjust to something like that, and you may see some permanent changes in color.

Diesel · Jun 16, 2015

Lighting a reef tank is such large topic, especially when 5 years ago they introduced LED's to that list.
Led's are great but it can have their draw back, to many ppl that are to picky with the look and overall growth went back to the proven MH or T5.
Even me, used to run 5 radions Pro 2 on my tank and now since a year the ATI hybrid.
The light is nice but it's super heavy, IMO it's all about the color combo you use to light it up with.
You might have option 4 as I can ad that to your list.

http://www.coralvue.com/giesemann-infinity-de-metal-halide-t5-fixture

http://www.giesemann.de/450,2,INFNITI,.html

I like this light a lot and still can ad some LED strip light to them for a sunrise and sunset.

HiddenUser · Jun 16, 2015

Thank you guys!

I've been running Radions 2 for a couple years...Had Gen 2 Pros, then went to Gen 3 Pros. I just noticed the color shift as most vendors I purchase frags from use T5 lighting. Even my LFS pretty much exclusively uses T5 in their frag tanks.

I'm more or less leaning toward the ATI Power Module LED / T5 hybrid as I like that I can still have the sunrise / sunset effect with the LEDs (without modification to the fixture)...I'm going to have to do some more research on this Giesemann fixture @Diesel suggested.

CastAway · Jun 16, 2015

Just had two Atlantiks delived today. So excited to get them up. I've run a Nilus for about 14 months now, and could not say enough about the brand. They get poo poo'd a lot, but in my ignorant opinion, they just can't be beat.

(I myself don't see a lot of marketing; barely hear their name. Almost have to go looking for info. )