My Reef Breeders Photon V2+ Lighting program

happyhourhero · Mar 13, 2022

James Robert said:
I'm new to these lights. To be honest, I am having a time getting them dialed in to get my acropora happy. (Good coIor) I am making slow adjustments, Will see how they do.

They do great for acros. Battlecorals has a good schedule or you can just copy ab+

Dburr1014 · Jun 4, 2022

Battlecorals said:
I have to admit I am seeing more and more threads about photons which means to me that more and more folks are using them! That's fantastic!

To any new users, how are they doing for you?

Just found this thread. I've been using reefbreeders v2 since they came out. Love them.
I've been ramping up my lights to get more par out of them. I had to take the lenses out of the fixture because my hood is very shallow. My lights are about 4" off the water. Currently Blues are 100% violet and light blue is at 80% red at 6% green at 12% and I'm trying to rent my white up to 80%. That's going to give me 330 par at the top of my rock.
I did have acrylic covering my tank to keep from splashing but I sinse move that to the fixture as you can see in the photos.

Battlecorals · Jan 8, 2024

Probably due for a bump

Dburr1014 · Jan 8, 2024

Battlecorals said:
Probably due for a bump

Yes, I'm struggling to come up with a solution.
I currently have a 75 gallon, standard 48" x 18".
I'm upgrading to a 150 gallon, 60" x 24".
The maridian light is not out yet.
So, I'm planning to use my current 48" photon v2. All my research says it's not for 60" tanks. I have a bunch of 54w ballast and T5 reflectors so I'm going to diy my new 12" canopy.

I'm struggling with which lights to mount in it. I'm going with 4 bulbs. Coral+ and blue+ are probably the best options. But I think Aquablue are just as good.
I'm trying to light up the end of the tank and like the whiter look.

Bpb · Jan 8, 2024

Dburr1014 said:
Yes, I'm struggling to come up with a solution.
I currently have a 75 gallon, standard 48" x 18".
I'm upgrading to a 150 gallon, 60" x 24".
The maridian light is not out yet.
So, I'm planning to use my current 48" photon v2. All my research says it's not for 60" tanks. I have a bunch of 54w ballast and T5 reflectors so I'm going to diy my new 12" canopy.

I'm struggling with which lights to mount in it. I'm going with 4 bulbs. Coral+ and blue+ are probably the best options. But I think Aquablue are just as good.
I'm trying to light up the end of the tank and like the whiter look.

I use two photon 50’s on a 60” 150 gallon. They do the job well. Acropora dominant but I put lps and jawbreakers on the far ends on the sand where the light falls off a bit

Dburr1014 · Jan 8, 2024

Bpb said:
I use two photon 50’s on a 60” 150 gallon. They do the job well. Acropora dominant but I put lps and jawbreakers on the far ends on the sand where the light falls off a bit

Yes, I'm mostly sps and the photons are great.
I'm cheaping out sort of speak.
The maridians aren't out yet, I'm worried a 50" has the shading at the end(I don't want that).
I thought about going to led strips but I have 7 ballasts laying around that run (2) or (4) 54w bulbs. Not to mention the reflectors also laying around.
I'm pretty sure I'll have great coverage, it's just deciding on bulbs.
I also reached out to Logan to see if I can get my hands on 120° optics. Have not heard back yet.
Currently I run without any but lifting the fixture from 4" to 12" I'm sure the par will also drop off. (maybe not?) Not sure.

Battlecorals · Jan 8, 2024

Dburr1014 said:
Yes, I'm mostly sps and the photons are great.
I'm cheaping out sort of speak.
The maridians aren't out yet, I'm worried a 50" has the shading at the end(I don't want that).
I thought about going to led strips but I have 7 ballasts laying around that run (2) or (4) 54w bulbs. Not to mention the reflectors also laying around.
I'm pretty sure I'll have great coverage, it's just deciding on bulbs.
I also reached out to Logan to see if I can get my hands on 120° optics. Have not heard back yet.
Currently I run without any but lifting the fixture from 4" to 12" I'm sure the par will also drop off. (maybe not?) Not sure.

Yeah, for the record I have been running a couple meridian 63 inches the longest one that they got and it is by far the best light I’ve got up here! I absolutely love them

I’m just counting the days till I can get these over every tank. Things just look great. Coral has responded tremendously well and there are some newer mechanical features that I really appreciate as well. I know they’re not cheap but if you got the wherewithal and the time to wait for their arrival, I don’t think you’d be sad that you did.

Dburr1014 · Jan 9, 2024

Battlecorals said:
Yeah, for the record I have been running a couple meridian 63 inches the longest one that they got and it is by far the best light I’ve got up here! I absolutely love them

I’m just counting the days till I can get these over every tank. Things just look great. Coral has responded tremendously well and there are some newer mechanical features that I really appreciate as well. I know they’re not cheap but if you got the wherewithal and the time to wait for their arrival, I don’t think you’d be sad that you did.

How old are your units?
If I had a second 48" I can completly blanket my 60" tank.