Review my lighting before i click buy.

[ChaseBurke]

Hey everyone. So im about to purchase my lighting and before i clicked purchase i thought it would be a good idea to come here and get a second pair of eyes on it. So i have a 35.4 x 23.6 x 19.7 tank that i plan on having as a mixed(ish) reef with more emphasis on SPS. Was looking at getting the aquatic life 36" hybrid with 2 purple plus and 2 blue plus with 3 XR30W G4 Pros mounted in the middle. i was originally going to do a single AP700 mounted, but i think i want to mount it higher up and go with the radions. any thoughts?

 

[MgSullivan]

My dad has basically the same tank with same goals. Started off with black box LEDs, moved to radions and now he is full t5.

That being said I like the t5 G4 combo, but really at most I would do 2 xr30s but it may be better to do 2-3 xr15s

 

[Crabs McJones]

I had the ap700 with t5s and loved it. I would strongly recommend it

 

[Billldg]

I would hold off a little while and see how the new Kessil A360x models perform. That's what I intend to buy when I get my hybrid lighting system. Probably would only need 2 Kessil's.

 

[Davy Jones]

Of course lighting is subjective, you do not need 3 g4 pros on a 3 foot tank. especially with a t5 hybrid setup!

I am running 2 of the lx7 mitras's currently on a 4 foot tank with plenty of coverage. Even 2 of these with no t5 would be good for that size tank.

But you could get the mitras (or 2 g4 pro's) and the t5 hybrid and just keep the led's at a lower percentage and keep the fixture higher up for even light distribution.

Of course, if you want that much light go for it! Im just a random dude on the internet!

 

[ChaseBurke]

The only reason i was thinking 3 G4's was to reduce shadowing and increase coverage. Will probably start with 2 and see how i like it. Just cant decide on what led to put in the fixture. the AP700, the G4, the LX7, the new a360x, to many to choose from and they all look amazing.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I would hold off a little while and see how the new Kessil A360x models perform. That's what I intend to buy when I get my hybrid lighting system. Probably would only need 2 Kessil's.

Ooo good thought, wait till the a360s comes out and get a pair of.those

 

[dwest]

The only reason i was thinking 3 G4's was to reduce shadowing and increase coverage. Will probably start with 2 and see how i like it. Just cant decide on what led to put in the fixture. the AP700, the G4, the LX7, the new a360x, to many to choose from and they all look amazing.

Hard to go wrong with your options. I use t5 and kessil 360we’s and would do it again.

 

[Billldg]

Ooo good thought, wait till the a360s comes out and get a pair of.those

I plan on getting a 4 bulb T5 fixture and install 2 A360x's, will give me plenty of coverage and par since I'm going SPS. Gonna add the bulb you had suggested to someone else in another thread, 2 Blue plus's, 1 Coral plus and 1 purple plus.

 

[ChaseBurke]

The A360x i dont get why they are not including the wifi adapter either built into the unit or in the box. Its almost 2019 Kessil.

 

[Billldg]

The A360x i dont get why they are not including the wifi adapter either built into the unit or in the box. Its almost 2019 Kessil.

My thinking is that most people tie them into their Apex via a cable.

 

[ChaseBurke]

Has anyone seen a mod yet for the Aquatic life T5 fixture yet to get rid of the second power cord? Should be pretty simple to do right?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Has anyone seen a mod yet for the Aquatic life T5 fixture yet to get rid of the second power cord? Should be pretty simple to do right?

Yes, there are a couple of threads on it. My build thread has it as well

 

[Billldg]

Yes, there are a couple of threads on it. My build thread has it as well

What did you do, just change the plug and go to a higher gauge wire and tie the 2 together?

 

[Crabs McJones]

What did you do, just change the plug and go to a higher gauge wire and tie the 2 together?

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/re-wiring-aquatic-life-hybrid.354772/

 

[ChaseBurke]

And ordered! Went with the 2 G4's the blue plus, purple plus and coral plus. lets hope i still have a wife when i get home from work....

 

[Dennis Cartier]

And ordered! Went with the 2 G4's the blue plus, purple plus and coral plus. lets hope i still have a wife when i get home from work....

Lol. I think you did fine, she should not be mad. If she is, my experience can serve as a cautionary tale (and hopefully as a good contrast to your wise thought process).

When I was in the same position, planning out the lights on a 120 x 36 x 30 tank, I decided to spare no expense. The tank was pricey, so why not get the best lights?

My first plan was to go MH and T5, so I ordered 5 x 250W MH fixtures along with bulbs and ballasts and 8 x 60" T5 retrofits along with bulbs. A little times passes, tank is still dry. I start second guessing myself and decide to add 5 x AP700 to the lighting. After pondering how I am going to fit the MH and AP700;s over the tank, I decide to discard the MH from the design. Later, after measuring the light cones on my frag tank from the AP700, I realize that the T5 retro reflectors will only allow for 1 unit to be mounted between the AP700 pucks, and the AP700 will have to be practically touching the T5 reflector to not lose any light from the AP700. Queue the introduction of the Aquatic Life fixtures to the market. Ah, just what I need. So I order 5 x 24" Aquatic Life hybrid units along with 20 bulbs and discard the retrofits from the design. Tank is still dry at this point. More recently while browsing R2R I see a reference to Stuart Bertram's tank. Hmm, he uses a lot of AI HD 26's for a wall of light. After noticing that AI lights are on sale for summer .... I now have 22 x HD 26 units that will be going over the tank, and plan on taking the T5 modules from 2 x 48" Aquatic life fixtures to run between the grid of HD 26's. Each end of the tank will have a grid of 3 x 3 units, with the centre of the tank getting 4 units to work around some 8" braces that are slightly off centre. As expected the tank is still dry ...

Sadly if the Philips Coral Care were for sale in North America tomorrow, I would have 5 of those the very next day, and no doubt, my tank would still be dry

See you did good considering!

Dennis

 

[ChaseBurke]

Lol. I think you did fine, she should not be mad. If she is, my experience can serve as a cautionary tale (and hopefully as a good contrast to your wise thought process).

When I was in the same position, planning out the lights on a 120 x 36 x 30 tank, I decided to spare no expense. The tank was pricey, so why not get the best lights?

My first plan was to go MH and T5, so I ordered 5 x 250W MH fixtures along with bulbs and ballasts and 8 x 60" T5 retrofits along with bulbs. A little times passes, tank is still dry. I start second guessing myself and decide to add 5 x AP700 to the lighting. After pondering how I am going to fit the MH and AP700;s over the tank, I decide to discard the MH from the design. Later, after measuring the light cones on my frag tank from the AP700, I realize that the T5 retro reflectors will only allow for 1 unit to be mounted between the AP700 pucks, and the AP700 will have to be practically touching the T5 reflector to not lose any light from the AP700. Queue the introduction of the Aquatic Life fixtures to the market. Ah, just what I need. So I order 5 x 24" Aquatic Life hybrid units along with 20 bulbs and discard the retrofits from the design. Tank is still dry at this point. More recently while browsing R2R I see a reference to Stuart Bertram's tank. Hmm, he uses a lot of AI HD 26's for a wall of light. After noticing that AI lights are on sale for summer .... I now have 22 x HD 26 units that will be going over the tank, and plan on taking the T5 modules from 2 x 48" Aquatic life fixtures to run between the grid of HD 26's. Each end of the tank will have a grid of 3 x 3 units, with the centre of the tank getting 4 units to work around some 8" braces that are slightly off centre. As expected the tank is still dry ...

Sadly if the Philips Coral Care were for sale in North America tomorrow, I would have 5 of those the very next day, and no doubt, my tank would still be dry

See you did good considering!

Dennis

Haha thats insane.... 20K later... i hope you have your lights figured out, that is what i wanted to avoid. I just watched the BRS WWC 900 gal tank video and that made me feel 1000 times better about my purchase.

 

[Punchanello]

You could also consider buying an all-in-one hybrid like the ATI LED Powermodule or Geisseman Aurora. They are pricey but they look beautiful and come in dimable t5 versions

 

[mcarroll]

Hey everyone. So im about to purchase my lighting and before i clicked purchase i thought it would be a good idea to come here and get a second pair of eyes on it. So i have a 35.4 x 23.6 x 19.7 tank that i plan on having as a mixed(ish) reef with more emphasis on SPS. Was looking at getting the aquatic life 36" hybrid with 2 purple plus and 2 blue plus with 3 XR30W G4 Pros mounted in the middle. i was originally going to do a single AP700 mounted, but i think i want to mount it higher up and go with the radions. any thoughts?

T5/hybrid doesn't really go with the mounting it higher vs the AP700 idea. Not to mention hybrid is pretty well overkill on top of that many Radions. Honestly that seems like a perfect tank for an AP700....since that was your initial inclination I'd say reconsider that as your choice. Or consider just the Radions. (seems like two radions should be overkill enough...maybe instead go for three or four xr15's)

How high are you trying to mount your lights and why?