T5, LED or BOTH?

[30reef]

Hey everyone,

I'm setting up my 36in x 12in x 14in tank. It's going to be Zoas primarily with some chalices and maybe a clam.

I'm looking at having 2 Radion XR15w Pro's

Or ATI Sunpower with Reef Brites.

Or 2 Radion XR15w Pro's and a 24 inch ATI Sunpower, or is that to much light?

I'm not looking for super fast growth I just want the corals colors to pop!

 

[kschweer]

This is more personal choice in my opinion. If it were my tank I would be going with the sunpower/reefbrite combo. I run a 6 bulb t5 fixture with a reefbrite strip on my 36"x18"x21" (57 rimless).

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I'm a big fan of T5 LED combos. I'll be running radions and T5's on my next big reef.

 

[jsker]

Myself have 2 hydra 26 HD's and along with the products that I use with my system my coral colors pop and my growth is past my expectations. Another member and myself have a friendly comparison thread here. He has the ati sun power light and he has been having good success also. We have a poll up and it seams quite a few members have combinations of both.
I did the bulb thing on my last setup and I went total LED for my latest setup

• I do not have to change bulbs every six months
• Cost to run them
• Heating by lamps I get more heat from my computer the my LED's
• I can adjust schedules remotely
• I can adjust my spectrum remotely
• I can run my light in lunar mode and still have light in my tank at 1% during the night. The only time the tank is dark is during a new moon
• Acclamation cycling

The only real negative I have found is not having enough information about spectrum and adjusting it. I upload a members settings and the corals are really growing now.

 

[30reef]

I'm a big fan of T5 LED combos. I'll be running radions and T5's on my next big reef.

Myself have 2 hydra 26 HD's and along with the products that I use with my system my coral colors pop and my growth is past my expectations. Another member and my self have a friend comparison thread here. He has the sati sun power light and he has been having good success also. We have a poll up and it seams quite a few members have combinations of both.
I did the bulb thing on my last set and I went total LED for the read

• I do not have to change bulbs every six months
• Cost to run them
• Heating by lamps I get more heat from my computer the my LED's
• I can adjust schedules remotely
• I can adjust my spectrum remotely
• I can run my light in lunar mode amd still have light in my tank at 1% durring the night. The only time the tank is dark is durring a new moon
• Acclamation cycling

The only real negative I have found is not having enough information about spectrum and adjusting it. I upload a members settings and the corals are really growing now.

so I actually just ordered the Radions yesterday, I had second thoughts and was thinking about canceling the order and getting the Sunpower instead. What do you guys think I'd be happy with?

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

so I actually just ordered the Radions yesterday, I had second thoughts and was thinking about canceling the order and getting the Sunpower instead. What do you guys think I'd be happy with?

I don't know much about the sunpower, but I do know that I LOVE my Radions

 

[30reef]

I don't know much about the sunpower, but I do know that I LOVE my Radions

is my tank to small to run Radions and T5?

 

[scardall]

answer : LEDs-radions and ati sunpower (T5's) will work well.

 

[jsker]

I would go with @kschweer suggestion and get the combo. And if I were going to try something different I would do the combo.
I will say this again I am very happy with my LED's only setup

 

[30reef]

answer : LEDs-radions and ati sunpower (T5's) will work well.

is my tank to small to do this? It's 36 in long 12 in wide. I'd go with 24 inch ATI fixture. And put the 2 Radions on each side. I just dident know if all that light would bleach my corals

 

[Salty1962]

+1 on the sunpower/reefbrites, with the different bulb combinations available to T5s you'd be able to get good growth and make your colors pop. I suggest ATI bulbs for the best PAR.

 

[goldy26]

Hey everyone,

I'm setting up my 36in x 12in x 14in tank. It's going to be Zoas primarily with some chalices and maybe a clam.

I'm looking at having 2 Radion XR15w Pro's

Or ATI Sunpower with Reef Brites.

Or 2 Radion XR15w Pro's and a 24 inch ATI Sunpower, or is that to much light?

I'm not looking for super fast growth I just want the corals colors to pop!

I've got 2 xr30 G2's and 2 - 36"blue plus T5s over my 150G reef tank which is primarily SPS. IMO, with the technology being where it is, lighting is a personal choice. I'm a huge believer in EcoTech's products and think that 2 xr15 pro's would be plenty and maybe more importantly, be easy for you to use with almost no maintenance. That being said I will say that having my T5 bulbs on either side of my radions (front of the tank and back of the tank) does help make some of the accent colors pop a little more evenly. In short, no one could fault you for going either way!