Recommendation for Mixed Tank, 72 x 24 x 24

[pacificfloor]

I'm very interested in your DIY retrofit kits, but I don't know exactly what I'll need. I currently run two 250W MH (20,000K) + two 150W MH (12,000K) for a mixed tank, 72 x 24 x 24 inches. SPS currently grow well even at the bottom of the tank, and the LPS, mostly euphylia, have explosive growth wherever I put them. I don't want too much light, but certainly I don't want too little either. What would you recommend to keep the corals happy?

I have a Reefkeeper Elite that I would eventually like to use to control dimming, so I would want dimmable drivers.

I can't quite figure out which is best - the XR-E or the XP-E / XP-G. Also, any color recommendations?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[Rapid LED]

Typically for a mixed reef tank this size I'd recommend about 96 LEDs, which is the equivalent of 4 x 250W MH lights. However, it sounds like that might be a little bit more light than what you're using now so you could probably get away with a little bit less if you wanted (though since you're getting dimmable drivers you could always dim down if necessary and ramp up later).

Assuming you get two of the 48 LED kits, make sure you get the dimmable kits and ask for the ELN-60-48D driver, which is compatible with the RKE (though I believe you'll still need the ALC).

A 1:1 ratio of cool white: royal blue will get you about a 14k, so if you want more blue then you can tweak the ratio slightly more in favor of blue, or simply control it through your RKE.

The XP-E/XP-G's are about 20-30% brighter than the XR-E's, so those would be the better LED (though the lens selection is not as good).

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[pacificfloor]

Thanks for the quick response! All good information. Now that I know the particulars I need to consider how to build the fixture. I'll be ordering soon.