3 Radions for 84" 210ga? Drawing included

[Clivus]

I know, another LED thread.

I have read about LED lights until I am thoroughly confused. I started out with the chinese light thread. 80-something pages later I thought I would get the AI Sols.

The Sols are only going to be about 9 inches off the water due to my canopy, so I then settled on the Radions. I thought the Sols would be too constricted in their coverage at that AWL.

My question is, will 3 Radions cover my tank? I've included a scale drawing below. It is 84" x 24" x 24". It has 2 clear 3 inch cross bars dividing it. It has a black rim on the sides that is also 3 inches. I'm left with 3 24" x 24" open water squares divided by the clear cross bars.

If I buy a 4th, it will position some of the lights over the cross bars I figure. I have read that the drop off in light isn't that bad through a clear glass brace, but I'm not sure.

Any advice is appreciated. I've looked extensively at the Radions, the Sols, the Vegas, the R420Rs, the Solar Blast and probably several others.

[BigKahuna]

Yeah, I think 3 would be OK. I would get the TIR lens kit for them though because of the 24" depth and the fact that you are pushing them to the limit with each covering a 24x24 zone. If you went with 4 the glass braces would probably be fine and won't block much light and if it worried you you could always position the Radion lengthwise so the fan is directly over the glass but like I said I don't think it will make much difference.

[fishyguy7]

I have 1 radion over my 24" cube hung 8" above the water, I think it is just about perfect. So with your 3 openings being 24x24 I think 3 of them would be great

[rovster]

Wow, I'm doing 3 Radions to span 52". You could probably get away with it but the lighting may me a little uneven and you'll have to be careful with coral placement. No way you can do SPS dominant, but it should give you enough for less demanding corals.

[BigKahuna]

With the TIR lens upgrade it should be no problem even doing SPS dominant IMHO. He could always start off with the stock fixtures and down the road gauge wether or not the $30 per fixture upgrade is needed or worth it. For what it's worth I just upgraded my pair of Rads to the TIR and turned down the intensity 25% and the tank still looks brighter and better covered IMHO.

[D-Nak]

I think the math is a little off here.

24" x 3 = 72" + the two 3" clear sections is still 78" (I get that by adding the two 3" end peices we are at 84"). You still need to cover the area that sits under the clear sections.

I have two Radions on my 48" x 24" 120 gallon, and I think it's barely enough light. I would personally go with 4 units to make sure that the light overlaps a bit on the edges.

My TIR lens should arrive on Friday, so I'm hoping it makes a difference like you see on your tank, BigKahuna. I have a hard time believing that a lens change can give me more light without reducing spread (logic tells me that more light means narrower optics which equals less spread) but I am hoping it will solve my issues with my 120.

[BigKahuna]

My TIR lens should arrive on Friday, so I'm hoping it makes a difference like you see on your tank, BigKahuna. I have a hard time believing that a lens change can give me more light without reducing spread (logic tells me that more light means narrower optics which equals less spread) but I am hoping it will solve my issues with my 120.

I agree that it sounds too good to be true but when you think about how wide the dispersion of light coming off the primary optics of an LED, 120 degrees?, much of that wide spread is wasted out the side or on the glass. The TIR really is just a nice efficient lens that puts all the light where we want it. I took some photos of the original reflector and TIR upgrade bouncing off a piece of white acrylic on top of my tank and I found it interesting how the spread differs between the two and looks brighter to boot at identical settings between them.

I posted this in the Ecotech forum before but you can see the new TIR lenses on the right compared to the old style reflectors on the left:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7782721822_316c10ec8b_c.jpg
(not scientific or anything but I found it interesting nonetheless to see how the light is spread):

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7782719720_63b3bb6429_c.jpg
TIR on the right
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7782720602_7564a7aba0_c.jpg