2x AI Hydra 26 on a 4ft/48"?

[serbusfish]

My tank is 4ft/48" long, water depth is 20". Would 2x Hydra 26's be enough to provide good coverage and grow sps? My LFS told me 2x would be fine but im wondering if adding a third would be better?

A problem I have is my tank has 2 brace bars, and im worried these will negatively affect light coverage with only 2 units. I have done a quick diagram in paint to show my tank + potential setups:

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h58/serbusfish/hydra%20setup.jpg (http://s61.photobucket.com/user/serbusfish/media/hydra%20setup.jpg.html)

[Gagonzalez]

I am going to a Cadd Lights 100g (48x24x20) from my 28g Nano and will be doing the same. However, in your case, I would definitely go 3 units because of the braces.

[jayball]

Three, I can imagine the waste of light and shadowing with those braces should seal the deal plus you will get less shadowing and more even coverage when colonies start to grow in.

[Mark Bianco]

The other benefit of running three is you can reduce the wattage used on each fixture and this will in theory increase the lifetime of the lights.

Mark

[serbusfish]

Awesome, 3 units it is then. The only problem now is im spending £920 instead of £640 :eek:

Do you just need a controller accessory to get these lights working? I am going to go with the director so I can control them with my phone but I wasnt sure if I needed anything else?

[Ocean envy]

If you have a mixed reef and want some lower light areas, as well as higher light areas you might want to try 2 to start, as you could always add another.

[serbusfish]

If you have a mixed reef and want some lower light areas, as well as higher light areas you might want to try 2 to start, as you could always add another.

Well I would prefer the light to be uniform across the tank rather than have patches of darker areas. Also I was under the impression that if properly acclimated soft corals and LPS would be fine if kept lower down?

[Ocean envy]

Sure depending on the intensity you set.

[serbusfish]

Sure depending on the intensity you set.

Well what I really want to do is continue to keep my Bubble coral, Elegance coral, Torch coral, Toadstool, Mushrooms, Duncans, etc where they are now (middle to bottom) but still be able to put some SPS lower down too, so they arent all at the top.