What light fixture would you choose?

[AlexR]

I’m looking to seriously upgrade my lighting.
I have had some terrible algae growth from subpar lighting recently.
All my water parameters are good. With phosphates and nitrates at 0. PH is steadily around 8.0 to 8.3.

I have been hesitant to add in any corals due to the algae growth. I’m sure it my lights.

It’s a 125g tank. 59” long x24 wide” x20 deep”.

I have a couple kessil a150w - sky blue.
And also have a couple no name brand (Chinese) that looks like kessil but much dimmer, with a usb controller.
Just today I got fed up and unplugged the Chinese ones and only left the kessils. It’s less light but I think a better spectrum. And should at least slow the algae growth down some.

Also just put in a new cleanup crew (this week) which I was definitely lacking. Got a 125g crew package from reef cleaners, a half dozen emerald crabs and a bunch of hermits.

[AlexR]

I’m considering the MICMOL Smart LED 47”-66” Marine model.

[Vinny Kreyling]

Either Reefbreeder's that I run or Ocean Revive T-247 that grew anything in a club members tank.

[AlexR]

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

Either Reefbreeder's that I run or Ocean Revive T-247 that grew anything in a club members tank.

My tank is way too big. I would need 2-3 of the T247’s.

I’m looking for one unit that can light the entire tank. For the cost of 3 of these I can go very high end and name branded.

[Vinny Kreyling]

T-247's are not that expensive and 3 would be minimum.

[AlexR]

The Chinese light I currently have is the AS Satellite series lights. For commercial use it says.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by AlexR

I’m considering the MICMOL Smart LED 47”-66” Marine model.

How many?
A single is only 96w and you would need 2 at least if you want to keep corals and even then they arent the best for a 24" deep tank if you want corals down to the sand

[AlexR]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

How many?

A single is only 96w and you would need 2 at least if you want to keep corals and even then they arent the best for a 24" deep tank if you want corals down to the sand

It’s actually 20” deep.

I’m also considering the Current USA orbit 48-60” model.

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by AlexR

It’s actually 20” deep.

I’m also considering the Current USA orbit 48-60” model.

Yes..typo from me..
Both fixtures...micromol and current usa are really suitable for low light corals in shallkw tanks...you would need 2 of them to have a chance at success...
You need a good 200+watts of leds at least for a tank your size

[AlexR]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Yes..typo from me..

Both fixtures...micromol and current usa are really suitable for low light corals in shallkw tanks...you would need 2 of them to have a chance at success...

You need a good 200+watts of leds at least for a tank your size

I’m interested to know if anyone uses the lights I have now. Haven’t hooked them up yet, they were given to me. I have 3 of them. And the 2 kessils I listed above.

Here is all I could find on them online.

https://www.reefaquariumlighting.com.../as-satellite/

[AlexR]

If I can find some sort of rail system I can use maybe I’ll just try these lights out for a while and see how well they work.

It did get a decent review from the site I linked.

[tkeracer619]

Your phosphates certainly aren't zero. The algae is using it before the test kit can read it, but, it's there.

I don't like bandaids but... I think you would benifit from a flucazonole treatment and afterwards a few weeks of vibrant for the bubble algae.

I think this would get you ahead of the curve, and allow your cleanup crew to do their thing. You will need to export the nutrients as the algae dies back.

[AlexR]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Your phosphates certainly aren't zero. The algae is using it before the test kit can read it, but, it's there.

I don't like bandaids but... I think you would benifit from a flucazonole treatment and afterwards a few weeks of vibrant for the bubble algae.

I think this would get you ahead of the curve, and allow your cleanup crew to do their thing. You will need to export the nutrients as the algae dies back.

I’m going to give the cleanup crew a month or so and if I don’t see any results then I will think about treatment plans.
The clean up crew is new. The fish are new.
Got a blonde naso tang, power brown tang, coral beauty angel, and a few other fish. All of which are doing great.
All 3 I listed have been picking at the algae and rock. Also saw the blonde naso eat some bubble algae. I did get half a dozen emerald crabs for this purpose too.

The tank has basically been a refugium for 5 years now. I just upgraded the lights today with the ones I linked above. They are 160w each and I hung 3 of them.

I am focused on getting it reef ready. I do have several zoos and frilly mushrooms around the tank. But they aren’t in great shape due to my bad lighting situation.
Will see how it goes after some time.

[AlexR]

Here is my new light setup

[dkeller_nc]

Keep in mind that the Naso tang will get far too large for your tank in a big hurry - these are giant fish typically housed in very large tanks. Your powder blue tang should be OK with your tank's size.

Anyway, keep in mind that all of the particular brands that you've listed are chinese-made. That doesn't mean they aren't suitable for a reef tank, just that fit and finish, and perhaps longevity, is exchanged for a lower purchase price.

Looking at your lighting setup, I'd recommend raising the lights significantly. The achilles' heel of all puck-type LED fixtures is lighting intensity spread and shadowing; the area immediately under the light gets very high PAR, but that falls off very quickly when not immediately under the light. One solution is to raise the lights significantly off of the tank's water surface, which increases the illuminated area at the cost of lower intensity under the lights. Another solution is to add more lights (which is, of course, more $$$).

To give you an example, I run a Radion XR30 and 2 Radion XR15s over a 2 foot by 2 foot 50 gallon tank. That's not because these lights lack intensity - they're more than enough to nuke every coral in the tank if run at 100% and close to the water's surface. Instead, I have this many lights over the tank, and mounted about 12" over the water surface specifically to provide an even light field that doesn't produce hard shadows under the corals that would cause tissue die-back and odd growth shapes.

[AlexR]

I appreciate you opinion. However mt tank is 125g and the refugium is 55g. For a total water volume of 180g.
I have been doing this for nearly 20 years and i feel confident in what fish i choose for my tank.
However there are always new lights and new opinions on lighting so this is really what i was looking for.

[dkeller_nc]

Please don't be offended, but also realize that it is absolutely necessary to mention such things, particularly when it isn't clear that the poster realizes how large a fish might grow.

On the lighting front, if you would like a run-down summary on many of the new(ish) lighting options, Bulk Reef Supply made a recent, in-depth video on reef tank lighting. It's aimed at SPS, and you haven't said whether you intend soft corals, LPS, SPS, or a mixture, but it's still worth watching.

[AlexR]

Originally Posted by dkeller_nc

Please don't be offended, but also realize that it is absolutely necessary to mention such things, particularly when it isn't clear that the poster realizes how large a fish might grow.

On the lighting front, if you would like a run-down summary on many of the new(ish) lighting options, Bulk Reef Supply made a recent, in-depth video on reef tank lighting. It's aimed at SPS, and you haven't said whether you intend soft corals, LPS, SPS, or a mixture, but it's still worth watching.

No offense taken at all.
I’ve seen a sailfin tang in the wild that was almost as big as me... They get big. If I ever have that problem with my naso I will be happy to donate him to an aquarium.

So far I’m liking my new lighting setup. Although I wish I had a PAR meter.

[AlexR]

I do have one more of these lights.
Problem if if I raise them higher by eye it looks like the PAR is not high enough.

I would like the ability to keep all types of corals.
But I don’t want to spend nearly $2k on new Radion lights. My wife would leave me if I did

Do you think the lights being this low may nuke corals close to the top of the tank?

[dkeller_nc]

It's honestly impossible to say without a PAR meter, but my overall observation with running LED lighting over 5+ years is that the intensity directly underneath a fixture mounted close to the water may well be a bit much for even high-light SPS corals. Having said that, the principle problem I've encountered is shadowing; unlike diffuse lighting such as T5HOs or Metal Halides in a large reflector, a lot of the light coming from a puck-type LED fixture is point-like and unidirectional, which is why I'm running twice to three times the number of Radions that would be minimally recommended by EcoTech.

If you choose to do this, you can actually rent a PAR meter from Bulk Reef Supply. Another thought would be a local club, many of which have members that will lend their PAR meter, or at least come over and check out a fellow member's tank.

[AlexR]

Originally Posted by dkeller_nc

It's honestly impossible to say without a PAR meter, but my overall observation with running LED lighting over 5+ years is that the intensity directly underneath a fixture mounted close to the water may well be a bit much for even high-light SPS corals. Having said that, the principle problem I've encountered is shadowing; unlike diffuse lighting such as T5HOs or Metal Halides in a large reflector, a lot of the light coming from a puck-type LED fixture is point-like and unidirectional, which is why I'm running twice to three times the number of Radions that would be minimally recommended by EcoTech.



If you choose to do this, you can actually rent a PAR meter from Bulk Reef Supply. Another thought would be a local club, many of which have members that will lend their PAR meter, or at least come over and check out a fellow member's tank.

Before I mounted the lights I tested different heights to get the best lighting spread between the 3 fixtures.
I’ll ask around about a PAR meter. That would really be helpful to get it right.
I was a bit worried about the lights being this low but more due to the light intensity which is adjustable on these units and the heat coming from the lights.
So far heat from the lights has not been a factor.

The intensity by eye looks good. But without a PAR meter I’m just guessing and can be wrong.
I do have some zoas closer to the top of the tank.
I’ll give it a week or so and see how they react.

[AlexR]

So if these lights I have now do not work out for me.

I really like these:

https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-50-v2/

The Radions look amazing but the cost is just not worth it for me considering I would need at least 3 of them.

From a bit of research I’ve done on the reefbreeders light, it looks like this would work for me.

[Green Chromis]

Originally Posted by AlexR

So if these lights I have now do not work out for me.

I really like these:

https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-50-v2/

The Radions look amazing but the cost is just not worth it for me considering I would need at least 3 of them.

From a bit of research I’ve done on the reefbreeders light, it looks like this would work for me.

Hi, the Reef Breeders Photon V2+ lights are an excellent mid priced light, that will grow any type of Coral you can keep. I use one on my Fuge, and I love it, simple to program, very well built, high end Cree LED lights and components, with a 2 year warranty.

[AlexR]

Originally Posted by Green Chromis

Hi, the Reef Breeders Photon V2+ lights are an excellent mid priced light, that will grow any type of Coral you can keep. I use one on my Fuge, and I love it, simple to program, very well built, high end Cree LED lights and components, with a 2 year warranty.

Sounds good to me. I suppose i will wait a little while to see how my cirrent lights hold up.

Worst case i may end up just getting the reefbreeder lights when they have their next sale. Maybe around 4th of July.

[mattgumaer]

Originally Posted by dkeller_nc

Keep in mind that the Naso tang will get far too large for your tank in a big hurry - these are giant fish typically housed in very large tanks. Your powder blue tang should be OK with your tank's size.

Anyway, keep in mind that all of the particular brands that you've listed are chinese-made. That doesn't mean they aren't suitable for a reef tank, just that fit and finish, and perhaps longevity, is exchanged for a lower purchase price.

Looking at your lighting setup, I'd recommend raising the lights significantly. The achilles' heel of all puck-type LED fixtures is lighting intensity spread and shadowing; the area immediately under the light gets very high PAR, but that falls off very quickly when not immediately under the light. One solution is to raise the lights significantly off of the tank's water surface, which increases the illuminated area at the cost of lower intensity under the lights. Another solution is to add more lights (which is, of course, more $$$).

To give you an example, I run a Radion XR30 and 2 Radion XR15s over a 2 foot by 2 foot 50 gallon tank. That's not because these lights lack intensity - they're more than enough to nuke every coral in the tank if run at 100% and close to the water's surface. Instead, I have this many lights over the tank, and mounted about 12" over the water surface specifically to provide an even light field that doesn't produce hard shadows under the corals that would cause tissue die-back and odd growth shapes.

I think this lighting advice is exactly right. With 'puck style' LEDs, hang them high or getting many more than the 'recommended' number to even out the lighting. I had 3 XR30s over a 180 and it 'looked good'. A par meter quickly revealed that there were huge par differences from directly under the pucks to the perimeter of the tank. I was scorching some corals at the same time others were starving for light. My solution on my 180 was to supplement with T-5s (4 5 foot t5s). I also set up a 60 gallon cube (2 foot x 2 foot x 2 foot) with 2 XR30s which also works well. I certainly don't need the intensity of 2 fixtures but, boy does it help creating even lighting.

I have 5 XR30s between two tanks, 3 of which were picked up pretty cheap used. If budget is an issue, I'd look at t5s, used or a hybrid LED/t5 setup. I would also try hard to find a par meter to borrow. Your eyes (or at least mine) are definitely not good at determining lighting intensity.

Matt