Reefer 350 Deluxe Lighting - Hydra 26's

diecast9 · 08/08/2017, 10:26 PM

Does anyone currently use the Reefer 350 Deluxe with 2 Hydra 26's hanging over the tank?

I am interested in getting this tank but a bit concerned whether the lighting will be adequate for SPS corals near the bottom of the tank. Of course, there should be no issues for mid or upper tank.

Based on http://www.aquaillumination.com/science/par.html the hydra 26s hung 24 inches up, will put out ~67 Par on a 36 x 36 inch surface. A few things cross my mind however:
- a reefer tank is 21 inches high, hanging a hydra 8 inches above the tank would be approximately, the light will have to shine about ~27 inches down give or take depending on how much sand/gravel - ergo the PAR will be < 67

- you will never run the lights on all colors at max: most likely max blues, violets and UV and ~20-24% on other colors - therefore max par will be <67

- the one upside is that the surface area each Hydra will have to cover on the reefer 350 is about 23'L x 20'W, so slightly more par

so overall, im thinking perhaps about only 30 -60PAR hitting the bottom of the Reefer 350 at best. Anyone have some more practical experience with these lights on the 350? How are they working out on SPS at the bottom of the tank?

diecast9 · 08/09/2017, 08:19 PM

Otherwise an upgrade to Radion XR30 would be about 2000 dollars more. Any thoughts?

marper331 · 08/10/2017, 07:02 AM

I have been running 2 hydra 26 on my reefer 350 and my sps corals seem to be growing and doing fine. I only have 1 sps on the bottom, most are middle to upper area of my tank. I am in the process of adding a 3rd hydra 26 to get more light spread to the sides of the tank where I get a bit of shadowing.

diecast9 · 08/10/2017, 07:44 AM

Would you mind sharing a photo of your tank? How bad is the shadowing? And are you running it on max intensity for all colours?

Cheapreef · 08/10/2017, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marper331

I have been running 2 hydra 26 on my reefer 350 and my sps corals seem to be growing and doing fine. I only have 1 sps on the bottom, most are middle to upper area of my tank. I am in the process of adding a 3rd hydra 26 to get more light spread to the sides of the tank where I get a bit of shadowing.

Two 26's over a Reefer 350? Do you only have SPS frags? I'm setting up 2 over my Reefer Nano to avoid any shading.
That size tank IMO for SPS you really need 4 or more 26's, something like what Wazzel has over his 120gal (4 Hydra 52's) http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2519918

08/08/2017, 10:26 PM	#1
diecast9 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 40	Reefer 350 Deluxe Lighting - Hydra 26's Does anyone currently use the Reefer 350 Deluxe with 2 Hydra 26's hanging over the tank? I am interested in getting this tank but a bit concerned whether the lighting will be adequate for SPS corals near the bottom of the tank. Of course, there should be no issues for mid or upper tank. Based on http://www.aquaillumination.com/science/par.html the hydra 26s hung 24 inches up, will put out ~67 Par on a 36 x 36 inch surface. A few things cross my mind however: - a reefer tank is 21 inches high, hanging a hydra 8 inches above the tank would be approximately, the light will have to shine about ~27 inches down give or take depending on how much sand/gravel - ergo the PAR will be < 67 - you will never run the lights on all colors at max: most likely max blues, violets and UV and ~20-24% on other colors - therefore max par will be <67 - the one upside is that the surface area each Hydra will have to cover on the reefer 350 is about 23'L x 20'W, so slightly more par so overall, im thinking perhaps about only 30 -60PAR hitting the bottom of the Reefer 350 at best. Anyone have some more practical experience with these lights on the 350? How are they working out on SPS at the bottom of the tank?

08/09/2017, 08:19 PM	#2
diecast9 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 40	Otherwise an upgrade to Radion XR30 would be about 2000 dollars more. Any thoughts?

08/10/2017, 07:02 AM	#3
marper331 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Boston Posts: 62	I have been running 2 hydra 26 on my reefer 350 and my sps corals seem to be growing and doing fine. I only have 1 sps on the bottom, most are middle to upper area of my tank. I am in the process of adding a 3rd hydra 26 to get more light spread to the sides of the tank where I get a bit of shadowing.

08/10/2017, 07:44 AM	#4
diecast9 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 40	Would you mind sharing a photo of your tank? How bad is the shadowing? And are you running it on max intensity for all colours?