90 Gallon Lighting Recommendations

[boosted_347]

I am having a 90 gallon tank delivered in the next 2 weeks. Dimensions are 36"w x 24"d x 24"h.
I'd like to keep LPS and some SPS down the road. I was considering 1 Kessil A350. Is this sufficient lighting? Is it enough for 24" depth?

 

[mcgyvr]

Qty 1.. no unless you keep all your coral centered under it..
Qty 2 (or more) sure..

 

[carrots]

Consider one Kessil 360WE centered and a 36" strip T5 in front.

 

[Yolly416]

Dfuentes has a nice 36 inch ATI fixture


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mcgyvr]

Dfuentes has a nice 36 inch ATI fixture

?? :hmm4:

 

[monkeysee1]

I'd like to keep LPS and some SPS down the road.

Then Radion Eco Tech is the way to go, baby - IF you can afford it!!
The SPS corals like the Montiporas, Acroporas, and Bird's Nests NEED high intensity light!!

 

[Ron Reefman]

You don't need to spend $800 on an Eco Tech led fixture unless you really want all the bells and whistles that come with it, most of which do NOTHING for growing healthy coral. Even a pair of MarsAqua fixtures at under $200 for the pair will give you as much or more good quality light as an $800 Eco Tech.

Here is a post about some of the features you should consider and decide if any of them are worth paying for. Just remember, sunrise/sunset control and 6 channel color control are nice to have, if you like that kind of control, but they do nothing for the coral, they are for YOUR enjoyment. There are a number of 32" led fixtures out there that will do the job well.

Read this:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25052764&postcount=233

Don't buy a fixture based on anybody saying it's the best (even me)! Look at what the features are, decide what you want and can afford and buy that!

And to monkeysee1's point, yes, some sps corals do need high intensity light. But the light from an Eco Tech Radion led fixture isn't any more 'intense' than the light from most all the reputable brands of led aquarium fixtures and even some of the fly by night 'el cheapo' Chinese black boxes. He didn't pay $800 for the intensity, he paid for fun to play with features, a slightly better quality build and a fair warranty. A Reef Breeders Photon V2 is 90% or more of what an Eco Tech Radion is IMHO and it cost half as much.

 

[Stolireef]

What Ron said!!

While I do have the Radion G4's and love them, they won't grow corals any better than the Chinese black boxes. I do have one caveat though. Having multiple channels does give you the ability to (a) fine tune the look of your tank and (b) to cut out as much as possible unwanted spectrums. By way of example, I have the red and green channels basically turned off on my tank. When I want to show off a little, I'll add those channels to get some other colors to pop but they never stay that way for more than a few minutes.

 

[Ron Reefman]

What Ron said!!

While I do have the Radion G4's and love them, they won't grow corals any better than the Chinese black boxes. I do have one caveat though. Having multiple channels does give you the ability to (a) fine tune the look of your tank and (b) to cut out as much as possible unwanted spectrums. By way of example, I have the red and green channels basically turned off on my tank. When I want to show off a little, I'll add those channels to get some other colors to pop but they never stay that way for more than a few minutes.

Yup! And when I had just 2 channel leds, I put black electrical tape over the red and green leds. And it's cheaper than buying a 6 channel control system. That said, if you have the money and like control, there is nothing wrong with buying it. And for my new system I paid $600 for Photon V2 with sunrise/sunset and 6 channels because I like the control and can afford the cost to have the toys I want to play with. I just don't want people to think you need expensive lights to grow healthy coral.

 

[Stolireef]

I love the black tape approach. I used to do that over the 'message waiting' button on my office phone.

 

[pfan151]

I've got two mars aqua on my 90. Anemones and corals are doing amazingly well and the color is perfect for me at least. I run the blues at 100% and the whites around 50%.

 

[JimON]

Yup! And when I had just 2 channel leds, I put black electrical tape over the red and green leds. And it's cheaper than buying a 6 channel control system. That said, if you have the money and like control, there is nothing wrong with buying it. And for my new system I paid $600 for Photon V2 with sunrise/sunset and 6 channels because I like the control and can afford the cost to have the toys I want to play with. I just don't want people to think you need expensive lights to grow healthy coral.

Hi Ron, I just put in an order for a V2 today, and I am super excited I didn't have to drop big bucks on what appears to be a great light! It will still be a couple months before I have the tank up and running, but little by little it is getting there!:beer:

 

[DTeeVee]

1 kessil won't cut it. 2 or 3 will.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Hi Ron, I just put in an order for a V2 today, and I am super excited I didn't have to drop big bucks on what appears to be a great light! It will still be a couple months before I have the tank up and running, but little by little it is getting there!:beer:

I hope you like it. I almost never play with mine any more except to switch to 'sunny' if somebody new is seeing my tank for the first time. Or 'manual' which I have as all blue & violet at 100% to show off the corals that fluoresce. Both features I really appreciate.

One tip, get yourself a plugin USB outlet if you don't have one. I keep my remote plugged in all the time. If you don't use it at all, it still only holds a charge for 3 to 5 weeks. Go to use it one time to show off the tank and not have it work at all is just a PITA!

 

[JimON]

Adding one USB plug to the list. Good tip, thanks!

 

[monkeysee1]

And to monkeysee1's point, yes, some sps corals do need high intensity light. But the light from an Eco Tech Radion led fixture isn't any more 'intense' than the light from most all the reputable brands of led aquarium fixtures and even some of the fly by night 'el cheapo' Chinese black boxes. He didn't pay $800 for the intensity, he paid for fun to play with features, a slightly better quality build and a fair warranty. A Reef Breeders Photon V2 is 90% or more of what an Eco Tech Radion is IMHO and it cost half as much.

While I do have the Radion G4's and love them, they won't grow corals any better than the Chinese black boxes.

Hi guys!
I know - I hear ya! You made some great points! I just got a little carried away, that's all.
I see the fish tank of a co-worker of mine with three single armed XR-30 Radions bowed over his 6 foot 125 gallon open-topped rimless and I just think it's so frigging cool, that's all.
Man, If i had the chance to do things over again! :sad2:
I CAN'T STAND the Current light Orbit Marine Pro Set up that I have now! :angryfire:

 

[Ron Reefman]

Hi guys!
I know - I hear ya! You made some great points! I just got a little carried away, that's all.
I see the fish tank of a co-worker of mine with three single armed XR-30 Radions bowed over his 6 foot 125 gallon open-topped rimless and I just think it's so frigging cool, that's all.
Man, If i had the chance to do things over again! :sad2:
I CAN'T STAND the Current light Orbit Marine Pro Set up that I have now! :angryfire:

The Current Orbit is an OK fixture if you have a shallow tank (18" or better if even less). If you like all the tools/toys of the high end fixtures, look at the Euphotica or the Reef Breeders Photon V2. The Euphotica has sunrise/sunset and is very inexpensive, but it is a black box. The RB Photon V2 has sunrise/sunset and 6 channel color control and IMHO looks even better than any Radion over the tank at about half the cost.

You might want to try the T5 and MH. It's best if you'll have it in combination.

Rather than just offering an option, why not explain the advantages of a MH/t5 combo? Like having to buy $100+ in bulbs every year, or the heat a MH puts out, or the fact that you get no sunrise/sunset control, or that changing the color of the light in your tank means buying even more bulbs! The OP has a Current Orbit which has the led features and has been looking at an Eco Tech Radion which also has all the led features. Explain to him the advantages of going 'old school' with MH/t5.

 

[bighead]

Reef breeder does me great

 

[monkeysee1]

Wow Ron!
Thanks for the info!
Your tank and corals look great! Are those LPS Bubble Corals in your tank?? Love those! How are the Photons with anemones, anyway?
Is that your QT on the right???
Your DT is six feet, I see. The Photon V2 comes in a 48" bar, right?? ( My tank is 48 x 18 x 24 inches) Looks like the bar is easy to mount! Wiring looks nice and simple - none sticking out anywhere, which I like!
I'll be doing some research on Reef Breeder's Website - looks like I might be ditching my Current setup for these!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Wow Ron!
Thanks for the info!
Your tank and corals look great! Are those LPS Bubble Corals in your tank?? Love those! How are the Photons with anemones, anyway?
Is that your QT on the right???
Your DT is six feet, I see. The Photon V2 comes in a 48" bar, right?? ( My tank is 48 x 18 x 24 inches) Looks like the bar is easy to mount! Wiring looks nice and simple - none sticking out anywhere, which I like!
I'll be doing some research on Reef Breeder's Website - looks like I might be ditching my Current setup for these!

You are very welcome. And thanks for the comment about my tank. It's only been set up less than a year, but it is a replacement for a 180g tank I had that developed an unfixable leak. So a lot of the corals and fish have been with me for years.

There is a bubble coral in the tank. There are hammer, frogspawn, and a few others along with a lot of newer sps corals since the start of the new tank. I run the Photons at 40% power for white and 80% for blue, so there is room to go more intense. And I have 8RBTA, 3 mini-maxi anemones and 3 crazy colored rock flower anemones. So yes, they do just fine for anemones.

The 50g cube is a display refugium (I made the tank to go with the CADLight 125g DT). BTW, the DT id 5'x 2'x20". The Photon over the DT is the 50" version. But they come in 5 different lengths (16", 24", 32", 48", and 50"). They are easy to set up (legs or hanging) and just one cord.

For your 48" tank the 48' Photon would be great, and the 32" would probably do just as well. But the cost difference is insignificant.

The only real weakness in the Photon V2 that I've found is the remote control battery. It's a rechargable unit and it lasts 2 to 4 weeks between charges. But let it sit for a few weeks and then pick it up to do something and find it's dead is a PITA. Buy yourself a plug-in USB and keep the remote on the charger all the time. Well worth the $15 cost.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any. BTW, the Reef Breeders sponsor forum here at RC is worth looking at if you are seriously considering a new fixture.