How many radion XR30WPro G3 in a 120"x30"x30" sps tank?

[sensei]

I am not sure how many do I need to have even ilumination in the tank.
I would like to grow sps 6 inches from bottom of tank.

what is the best template from ecotech for sps dominated tank?

Thanks

 

[Geeray]

1 per foot so in your case you would want 12

 

[Denadai]

Big tanks needs a lot of leds....I think MH or T5 would be better in this case

But if you prefer leds, I think 16. I had 4 in my 70x22x20 and it´s not enough in my opinion

Best Regards

 

[btb72]

I think the 30" width is going to be the hardest part to cover...

 

[xanthurum]

I have 3 on my tank which is almost exactly half the size you mentioned so I would suggest 6. It all depends on the aquascape though IMO. I would suggest going with gen 4 pro they have better blending and spread.

 

[rtparty]

Like stated above, the 30" front to back is what will hurt. For an SPS dominated tank I would only run one Radion per 18x18 area. So chances are you might need two to cover that 30". If you have a canopy, a couple T5s could make up the difference if you run the Radions "sideways" like this:

T5 T5
| | | | | | | |
T5 T5

If that makes sense...

The Mitras or CoralCare might be a better choice IMO.

Is this for you 470g? How many halides do you currently have over it? Any reason you are looking to switch?

 

[sensei]

Thanks you all for your answers,

yes, it is my 470g dt
I have four 400W Metal Halide radium 20K bulbs with 20"x20" cozumel sun reflectors and also have 5 ecotech XR30w Pro leds lights.
I have one of the ecotech XR30w Pro leds lights at the begining of dt and one at the end and one in between each Metal Halide reflector.

the setup is like this: | H | H | H | H |

there is almost no space over tank since each Halide reflector is almost 2 feet big

I can not make my acros happy in this tank.
in my QT tank I have leds only and I have no issues with acros there.
that it why I am thinking of a change.

any comments?

Thanks

 

[ryshark]

Wouldn't the G4 require less Radions to be purchased? I know they cost more, but still. Especially with that 30" width

 

[abhishek@1985]

I have a 30 in x 30 in x 18 in tank and have 2 250 watts radium over it ..
For your tank, unless you have unlimited budget , I would do 4 400 watts radium in a comuzel reflector and you can grow acro anywhere .

Personally I would do , 2 8x54 watts ATI sunpower and if needed reefbrite strips. Will beat any led you put over it.

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[sensei]

I have a 30 in x 30 in x 18 in tank and have 2 250 watts radium over it ..
For your tank, unless you have unlimited budget , I would do 4 400 watts radium in a comuzel reflector and you can grow acro anywhere .

Personally I would do , 2 8x54 watts ATI sunpower and if needed reefbrite strips. Will beat any led you put over it.

Regards,
Abhishek

That is what I have now in tank:
4 400W Metal Halide radium 20K bulbs with 20"x20" cozumel sun reflectors but my problems is that I have 30" deep and most rocks are at a maximum height of 10" from bottom of tank.

 

[jda]

If you really want them to penetrate, you will need a smaller reflector and add a fifth unit, IMO.

 

[mannyhernz]

1 per foot so in your case you would want 12

1 per foot? Maybe for the xr15.
The 30 covers 24"

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[sahin]

I have 3 on my tank which is almost exactly half the size you mentioned so I would suggest 6. It all depends on the aquascape though IMO. I would suggest going with gen 4 pro they have better blending and spread.

This. 6 would be enough. Sanjay Joshi (I think) has a larger tank and he uses 8. I've used radions and my buddies have them. Especially with the Gen 4 you will be alright with 6.

But the price of 6...definitely go with T5.

 

[jda]

He has 8 over a 72x24 footprint, IIRC. He said at MACNA that this was almost as much light and coverage as his prior halides. Recommended 3 to replace each one of his halides with no savings on electricity unless your climate is warm and you cannot benefit from the heat of the MH and also had to run a chiller. Bulbs cost money, but 5 years of bulbs for three MH is still cheaper than 8-9 new panels after that same time.

However many panels you buy, plan to buy replacements in five years. I doubt that you can find many on here that have not wanted or had to buy new panels since 2011/2012.

This is all going to come down to what kind of a SPS tank that you want to keep. Colonies and TOTM quality acropora will probably need 15 or more of them - I would run eight across the front and then eight more staggered across the back, but I am no expert. If you want montis and frags and stuff where shadowing is not really an issue, then you could have half as many.

Whatever you decide, learn and educate from the large-tank folks... lights don't scale in a large deep tank like they do in a cube or even a 180G. The large-tank people know what they are doing in this area. I know that you know this since you probably get people who recommend a pump or heater that they use in their cube that your 470g would just laugh at at spit out.

 

[sensei]

I wanted to give an update.
I was using the G3s for dusk and dawn only and the tank was only illuminated by the 400W MH for day light. Big E suggested that I used both G3s and MH at same time for daylight. He sent me a configuration for the G3 to mimic the spectrum of the 400W MH. I tried it and dt is much more even in light now as the lights of MH and leds are overlapping.

I made some par measurements and here is the photo of the results at different levels of dt:


the values on the right are exactly bellow radion leds, the ones on the left are in the middle of MH reflector

Thanks a lot for your answers