Hydra 26 he good enough for SPS?

[Zoanthid777]

Hi all. I just set up a Red Sea Reefer 170. Dimensions are 24 x 20 x 20. I would like to eventually down the road keeps SPS corals. My question is on the lighting. I currently have an AI Hydra 26 HD about 10 inches from the water line. Do you think this light will be good enough for SPS? I Have someone who wants to buy the Hydra 26 HD so I can buy a Hydra 52 HD. Thank you in advance.

 

[Zoanthid777]

22 views and not one SPS expert can help?

 

[368]

Either hydra will grow sps just fine.

 

[tamama]

I would prefer ATI T5, easier to colour up SPS in my opinion.

 

[dinger28]

Have an AI Prime on my 29g biocube and it is amazing. Colors are impeccable and SPS seems to be doing fine.

 

[Hentz]

I ran three Hydra 26 HD's (originally two) on my 36" SPS tank just fine. Growth and coloration was great! I went ATI 6x39 only because my wifi upstairs sucked. It would consistently disconnect my lights and I would have to reconnect them every time I wanted to acclimate corals. Just went plug and play T5. If it wasn't for the internet issues at my new place, I'd still be using the Hydra's!

 

[reefmutt]

I think the short answer is yes, absolutely.
Maybe you'd want two for better spread..
Leds are not my preference, for absolute color rendition in sps, but I've seen enough outstanding led lit tanks to say that your light will make sps happy.

 

[Wazzel]

I run a hydra 26 on my SPS frag tank. Works just fine.

 

[aggie13reef]

I have 2 Hydra 26's over my 65 gal and I have not had any issues growing SPS.

 

[Geeray]

Like mentioned above one 26 would be strong enough for a certain area but you may have issues with coverage over the entire tank. I would consider 2 26's over 1 Hydra 52

 

[Zoanthid777]

Sticking with the Hydra 26HD

Sticking with the Hydra 26HD

Thanks everyone. The SPS are so colorful in that image. I will stick with my Hydra 26 HD for now. In six months I will add some SPS and see how it goes. I like T5 BTW. That is all we had years ago.