I am currently building my fish room for my 380 gallon reef. The dimensions are 84"x36"x29". I am trying to decide on how to light my tank to make sure I have sufficient power in the ceiling above my aquarium. My current options are 6x Gen4 Radion Pro's with supplemental T5's (this would require 1x20A circuit) or 6x 400W MH's with supplemental T5's (this would require 2x20A circuits). I was just wondering what people with large tanks have been happy with. I plan on keeping mainly SPS with some LPS and zoa's. Thanks in advance. Also as I get the fish room done and start actually assembling the tank I will be sure to start a new thread with build specifics. I have had the tank since November so this is a very slow project.
Lighting Help for 380gallon aquarium
- Thread starter jlfalin
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ycnibrc
STAG HORN DOMINATE REEF
Depends on what u want to keep I think the best 2 options are LED or t5. Halide is hot and eat a lot of electricity. However if you want sps dominant then for me t5 is the light f choice for many sps successful tank. For your tank if money is no sweat then ATI 8x80w power module will lid up the whole tank no need to supplement . Or a sun power 8x80w with reef bright blue actinic. Or pacific sun 10x80w
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cleanmyaquarium
New member
I would run 3x400 halides spaced every 2 feet with 4x radion on each side of the halides. So 1' from the end radion, then 1' from radion is a halide, then radion then halide in the middle, etc. Run the halides for only about 6 hours and the radion the rest. Place them 24"+ from the surface and you will get plenty of coverage
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this is me
Active member
Depending on your location and the room the set up is in, MH/T5 could still be the best choice.
I run a single Geismann Spectra(3x250W MH and 4x80W T5) on my 72"x48"x24"
LEDs are not cheaper to run in colder region. You end up spending more heating up the tank water.
I run a single Geismann Spectra(3x250W MH and 4x80W T5) on my 72"x48"x24"
LEDs are not cheaper to run in colder region. You end up spending more heating up the tank water.
Thanks for all the input. I would love to do all t5 but want a little more pop and don't want to lose the shimmer of led/mh sources. I should investigate the kessil lights a little more. I know they have a tiny footprint so would be easy to squeeze between the t5's.
I am in central Indiana and all winter long my basement stayed around 65-66". I have since insulated the fish room so this should keep a stable but slightly higher ambient room temp in the fish room.
I am in central Indiana and all winter long my basement stayed around 65-66". I have since insulated the fish room so this should keep a stable but slightly higher ambient room temp in the fish room.
So my final selection for my light.
I will be running 6x radion xr30w gen 4 fixtures with supplemental t5's.
The setup across a 7'x3' tank will be as follows:
2x t5's - 2x radion's - 4x t5's - 2x radion's - 4x t5's - 2x radion' - 2x t5's
The lights will be on a movable light rack that will allow me to raise and lower the lights with the push of a button. The light rack will also slide out into the fish room to make changing the t5 bulbs easier. I am currently looking into linear actuators to help with the lift component. The slide will be easy.
I will be running 6x radion xr30w gen 4 fixtures with supplemental t5's.
The setup across a 7'x3' tank will be as follows:
2x t5's - 2x radion's - 4x t5's - 2x radion's - 4x t5's - 2x radion' - 2x t5's
The lights will be on a movable light rack that will allow me to raise and lower the lights with the push of a button. The light rack will also slide out into the fish room to make changing the t5 bulbs easier. I am currently looking into linear actuators to help with the lift component. The slide will be easy.
ycnibrc
STAG HORN DOMINATE REEF
You won't get much shimmer from the kessil combine with t5 the t5 is so strong it wash out the shimmer effect.
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tkeracer619
New member
Sounds great!
I think that is a good choice. You sure that you need six Radions? I'm running a 7' tank and have found three Gen4 pros supplemented with Kessil spots to be more than enough (presuming in your case the T5 functions as the Kessils in my case to reduce shading).
Yes, the T5's are there to reduce shadowing. That was the idea behind 6 gen 4's as well. Run them at lower power but get good even par distribution while preventing shadowing. I could always try 3 and then upgrade to 6 if I need more light. I'll have to look at my light research again and may try that. Was more concerned front to back coverage than tank length.
Not trying to throw the proverbial monkey wrench into your decision-making process :lol:; just that dropping almost $5K on Radions (assuming gG4Pro) is a serious commitment. I'm in the process of a 400 build, with a tank 96" long and 36" deep (front to back). I don't plan to have much in the front 12" beyond sand and swimming room, so still intend to orient the G4's with tank length. I may end up needing a fourth one, but will wait and see for sure.
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