Lighting Help

[renotransplant]

I have been out of the hobby for 10 plus years and am setting my tank back up. I have an Oceanic 58 gal tank (36x18x22) that I used to run T5's on with mostly fish and softies. I would like to set up now more for LPS and SPS and know I need to upgrade my lighting. LED's were just coming on the scene, so I have no history with this light type. Would one Hydra26HD give me enough coverage or would I need two? I don' mind spending the money on the lights, but I have read a lot about people running LED's at reduced outputs. I would prefer not to buy twice as much light as i need just to run them at 50% output. If two 26's should be used, would one Hydra52HD work instead? Also, i would prefer just to run the LED lights and not my old t5's. What are the oppinions on this as well? Thank you for the help.

 

[Floyd79]

The hydra26 coverage is 24x24 for optimal coverage.
Most of the Ai's, ppl have been able to use them on slightly larger areas than noted coverage but 36x18x22 you are probably better off with the hydra52 if you want to do sps.

There are also nanobox light fixtures and radios you could look into.

Even the Mars Aqua have good reputations

 

[renotransplant]

Thanks for the help Floyd79. I would prefer one light by do you think the edges with just one 52 would be OK? I looked them up and the AI webpage says that the coverage is 36x36 but I have seen posts here that say its more like 24x18. I definitely dont want to end up buying one 52 and then having to upgrade to two 26's to get coverage. Would I be better buying one 26 now to get the tank up and then a second when i needed more light as opposed to just buying one 52? I really dont want to spend the extra money but i also dont want to have to start over in 6 months or a year.

 

[BryanCaruso]

I have one radion G4 pro on my 36" tank about 9" off the water and hit 55% at the peak of my photo period

 

[Floyd79]

the hydra 52 should work. 36x36, your tank is within that. Or go with 2 of the 26.
I have a regular prime on a 15g that's 24" long. Its coverage is 18x18 but many use it on bigger specs.
I have no shadowing.

Try checking out videos on YouTube of both lights and the various size tanks. You will get a better idea by seeing it.

Many go over kill on lights and then run them 50%, kind of redundant to me.

 

[Ron Reefman]

There is nothing wrong with AI fixtures. But if you want just one fixture, want all the bells and whistles of a better fixture, save some money and have a good looking fixture... look at a 24" or 32" Reef Breeders Photon V2.
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-24-v2/
I have the 50" version over my 125g 60" tank and the smaller one over my 50g 2' display refugium and they work great!

You can see them over the tank in my build thread (link in my sig below).