Radion layout

[AdamSabina]

I've got two ideas for this 48" l x 30" w x 24" d. These are Radion gen 2 pros.

Which would you recommend
A.) I'm thinking this would get better spread.


B.). The way I see everyone's mounted

 

[GatorAlum05]

I have same dimension with 2 radionsgen3pro and that's plenty light. You can't go wrong either way.

 

[mfinn]

On my 30" wide tank ( like yours) I have my Radions setup like the first picture.
I think that 3 Radion Pros on a 48" long tank is a little over kill. You should be able to get great coverage with 2.

 

[Akrite]

I would go with the first picture. 3 will not be over kill It will greatly reduce the shadowing created by LED's, especially with a canopy.

 

[rovster]

I chose #1...



3 is overkill, but I wanted that extra unit to be SURE I had enough coverage. Also, I rather run them lower and have better coverage, than have to run them higher and risk hotspots. I also chose to mount them closer together with the short rail kit because I knew I would be running them higher above water level. They are currently at around 12" and no spill over with very good coverage. Some shadowing at the corners, but that's due to the rocks. Tank is 52" x 26" footprint FWIW.

 

[AdamSabina]

On my 30" wide tank ( like yours) I have my Radions setup like the first picture. I think that 3 Radion Pros on a 48" long tank is a little over kill. You should be able to get great coverage with 2.

Great to know thank you. Knew it would be a lot of light. I just got a great deal so I figured why not I can alway turn them down.

 

[AdamSabina]

I would go with the first picture. 3 will not be over kill It will greatly reduce the shadowing created by LED's, especially with a canopy.

I'm hoping the shadowing/disco ball effect is greatly reduced at 13" off the water surface. Thank you

 

[AdamSabina]

I chose #1... http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/rovster/media/IMG_6630_zpsb91860dd.jpg.html 3 is overkill, but I wanted that extra unit to be SURE I had enough coverage. Also, I rather run them lower and have better coverage, than have to run them higher and risk hotspots. I also chose to mount them closer together with the short rail kit because I knew I would be running them higher above water level. They are currently at around 12" and no spill over with very good coverage. Some shadowing at the corners, but that's due to the rocks. Tank is 52" x 26" footprint FWIW.

How close together are the mounted?

 

[rovster]

How close together are the mounted?

Not sure, but I had 2 options for mounting them with the Ecotech kit. One was the one I chose with the short rail kit, one was spaced out a little farther. My tank is kinda shallow, so I wanted to take the opportunity to raise up the lights to minimize the color banding and get a more diffuse light effect.

 

[Akrite]

I found that 12" off the water worked best for me so 13" for you should have great results. While 2 Radions will work just fine for a 48" long tank, 3 give you the ideal coverage and greatly reduce shadowing. If you only wanted to keep 2 Radions I would say switch to the wide lens and lower them to 9" above the water line. You might want to use wide lens anyways with a 30" wide tank. You get better light spread but will need to increase brightness by 20%. I switched from T5's and can't stand the shadowing LEDs create. Since you have a canopy adding T5s (maybe Aquablue Plus) to the front and back will eliminate some shadowing and give you the best look IMO. Sorry if i went a little long.

 

[AdamSabina]

I found that 12" off the water worked best for me so 13" for you should have great results. While 2 Radions will work just fine for a 48" long tank, 3 give you the ideal coverage and greatly reduce shadowing. If you only wanted to keep 2 Radions I would say switch to the wide lens and lower them to 9" above the water line. You might want to use wide lens anyways with a 30" wide tank. You get better light spread but will need to increase brightness by 20%. I switched from T5's and can't stand the shadowing LEDs create. Since you have a canopy adding T5s (maybe Aquablue Plus) to the front and back will eliminate some shadowing and give you the best look IMO. Sorry if i went a little long.

I'll will have to look into the wide lenses. I'm very hesitant to add t5. It's kinda stupid but I love the control/dawn dust effects.
Thank you for the long response. There's no such thing as to much information.

 

[AdamSabina]

No such thing as to long a reply. Thank you for the info.

Current plan:

A: Orient light like below

View attachment 288206

B: try for 3 months. Then buy wide lenses and test.

 

[Akrite]

Can't wait to see how it turns out. Update us soon.