Realistic Spread on the G4's???

[SPotter]

for those that are using the G4's....what is the realistic spread/coverage with these? I am considering putting them on my 8x3x2 sps tank and have gotten conflicting suggestions on how many I will need. I have been told as little as 3 and as many as 8.

 

[BillFW]

It depends on how Densely populated your coral is. 4 are more than enough to cover an 8x3 footprint with maybe a slight of drop off within 2" of the front and rear glass. I'm running 4xG4 and 2xG3 (just because I have them!) on an 8x2 21" deep tank and PAR @40% on the sand is 275. I can't see the tank overgrowing this coverage.

 

[SPotter]

how high do you have yours mounted?

 

[BillFW]

how high do you have yours mounted?

Right at 8".

 

[BillFW]

There's a lot to spare. Mount them higher for better coverage and run them a little harder.

 

[mattgumaer]

I have not used the gen 4s so take this with a grain of salt but, I'd say 8, particularly if you don't want to run them very high over the tank. I have 3 gen 2 pros over a 180. Ultimately, I added 4 5 foot t-5s, 2 in front and 2 in back. I've had much better Acro success with this set-up. Regardless of lenses, I just think puck-style leds, act like 'point-sources' of light and you really want as many 'points' as possible evenly spread over the tank.

With just the 3 radions, I had lots of success with zoas, lps, montis, birds nest, etc., but struggled with many acropora.

One final thought- a par meter is your friend. I strongly suggest borrowing or buying one to help set up and tweak your lights. Your eyes (or least mine) are a very poor judge of intensity/spread. Using a par meter was a real eye opener (pun intended) regarding how uneven my lighting was with just 3 radions.

Matt

 

[jackson6745]

I and running 2 G4 XR30 pro's on my 32x32x26 cube. The coverage is excellent for a full SPS tank. I think I could have probably covered a 36x36 cube with the same 2 fixtures. I think on an 8x3 footprint SPS tank requiring full coverage you would want at least 5, but not more than 6 to do the job.