Radion XR30W + T5 Lighting

[houstonreefer20]

Hi all,

I'm planning to build a floating canopy to combine 3 XR30W lights with a 2 bulb T5 fixture, for a 5x2x2 tank. I want it to be SPS dominate

I had a few questions -

1. What do others think about that setup?

2. How high would people recommend I mount the canopy? I need it to make the tank accessible, while also good lighting

3. What T5 builbs would people recommend, given I only have 2? (2x80w)

Thanks!

[jayball]

Originally Posted by houstonreefer20

Hi all,

I'm planning to build a floating canopy to combine 3 XR30W lights with a 2 bulb T5 fixture, for a 5x2x2 tank. I want it to be SPS dominate

I had a few questions -

1. What do others think about that setup?

2. How high would people recommend I mount the canopy? I need it to make the tank accessible, while also good lighting

3. What T5 builbs would people recommend, given I only have 2? (2x80w)

Thanks!

1. That is a fantastic setup.

2. The minimum recommended from EcoTech is 9 inches.

3. If they are going to be one in front and one in back I would go with 2 coral+ (or equivalent) and adjust to your desired color temperature with the LED's. If you prefer a deep blue look you could go with 2 Blue+ or you could try one of each but some do not like the color difference from front to back.

If they both go in the front then a coral+ and blue+ will provide a good base.

[Mr. Brooks]

I'm doing something similar but with two T5 bulbs in front and two T5 bulbs in back. My tank is 96" x 36" x 26" and I'm using Hamilton T5 Retro's which places the T5 bulbs about 4" apart from each other. Which option would you recommend?

(front to back)

1. blue+, coral+, radion, blue+, coral+

2. blue+, blue+, radion, coral+, blue+

3. blue+, blue+, radion, blue+, blue+

I'm looking for an even color distribution. I'm also considering wide angle lenses on the radions.

[houstonreefer20]

Mr Brooks - I'm going with an Aruba Sun Retro as well. Did you go with the LED version? I didnt. I was planning to only use one 5' fixture, so only 2 bulbs. I wasnt planning to use the wide angle lenses, since I expect to mount it high enough. I *could* do 2 fixtures, but felt that'd be overkill. If your tank is 96" long, I take it you were going to have ~36" w/o T5?

As for others -
1. Glad people like this setup. What I haven't decided yet is how high to build my canopy itself. How much space do people think I need between tank and canopy to make it accessible/usable for me? (To put things in/out).

2. I was thinking to do a Coral plus and maybe a 10k bulb or something. Not sure. I was, however, planning to mount the T5 towards the BACK of the tank. is there a reason to mount it on the front vs back?

3. How should I mount my Radion's? Should they be horizontal in alignment with the tank, or vertical (so the two LED pucks are front to back vs left to right)


Thanks

[Mr. Brooks]

I passed on the LED's on the Aruba as well.

I asked my friend Aaron at SPS Coral Store in Los Angeles, CA to make me a custom light fixture to hang my radions and T5 retros.

I'm doing two 36" and two 48" T5 fixtures staggered to get 84" of T5 length.

Check out the renderings and the finished product.










I'm building a motorized pulley system to raise and lower the fixture by remote control.

[Mr. Brooks]

I wanted T5's in the front of the tank to color up the front of the SPS corals. The idea I'm going for is to provide intense light from above (radions) and wrap the coral in T5 light from the sides. I've been researching this for months. The biggest problem with Radions is that corals look awesome from above but they can lose color/brown out on the sides. Shading is another issue that is taken care of by the T5's.

I don't have any first hand knowledge of the subject but I will shortly!

[houstonreefer20]

Awesome diagrams/canopy! Looks like you are mounting yours vertically. Is that something you researched? As mentioned above, I was debating which way to mount em, so I'd be interested to hear if you have input.

As for the canopy - looks a lot like what I wanted to build as well. Is your exterior metal or wood? Has a nice clean finish. Mind me asking what it cost you?

It's great you're making yours raise/lower. I would like to do the same, but my ceiling is very high and it wouldnt be too attractive. Instead, I want to go for a 'floating' look, and mount it only from the behind. The problem, however, becomes that I cant change the height and need to decide just how high to mount it

What kind of coral do you plan to grow? Any other suggestions/tips I should keep in mind? Glad to see you're doing a very similar setup! I'm planning to put the tank together this weekend, and probably build the canopy/lighting in a week or 2.

[Mr. Brooks]

I mounted them perpendicular to the front glass because my tank is 36" wide. I need the spread width wise.

The whole fixture is made of aluminum and powdercoated.

Mine will "float" as well. It will be hung from four wires coming down through the drop ceiling. I'm building a pully lift system above the drop ceiling with a remote controlled actuator.

I plan on keeping mostly SPS with chalices and zoas in the lower light areas.

I'm building the light rack and the lift system before I set up the tank. It's a lot easier for me to build the light before building the tank due to the size of the tank and the complexity of the lift. It might be easier to install your light before installing your tank as well. Beyond that I don't have any other advice. I'm new to the LED/T5 game. I'm looking for imput from others as well.

If anyone has any tips for us we'd be happy to hear them.

[houstonreefer20]

bump?