seeking lighting advice

[Rhody]

Hello all,

I am finally getting around to setting up my new tank and could use some advice on lighting. The tank is a 265 gal 84 x 24 x 30 deep. I have a set of reefbreeder clones i bought off ebay which i have had running on my 90. I was planning on using at least one of those lights in my sump for cholerpa or chaeto. I purchased a pair of kessil 360w from a member a couple of months back thinking that would add 1 or 2 more for the new tank but i set them up over my 90 and they seemed quite dim compared to the reefbreeders. Is 30in too deep for the kessils? Im looking to stay with the leds for heat and elec consumption reasons. I plan on a fowlr setup for now but may want to start adding corals down the road as i add equipment and the tank matures. Looking for peoples experience with lights and a tank that deep.

Thanks, Tom

 

[reefstarter]

Well I'm no expert , but heres what my research has come up with after looking in to lighting for almost 6 mos . Night after night online and talking to tons of people about it . everything from Par to light penetration to color temp etc . Most high quality leds offer about 800-900 par just under the light unless you go with a higher wattage like 145 like pacific sun offers . i personally wasn't wiling to spend what it cost for those . T5s work but you need a ton of them to be able to hit bottom and get good par readings . I just got a 72 inch metal Halide cause I actually want the heat since my tank will be in an un-heated room . Kessils from what I understand are nice but are more like a spot light and don't offer much spread . I don't have any first hand experience on those though . AI hydras seem to get great growth and color and a decent spread . Radions are just a bit better other than that ..... with such a deep tank I think halides are the way to go at least 250 watts x 3 or 2 400 watters . Thats my take . hope it helps

 

[Rhody]

I was trying to stay away from the metal halides. I guess what im asking is has anyone used the kessils on a tank this deep? I know ai has lights that would work but I like the clean look of the kessils. Im thinking I would use 4 across the 7 foot length but if they cant penetrate the 30 inches then I will go another route.