dgilpin22 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 I have a 75 gal, four foot long tank. The hydra 26 and the Radion xr15 pro say they will cover a 24 by 24 section. With the brace in the middle, the two sections are just shy of the 24x24 mark. I know that I will need two. What kind of coverage can I expect from either of these? Is one that much better than the other? I want something that will grow everything and light the whole tank up. I don't really like the way a continuous 48" light looks across the tank. I'd also like to stick with LEDs. Recommendations and advice welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatO Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 I dont think the xr 15 would cover a 24x24 very well. in the center of the tank there wouldnt be much par. the 30 may be better for that, and put them long ways to cover better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer82 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 A xr30 covers 24x24 almost perfect if you want high amounts of light on every square inch of the tank. I used to have a cube with those dimensions and a radion g1. Like Pat said I think you'll end up with hot spots on either end of the tank and the middle will be significantly lower par than the rest if you do a 15. If you look at the output chart for it there is a hot spot right smack in the center with a pretty quick bleed off out to the 24" area. The other issue is that your 75 is only 18" front to back so in order to cover the 24" width each fixture would spill light out the front and back of the tank wasting some of the output as well. I'm not familiar either the hydra 26 at all... actually wasn't even aware they made one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Msr224 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Give some consideration to the Orphek Atlantik Pendants. I have them here local and you get a bit of a club discount. Wifi is built in, App is free to download and they are more than enough light for your tank. There are several club members using our lighting already and you cannot get better LEDs for corals. https://orphek.com/atlantik-pendant-wifi/ Kris L. (Ottoreese) is using them on the site over his 120g that he just upgraded to. Before he had 2 of them over his 90g. The 75,90 and 120 all go hand in hand. Lots of people go from one to the other as they upgrade as they are extremely common. 2 units will light each of these sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zukari Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 I love, love, love my Hydras. I just got a 52 the other day for basically free. love it. My oldest hydra burned out some LEDs. AI is sending me a new board, light pucks, and two extra light pucks for my other units should I have any issues. Basically a Hydra upgrade kit. They did this 20 minutes after submitting the case yesterday. No questions asked! So the product is A+ My corals love the lights, and the support is fantastic as well. Just my .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgilpin22 Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 I really like both. I have pretty much narrowed my decision down between the two. They both have all the features I want. I am just making sure that coverage will be enough for my 75g. At 48", I will need two of each. Just trying to figure out which two will provide the better coverage and make for a better overall aesthetically please tank will full coral capabilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalare102079 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Premium Aquatics has the 26s above their coral tanks in the new shop. see them in action there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesFolly Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 I have the hydra 52's (two of them) over my 125g tank and am very pleased. However, while the coverage that AI lists is accurate pay attention to the par as you get away from the center of the lights. I put two on my tank due to a center brace and I have low PAR areas in the center (under the brace) and towards the end of the tank. I did know that ahead of time since I put tape on the front of the tank and measured out the approximate PAR levels based on the specs. I am thinking about adding two Hydra 26's for better coverage. Overall, the lights have been great and very easy to play with...er, customize to the needs of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zukari Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 Other cool thing about Hydras: If you buy one you can upgrade to the next model for a decent price normally. You then get to keep the old components and make your own custom AI light if you'd like. Working on doing this now for my sump from my old AI Sol Blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesFolly Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 As I was thinking about this some more, I do have one more item to mention. The one con about the Hydra 52 lights that I have is that the number of white LED's outnumber the other LED's to the point in which it makes it difficult to balance the lights. If you want to have more blue to bring out the colors of the coral, you have to turn the whites down so much that they are pretty much useless for coral growth. IMO. I haven't borrowed the PAR meter to check the levels at different settings, I should probably do that. When I see Jeremy's main display tank at Modern Aquatic, I want to mimic the color of his Halides but have not been able to find the right settings yet. Since I know that I would like additional lighting, I am considering purchasing the Kessil Tuna Blue's to add to the set up...or something less expensive. Maybe two more Hydra 26's would do that as well. IDK... Maybe the AI Sol Blue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Msr224 Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Petesfolly, Why do you say you are happy? This is the problem that you are going to continue to run into. Why would you need to add supplemental lighting to a light that you paid good money for and it was sold as a complete package? 2x Hydra52= $1100 2x Kessil a360 $800 Total $1900 2x Hydra52= $1100 2x Hydra26= $600 Total $1700 This doesn't take into account hanging kits or controllers of any kind and you're still going into it not knowing if it's what you want. Unfortunately I run into this all of the time with clients and they are less than happy about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Msr224 Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Dgilpin22, are you coming to the fragswap? If so, I encourage you to wait till after that weekend when you can take a look at what Orphek offers and what you get for your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgilpin22 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Actually, yes I will be at the frag swap. Didn't really plan on buying. Just wanted to experience it, meet people, and learn. I'd be more than happy to check out what orphek has to offer. Yeah I wouldn't be happy if I had to add supplemental lighting. Hence, why I am putting the majority of my time and effort on my lighting decision. I want light that will cover my needs now and then some. I don't mind paying extra for something if it means not having to necessarily upgrade in the future when I'm ready to upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgilpin22 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Another major factor in my decision making process is looks. As the lighting will be one of the only components seen in my setup, the way the device looks is huge in my eyes. I want something sleek, modern, and attractive. This tank is somewhat of a center piece to my living room. Finding the full package is becoming somewhat challenging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatO Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 i will say, and im not a orphek guy, the few tanks ive seen with orphek's are sweet. much more "brightness" than any other led setup ive seen. halide is bright. t5 is bright. most led's are dim. lots of par, but doesnt look bright. the orphek's i saw look bright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Msr224 Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Another major factor in my decision making process is looks. As the lighting will be one of the only components seen in my setup, the way the device looks is huge in my eyes. I want something sleek, modern, and attractive. This tank is somewhat of a center piece to my living room. Finding the full package is becoming somewhat challenging. Then you need to consider 2 unit of the Atlantik Compact. It's a sleek design and flat and unobtrusive. It's the smaller of the 2 in this pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgilpin22 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Looks good. Same wireless capability? Do they have the control that you would have with the Hydras and radions? I don't really want to hang my lights. Are there any other options to mounting the orpheks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 I have read on other forums of people not being happy with there hydra and radions and adding suplementation lighting kinda defeats the purpose. I have seen a couple of tanks with the orphek and I have liked them. I went diy and I am happy with that but if I was to buy a fixture I would probably go orphek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Msr224 Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Looks good. Same wireless capability? Do they have the control that you would have with the Hydras and radions? I don't really want to hang my lights. Are there any other options to mounting the orpheks? Yes, they have full wireless programming of the four channels allowing you to do a full daylight cycle from dusk to dawn. As for mounting there are many options available online to mount them on the rim of a tank. Check amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesFolly Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Petesfolly, Why do you say you are happy? This is the problem that you are going to continue to run into. Why would you need to add supplemental lighting to a light that you paid good money for and it was sold as a complete package? 2x Hydra52= $1100 2x Kessil a360 $800 Total $1900 2x Hydra52= $1100 2x Hydra26= $600 Total $1700 This doesn't take into account hanging kits or controllers of any kind and you're still going into it not knowing if it's what you want. Unfortunately I run into this all of the time with clients and they are less than happy about it. Well, I am happy with them because they do work well. I "think" that I would like to add some more, but in reality...my corals are doing just fine with what I have. If I stay with what I have, my $1100.00 is working just fine. Do I have some additional "wants"...sure! Who doesn't in this hobby? Would I have been able to convince my wife to drop two grand on another set up....no. Can I ease into it...probably. This was not sold as "complete package". I chose two 52's despite the specifications and recommendations to use three. Having said that, I can constantly second guess any decision that I have made in any hobby I have been involved in. I bought a used BMW Z4, wanted something bigger and bought a used BMW 650i, then I missed the roadster feel of the Z4 and went back to a Z4...now I miss the larger elbow room and trunk space of the 650i. So, the Hydra's performance meet my needs at the present time. So I am happy with them. The tank looks great, I turned up the blue's and messed with the other channels since my last post and found a balance that I really like, corals are doing great, I like the lunar settings, I have good shimmer, dimmers are working great without having 4 timers hooked up like my previous set up, I can adjust the lights any way I want from my iPhone or macbook, if I want more red for an hour during the sunset...I have more red (aesthetics count too). My tank is bright, I can make it just as bright as I could with 8 T5's and 3 150W Halides...even though I haven't been able to find the perfect balance to make them look like halides (pics in my gallery from February before last adjustment). The ends of the tank could use a little more light, but then again I can place corals there that need less light and flow which will give me more variety in my corals versus having the same amount of light everywhere. I also mentioned the "blue" aspect and on that day I was frustrated with balancing the lights. Specifically, balancing the white and blue. I certainly overstated that I have to turn the whites down to the point they are useless, sorry about that. Being new to this hobby I do make stupid comments from time to time. I was able to turn up the white channel to 65% and still have a good balance with the blues (90% - keep in mind the white LED's outnumber the blue LEDs so my tank does not look blue), royal blue (85%), violet (85%), UV (65%), green (55%), and red (60%). The lights are about 6" above the water and 24" above the sand. My tank has a center brace so I basically have two three foot sections. I also like the fact that these have a compact design and look good over the tank. Are the Orphek Atlantik lights a good option? I am sure they are...lot's of good reviews and may have given me a better spread of light given my tank is 6' long with two 3' sections. However, the title was Radion or Hydra and I was just trying to give honest feedback on my experience with my Hydra 52's given my specific situation. Two Hydra 52's for a 6' long tank...the recommendation based on the specifications was to use 3. I didn't want to spend the money at that time and bought two. Like I said, it is working and I am "happy" with the purchase. However, I do realize there are other excellent options beyond Radion or Hydra...but that wasn't the question I was answering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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