Lighting for a IM Lagoon 50

[Griever]

Curious as to people's thoughts on which light to go with the IM Lagoon 50 that I'm setting up. The take dimensions are 30" long, 24" wide, 16" tall. Was looking at the Quadbox Wide, but then was also considering the RETRO, but not sure what configuration to go with. Thoughts? Pros/cons? 

[HarryPotter]

A quad wide would be pretty sexy, but you could also go with an ATI T5 fixture with a nanobox LED retrofit. Check out Markalot’s tank, craziest one on the forum and is using that setup. 

[DaveFason]

4 hours ago, Griever said:

Curious as to people's thoughts on which light to go with the IM Lagoon 50 that I'm setting up. The take dimensions are 30" long, 24" wide, 16" tall. Was looking at the Quadbox Wide, but then was also considering the RETRO, but not sure what configuration to go with. Thoughts? Pros/cons? 

The Wide would be ideal but pushing it on the sides. The RETRO kit with a Sunpower would also be a great option as well if you are planning going 100% SPS. If you are doing a mixed reef then the Wide Quad would be my choice. 

-Dave

[Griever]

4 hours ago, DaveFason said:

The Wide would be ideal but pushing it on the sides. The RETRO kit with a Sunpower would also be a great option as well if you are planning going 100% SPS. If you are doing a mixed reef then the Wide Quad would be my choice. 

-Dave

I'm definitely planning on the mixed reef. I'm also considering the Radion XR30W Gen4. Could you help breakdown for me why your light is going to be way better?

[burtbollinger]

I'd probably look at some sort of Nanobox Hybrid...T5 with the LEDs

[HarryPotter]

2 hours ago, Griever said:

I'm definitely planning on the mixed reef. I'm also considering the Radion XR30W Gen4. Could you help breakdown for me why your light is going to be way better?

 

Nanobox hybrid (T5+LED) >Radion any day for growing hard corals. The color plus spread is second to none. 

 

If you aren’t doing acros, there wouldn’t be a big difference between a nanobox duo or radion. Nanoboxes come with built in custom mounts, and built in wireless control. Those are both extra $$ with Ecotech radions.

 

    If you spend the $800 for the fixture, extra $100 to get the Reeflink for wireless control, and $100 for the tank mount (total $1000), you would have a slightly more user friendly interface at a pretty high cost compared to a nanobox duo. Nanobox duo is $425 I believe, with customizable colors and features. Hell get a nanobox quad, wide or long, and it’ll be pretty darn sick for still less than a radion.

 

Also, nanobox is made in USA by a small business compared to ecotech in China. I dropped my nanobox refugium light in the sump, it didn’t even turn off. After drying it out I continued to use it with no issues. 

[DaveFason]

19 hours ago, Griever said:

I'm definitely planning on the mixed reef. I'm also considering the Radion XR30W Gen4. Could you help breakdown for me why your light is going to be way better?

I will never say "better" as most of the major companies have lights that grow corals, work well and are proven. However there are features that I think stand out. 

• LED spectrum - Hard to describe over text but looks as close to MH Radium or T5s. Depending on what setting you choose. 
• Made & Designed in USA
• All metal design - The units are tanks
• Even spread/PAR - From day one I never used optics. You can blanket PAR numbers which in return help the corals grow more naturally. 
• Uniform light - Very minimal color separation. 
• Aesthetically pleasing housing - The units are designed to not only function well but look equally as nice over the tank.  

I hope this helps! 

-Dave

[Eric3]

I personally have a AI Prime HD on my Fusion 40 that is similar in size and I have had good success so far growing LPS

[Drew11]

I'm in the planning stages of my SR-60 (similar dimensions) and I'm almost positive I'll go with either one of Dave's ATI Hybrids or a quad. I've owned a nanobox tide, AI Prime, and Kessil A160 at different times, all on the same tank (IM fusion 10). In that order I'd go:

 

1. Nanobox - Simply because of the "all included" -- tank mount, control, customization. And the light gives off a great natural look.

2. Kessil - The shimmer of the kessil is second to none, everyone knows that. But there are just more steps and equipment needed to have full automation and customization i.e Sunrise, sunset. It's 2018, these lights should come out of the box with that program-ability . Also, gooseneck not included. More $$.

3. AI Prime - The price is great and the light def works. Much less shimmer than the kessil or nanobox, colors didnt always blend well together. The control via the web or app is great to have.

 

But like I said, from a visual standpoint. I've had all three of these lights on the same tank before, and the tank and everything in it looked better with the Kessil or nanobox. 

[TatorTaco]

It appears the Fusion 50 has the following dimensions:  30” x 24” x 16.  I have a CADLights 45G that measures 36" x 24" x 12 and I run a Kessil AP700 that I'm super happy with.  It's got more than enough power and is quite aesthetically pleasing.  Just thought I'd suggest it. 

[vangvace]

On 3/29/2018 at 7:28 AM, DaveFason said:

The Wide would be ideal but pushing it on the sides. The RETRO kit with a Sunpower would also be a great option as well if you are planning going 100% SPS. If you are doing a mixed reef then the Wide Quad would be my choice. 

-Dave

So.... If I had a duo, would it just be a matter of shadows near the front and back of the 50g Lagoon tank? I run softies and LPS with a bubbletip being the most light demanding thing in my current tank. I don't have the ability to use hangers sadly so things like the wide quad are out. :/ I was looking at the aquatic life T5s hybrids, but I run into the same hanger problem. I also have an older tide I could use as well. Thoughts?

[DaveFason]

On 7/14/2018 at 10:44 PM, vangvace said:

So.... If I had a duo, would it just be a matter of shadows near the front and back of the 50g Lagoon tank? I run softies and LPS with a bubbletip being the most light demanding thing in my current tank. I don't have the ability to use hangers sadly so things like the wide quad are out. 😕 I was looking at the aquatic life T5s hybrids, but I run into the same hanger problem. I also have an older tide I could use as well. Thoughts?

The tank may look dark with only the Duo. The corals that you plan would be fine but it would look slightly off with the dark corners. Adding the Tide would help for sure!

-Dave