Cube lighting decisions

[Brianr24]

I’m setting up a 15x12x15 high cube approximately. It’s a WB 15. Iv been trying to decide on a160 or the ai prime. But I recently started tossing the idea around of two a 80’s. Most likely going to be a nem and clown tank maybe a couple softies.
I would say the ai prime is on bottom of the list mostly cuz I would rather less controllability but still an option. If the two a80 would perform as well as the 160 I would probably go with them for the sleaker look. Any opinions is appreciated. 
 

[Clown79]

I'd go with the 160.

[mcarroll]

I like the idea of two A80's, but that's a fairly deep tank for them.  

 

Kessil is very responsive – I'd write a note to see what they think:

 

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[FISHnChix]

What kinda of money are you looking to spend. I have seen a few used kessils a360 going for 200..  I actually got a narrow 360 and gooseneck for 200.. if you go use route check out reef2reef too they pop up on there weekly

[Brianr24]

14 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

I like the idea of two A80's, but that's a fairly deep tank for them.  

 

Kessil is very responsive – I'd write a note to see what they think:

 

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Exactly what I was thinking. Spread wouldn’t be a problem at all but I don’t think a80 has the guts to penetrate. I was thinking of asking kessil I didn’t think they would respond tho.

i almost just pulled trigger on a 360 lol I’m afraid of too much light spilling over.

[FISHnChix]

4 minutes ago, Brianr24 said:

Exactly what I was thinking. Spread wouldn’t be a problem at all but I don’t think a80 has the guts to penetrate. I was thinking of asking kessil I didn’t think they would respond tho.

i almost just pulled trigger on a 360 lol I’m afraid of too much light spilling over.

Not as much as you think look at the specs on the narrow

[mcarroll]

At most I would go with an A160, but then you're down to a single-point light source.  

 

Your corals won't really object to this, but that setup (single-spot) creates the strongest shadows of any setup and for various reasons that seems to bother some reefkeepers. 

 

A dual setup pretty much tones the shadows down to very reasonable, naturalistic levels.  

 

(There's a similar difficulty in flowing a tank with only one pump, BTW....too many "flow shadows".)

 

No matter which you select, the light will have to be quite close to the tank for optimal performance...mostly thanks to the 12" front-to-back dimension.

 

*I think* the A80 has a 90º lens....that means mounting height happens to correspond 1 : 1 with coverage radius.   You could mount the A80 no higher than 6" to get the 12" spread you need (remember: diameter=radius*2) for the tank without spilling excessive light into the room or into the back chamber.  (Which is a waste of light from an expensive fixture!)

 

If you mount the two A80's equidistant from the sides and from each other, you'll get a nice intensity pop in the middle where the two light-cones overlap, as well as some nice side-reflection of light down to the corals as well.

 

(The same should apply to the A360 narrow model, which also has a 90º lens, but I don't see this as being a practical option at all.)

 

*I also think* that the A160 has a 140º lens.   There's a triangle calculation involved, but to get a 12" diameter of coverage out of a 140º lens, you need a mounting height of 2 or 3 inches....and it'll already be spilling light at 3" compared to the A80 setup above.  If you go higher than 3", you'll be lighting up the room and the back chamber considerably.

 

If the A80's will work according to Kessil (yes, do ask!  :)) then that's what sounds best to me so far...

[Brianr24]

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

At most I would go with an A160, but then you're down to a single-point light source.  

 

Your corals won't really object to this, but that setup (single-spot) creates the strongest shadows of any setup and for various reasons that seems to bother some reefkeepers. 

 

A dual setup pretty much tones the shadows down to very reasonable, naturalistic levels.  

 

(There's a similar difficulty in flowing a tank with only one pump, BTW....too many "flow shadows".)

 

No matter which you select, the light will have to be quite close to the tank for optimal performance...mostly thanks to the 12" front-to-back dimension.

 

*I think* the A80 has a 90º lens....that means mounting height happens to correspond 1 : 1 with coverage radius.   You could mount the A80 no higher than 6" to get the 12" spread you need (remember: diameter=radius*2) for the tank without spilling excessive light into the room or into the back chamber.  (Which is a waste of light from an expensive fixture!)

 

If you mount the two A80's equidistant from the sides and from each other, you'll get a nice intensity pop in the middle where the two light-cones overlap, as well as some nice side-reflection of light down to the corals as well.

 

(The same should apply to the A360 narrow model, which also has a 90º lens, but I don't see this as being a practical option at all.)

 

*I also think* that the A160 has a 140º lens.   There's a triangle calculation involved, but to get a 12" diameter of coverage out of a 140º lens, you need a mounting height of 2 or 3 inches....and it'll already be spilling light at 3" compared to the A80 setup above.  If you go higher than 3", you'll be lighting up the room and the back chamber considerably.

 

If the A80's will work according to Kessil (yes, do ask!  :)) then that's what sounds best to me so far...

That’s some great info.thank you. 

With that said I got the 160. I do want it close to water. I hope I don’t get too much light spill in the room. That annoys me I don’t care about waste just don’t care for the look. 

I’m  still going to ask kessil. I can return the 160 if I have to.

[Brianr24]

19 hours ago, Brianr24 said:

That’s some great info.thank you. 

With that said I got the 160. I do want it close to water. I hope I don’t get too much light spill in the room. That annoys me I don’t care about waste just don’t care for the look. 

I’m  still going to ask kessil. I can return the 160 if I have to.

I’m impressed kessil got back to me in one day and it was a holiday. Told me to go with a160.