[SouthBayPhoto]

Hey all,

I'm hoping to get some help as I'm totally confounded regarding lighting. Some of it is sticker shock as well.

I've been trying to search on here and other locations to find what type of lights (and especially how many) I need for the new tank I'm picking up later today.

It is a 135g Peninsula tank (overflow at one end) that is 72" x 18" x 24" according to the person I'm picking it up from. It does have a canopy, so I can mount the lights to that (if it matters).

With that being said, the person had Radions but sold them beforehand and replaced them with just a set of T-5s. I would like to go LEDs because they seem to last longer, are easier (I think) and no bulb changes and should work well with corals.

I just want fish and a normal set of corals. Nothing exotic or fancy that are super hard to keep. I'm still doing my research on that.

Anyway, what LED lights should I consider for the size of the tank? How many of these lights do I need?

I just about choked because I looked up the Radion X30 Pro (or even the Blue) and they were like $860 EACH and upon looking at their website, it looks like I need 3 of these. That is insane to me. $2600 for lights. I just about died. So, I have been watching videos on Bulk Reef's YouTube website to try and see what they suggest and, of course, they suggest the Radions. However, they also did suggest the Kessil A360X, so I was thinking of those, but those are $460 each. Still, if I need three of them, that ends up being about $1400, plus the wi-fi dongle and K-link wires and all that stuff.

So, in short, do I really need three of these to cover the size of the tank? On my last setup 10 years ago, I ran six T-5s on a 110g tank (only 60" long). However, I never got that setup going, so I don't know if those were okay or not.

I like the idea of the Radion LEDs because it looks like you can setup a full dusk to dawn setup where the lights will work like the sun does and such. Plus, I do like the blue moonlights at the very beginning and ending of the lighting. I don't know if the Kessil A360x do that or not. I've been trying to search here to see if anyone has them and what they think.

I'm sorry for the super long post, but just wanted to get all of my info out there and see what I can use. I reaaaaallly don't want to pay like $3k for lighting if I don't have to. That is like almost triple of what I'm paying for the tank setup I'm getting today. Even the Kessil's make me hurt, but I'm considering them, but wanted feedback first.

Also, I believe he said the T-5s he has on the tank now are 6 footers, so should I keep the T-5s on the tank and run them and add the Kessils (or whatever other LEDs are suggested) to it or just run the Kessils/LEDs themselves and just store the T-5s. Bulk Reef Supply suggested in their "best of 2019" lighting video to run the T-5s and add the Kessils to it, but they were talking about a four foot tank and not a six foot tank like I have.

Again, any thoughts would be appreciated.