Lighting upgrade on the 180g?

[MeanGreenStompa]

This is my 180, I've been running it for a few years, it's been a very slow learning curve but I am now growing acros. Of course I started out with the idea of converting this old marineland tank from cichlids to FOWLR and then just followed the usual starting with softies and slowly but surely becoming a reefkeeper. Overall the system is 300 or so gallons, with the 90 gallon to it's left which was going to be a display refugium and ended up being a hostel for my maroon clowns and their bubbletips and a rescued butterfly from petco, along with a 65 gallon as a sump in the understairs cupboard to the left.

As I grow more confident with the sps, one thing is bugging me a lot, I created a lot of sheer drop in the rockwork, esp on the left, and also as the sps colonies grow, dark shaded spots are showing. So, I'm considering lighting additions. Pondering what though. I'd like something that will go on a stand much like the hydras, I'd also like to add to the hydras rather than replace them and lastly that whatever choices I go with will boost the colors a lot as well, as I feel hydras don't seem to bring out the best as I've seen in other tanks with other choices like the red sea LEDs or the radions or such.

Do you have any suggestions for bolstering light distribution that will also help bring out the best in the corals?

 

[wdebenedettojr]

Big fan of radions. Higher end of the price point but they are nice

 

[Chris A.]

Get some more hydras and turn them all front to back. You can adjust some towards a bluer spectrum to get the colors to come out but a lot of pictures you see are with windex blue and filters. Makes everything pop.

 

[cablez]

A8se chinese radion rip off's. 3'x3' spread great par and color. App is kinda booty cheeks, but once you got it figured out it's easy. Also much cheaper than radions. From Aliexpress.com

 

[zedxplorer]

I have been having good luck with nicrew, you can find gen 1 real cheap on FBMP but the Gen 2 apparently has really good spectrum improvements. Not that cheap anymore tho on Amazon.

 

[nickeg79]

People grow sps with every kind of lighting. I have radions but I never used other brands since I started. I bought a reef breeders unit and hated it.The programming sucks imo.I have ai blades and they are ok. Honestly I want a cheaper option next time than Radions.

You should buy what you feel comfortable spending. Radions have the preset modes and once you have that type of programming you won’t want to go to cheap lights with no programming I know people with black boxes that have amazing systems. Dong at acro garden grows sps with reef breeders. He loves them. Your going to get different opinions from everyone.
.You should buy whatever lights you decide on and borrow the par meter from the club to get your tank dialed in. It’s the balance not the lights that grow acros. I suck at it but I know in this hobby everyone has different methods but they get great results with consistency. That’s what really matters.