That makes alot more sense maybe i was reading and understanding this wrong, i mean ill only have rock / coral structures max 20 inch width due to the rim of the tank, the tank has a French brace which is 4 inches wide from all sides so realistically your only working with 22 inches if your lining up with the brace i don’t have that much rock maybe 150-200 pounds I’ll take some pictures tonight for better referenceSingle point lighting at 90° gives shading around the edges. Those being 90° trying to cover a 30" tank will be hard. Coupled with 6" off the surface makes it harder to cover. If they are raised up, say 12", it will cover more but less par. Most* lights cover 24". That means 12" from the source in all directions. The lights you chosen are just that.
BRS did a video on lighting coverage. The blue sky reflects downward, blanketing the ocean. This makes sense, we need to blanket the tank. Also, the sun is a single point light that gives us shimmer.
I'm going on a limb, but I'm sure telegraham was saying more lights being the only light source. Had you said led bars or t5's with the smatfarms, he would say it would have been fine with 3 or 4 lights. IMO, @telegraham can correct me if I'm wrong.
Spending 500 a light hurts my soul lol specially if i need 2-3 of them