Zetlight Qmaven II 6800 vs Two Viparspectra 165w

[Sully32]

I just bought a used 120 gallon setup, and I'm in the process of cleaning it up and changing things to my liking. It came with a 4 foot Zetlight Qmaven II 6800. The light seems fine and the app works as expected. However, I'm a little nervous about spread since the middle cluster is mostly above the center brace of the tank. Would you keep this light or replace it with two Viparspectra 165w fixtures?

 

[Ron Reefman]

It would help a lot to know about the center brace. Is it cleat or opaque? How wide is it? If it's set up, are there shadow issues in the center?

 

[Sully32]

The center brace is black, so it covers a good amount of the cluster. It is 2 inches or so. I have access to a par meter, but that's not going to do much good until I have the tank set up. I'm just trying to see if there is any first hand experience with these lights over this tank before I begin setting it up.

 

[oreo54]

I just bought a used 120 gallon setup, and I'm in the process of cleaning it up and changing things to my liking. It came with a 4 foot Zetlight Qmaven II 6800. The light seems fine and the app works as expected. However, I'm a little nervous about spread since the middle cluster is mostly above the center brace of the tank. Would you keep this light or replace it with two Viparspectra 165w fixtures?

Qmaven has 3 clusters. 2 are " viparspectra- like" in placement so to speak while the center is partially blocked.

I'll go out on a thick limb and assume the Zetlight is higher quality than the vipars.
CREE LEDs, passive cooling, control, ip-67 rating , real wattage of 210 is equiv. to actual wattage of the 2 vipars.

Yea the 2" blockage is annoying but it doesn't seem like a deal breaker.

Vipars probably better for punching par to the substrate though.

On a "technical" basis I'd not bother to change till the zet is proven to be inadequate.