Beginner Reef Lighting

[wiltonk44]

Hey guys,

I am looking to add a few corals to my 29g FOWLR. My main question is about lighting. I know the corals need blue/violet lighting to thrive, but aesthetically for me Ive always liked just regular white LED lights. Im curious is it possible to get a light thats a combo of blue and white or a combo of different colors and not just the regular blue LED lighting? Where yes, you can notice the blue (because the corals need I wont short them) but you can definitely still have a normal white glow as well?

Secondly does anyone recommend a "beginner" light thats not wicked expensive? Yes yes yes I know this hobby is an expensive one, but Im just wondering if there is a basic, yet adequate light to fit my desires listed above OR if my desires cannot be met, is there a "beginner" light that is not too too expensive?

Thanks so much!

In my tank I have :
2x B&W Clowns
1x Anthias (a smaller species, I know some get too big for 29g)
1x YWG/Pistol combo
5x Trochus Snails
4x Nassarius Snails

 

[Doctorgori]

Hello, I am also looking for a decent light...I like those AI’s for like $200 I think...or you could go the black box route via Amazon/Ebay ...
Corals don’t absolutley have to have blue light, thats absolute malarkey...
Tapping out...someone please chime in

 

[cvrle1]

Few things to cover. Most of the blue light that you see over the tanks these days is not just made of blue LEDs. These fixtures have white, red and green LEDs as well, but are only at like 5%, while blues are at 100% (or there about) If you upped white channel more, you would get a lot whiter light and wouldnt have that windex look to them (which I dont like at all, just like you) With that said, some folks will only run this high blue spectrum for few hours in morning and night, and have more white light for the remainder of the day.

There is no such thing as beginner light. Every light fixture can be used by beginners once you learn basics of it. If you dont care about WiFi, dawn/dusk/moon light, Apex control and so on, look into black box like Viparspectra. All those features will not help your corals grow any better or worse, but are for your enjoyment only. You would need 1 165W unit over your tank, and it will be able to grow any coral you ever want, including SPS. Cost is only $120 or so.

 

[Pntbll687]

Hey guys,

I am looking to add a few corals to my 29g FOWLR. My main question is about lighting. I know the corals need blue/violet lighting to thrive, but aesthetically for me Ive always liked just regular white LED lights. Im curious is it possible to get a light thats a combo of blue and white or a combo of different colors and not just the regular blue LED lighting? Where yes, you can notice the blue (because the corals need I wont short them) but you can definitely still have a normal white glow as well?

Secondly does anyone recommend a "beginner" light thats not wicked expensive? Yes yes yes I know this hobby is an expensive one, but Im just wondering if there is a basic, yet adequate light to fit my desires listed above OR if my desires cannot be met, is there a "beginner" light that is not too too expensive?

Thanks so much!

In my tank I have :
2x B&W Clowns
1x Anthias (a smaller species, I know some get too big for 29g)
1x YWG/Pistol combo
5x Trochus Snails
4x Nassarius Snails

You could go with a simple 2 bulb t5. Something like this

Coralife Aqualight High Output T5 Aquarium Lighting Fixture 2X31W 30 inch Coralife T5 HO

The Coralife Aqualight HO T5 Fixtures 30 inch provides significantly more light than conventional fluorescent systems. The Coralife Aqualight High Output T5 Fixtures are an excellent choice for saltwater or reef aquariums.

www.marineandreef.com

You could swap out the actinic bulb it comes with for a ATI blue plus, and keep the 10k bulb. This would give a nice warm white look.

 

[wiltonk44]

Few things to cover. Most of the blue light that you see over the tanks these days is not just made of blue LEDs. These fixtures have white, red and green LEDs as well, but are only at like 5%, while blues are at 100% (or there about) If you upped white channel more, you would get a lot whiter light and wouldnt have that windex look to them (which I dont like at all, just like you) With that said, some folks will only run this high blue spectrum for few hours in morning and night, and have more white light for the remainder of the day.

There is no such thing as beginner light. Every light fixture can be used by beginners once you learn basics of it. If you dont care about WiFi, dawn/dusk/moon light, Apex control and so on, look into black box like Viparspectra. All those features will not help your corals grow any better or worse, but are for your enjoyment only. You would need 1 165W unit over your tank, and it will be able to grow any coral you ever want, including SPS. Cost is only $120 or so.

Thank you so much, this helped A LOT

 

[Gernader]

Check out Mars Aqua or Viparspectra black boxes! They are inexpensive lights to grow any type of corals and they have blue and white channels too.

 

[blasterman]

Get a Mars Aqua or similar black box as linked above by Cvrle1. Great light for a 29 standard.

You dont need worthless crap like wifi, bluetooth, programmable disney modes, etc.

 

[ThePurple12]

Hey guys,

I am looking to add a few corals to my 29g FOWLR. My main question is about lighting. I know the corals need blue/violet lighting to thrive, but aesthetically for me Ive always liked just regular white LED lights. Im curious is it possible to get a light thats a combo of blue and white or a combo of different colors and not just the regular blue LED lighting? Where yes, you can notice the blue (because the corals need I wont short them) but you can definitely still have a normal white glow as well?

Secondly does anyone recommend a "beginner" light thats not wicked expensive? Yes yes yes I know this hobby is an expensive one, but Im just wondering if there is a basic, yet adequate light to fit my desires listed above OR if my desires cannot be met, is there a "beginner" light that is not too too expensive?

Thanks so much!

In my tank I have :
2x B&W Clowns
1x Anthias (a smaller species, I know some get too big for 29g)
1x YWG/Pistol combo
5x Trochus Snails
4x Nassarius Snails

Chinese Black Box LEDS are probably the cheapest way to go (maybe a powerful bulb in a desk lamp?), and will grow corals.

 

[wiltonk44]

Thank you all for your responses!

 

[Diyreef8401]

You could go with a simple 2 bulb t5. Something like this

Coralife Aqualight High Output T5 Aquarium Lighting Fixture 2X31W 30 inch Coralife T5 HO

The Coralife Aqualight HO T5 Fixtures 30 inch provides significantly more light than conventional fluorescent systems. The Coralife Aqualight High Output T5 Fixtures are an excellent choice for saltwater or reef aquariums.

www.marineandreef.com

You could swap out the actinic bulb it comes with for a ATI blue plus, and keep the 10k bulb. This would give a nice warm white look.

Be careful of a 30 inch fixture. I don’t believe ATI makes bulbs for it. Only Coralife

 

[Bpb]

If it’s just white light you want for a fish only tank get a beamswork led fixture and put it right on the rim with the Mounting legs. Low power, easy, low profile. Simple. Fish don’t care.

 

[Rogued_Reefer]

I use 2 viparspectra over my 75g long and this lights pack a punch!

Here you can see how it looks with blues at 100% and white/red/green/violet at 10% along with some par readings to give you an idea