Best Budget LED Reef Light for 32g Cube?

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7of9

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Good Morning, Everyone!

I'm looking for a good budget reef light for my biocube 32g. I'm planning to pop the lid off soon and I'm looking for something that will support softies and look good without completely breaking the bank. Currently I'm considering the AI Prime 16HD since it's so popular and within the price range I'm looking for. Are there any other brands I should consider?
 
Nutramar Foods
7of9 said:
Good Morning, Everyone!

I'm looking for a good budget reef light for my biocube 32g. I'm planning to pop the lid off soon and I'm looking for something that will support softies and look good without completely breaking the bank. Currently I'm considering the AI Prime 16HD since it's so popular and within the price range I'm looking for. Are there any other brands I should consider?
Click to expand...
I run 2 AI Primes but if you’re doing softies a single should be fine for ya! It is a little shadowy running only 1, and an LED bar to supplement wouldn’t hurt at all.
 
on my frag tanks/nano, I use the nicrew 50-150 watt lights depending on the tank. They also have a controller you can use to ramp up the whites and blues. Basic light, good par and good spread. They are on amazon just search for NICREW and you will see the lights. Dont go for the gooseneck ones go for the other ones.
 
Nutramar Foods
IMG_3452.png
 
crAphroditie said:
on my frag tanks/nano, I use the nicrew 50-150 watt lights depending on the tank. They also have a controller you can use to ramp up the whites and blues. Basic light, good par and good spread. They are on amazon just search for NICREW and you will see the lights. Dont go for the gooseneck ones go for the other ones.
Click to expand...
Do you think 100w would be enough for a 32g biocube? It looks like the 150w could be overkill. It also looks like it might be worth purchasing their controller? Thanks!
 
Nutramar Foods
The Popbloom RL90 is pretty sweet. Big fan of mine. I have 2 on my 75G display, and I had to turn them down, really good photosynthetic response and the 4 channels give you a lot of room to meet pur needs and aesthetics.

Pretty good bang for the buck
 
ReefBot Lab, Automated Water Tester
7of9 said:
Do you think 100w would be enough for a 32g biocube? It looks like the 150w could be overkill. It also looks like it might be worth purchasing their controller? Thanks!
Click to expand...
I have the 150 on a 40 gal, and it is excellent. I'd recommend getting the controller for nice spectrum control, a timer, and ramping features.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
7of9 said:
Do you think 100w would be enough for a 32g biocube? It looks like the 150w could be overkill. It also looks like it might be worth purchasing their controller? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Yes. the 50 hyperreefer should be sufficient. Look at the specs on the spread. If you believe you will eventually go with a larger tank, you can run larger wattage at less pct.

I have 5 100 watts on 2 lowboys(3 and 2) with the 3 being on more finicky corals. the 2 on a 4 ft long tank is more than enough.

Have the 50 watt on a 20 cube
Have a 100 watt on a 6 gallon cube

The controller for nicrew is 45 bucks and you daisy chain with DC output. Great value
 
7of9 said:
Good Morning, Everyone!

I'm looking for a good budget reef light for my biocube 32g. I'm planning to pop the lid off soon and I'm looking for something that will support softies and look good without completely breaking the bank. Currently I'm considering the AI Prime 16HD since it's so popular and within the price range I'm looking for. Are there any other brands I should consider?
Click to expand...
If you can still find the Ocean Revive T247, that be my choice.
 
Ecoscape Reef Rock
crAphroditie said:
Yes. the 50 hyperreefer should be sufficient. Look at the specs on the spread. If you believe you will eventually go with a larger tank, you can run larger wattage at less pct.

I have 5 100 watts on 2 lowboys(3 and 2) with the 3 being on more finicky corals. the 2 on a 4 ft long tank is more than enough.

Have the 50 watt on a 20 cube
Have a 100 watt on a 6 gallon cube

The controller for nicrew is 45 bucks and you daisy chain with DC output. Great value
Click to expand...
I'm leaning toward the 50w Nicrew with the controller. It sounds like the best mix for my budget and needs, at least for the forseeable future. Thanks!
 
7of9 said:
Which wattage would you recommend for a 32g cube? I was looking at the 100w, but would a 50w suffice? Just planning softies.
Click to expand...
I would get the 100W in case you decide to get into LPS or SPS in the future.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
I still think the noopsyche mini would be better than the nicrew. Nicrew isn't bad though and has a great blue/violet range. The noopsyche mini is on sale for $77
 
Last edited:
Spare time said:
I still think the noopsyche mini would be better than the nicrew. Nicrew isn't bad though and has a great blue/violet range. The noopsyche mini is on sale for $77
Click to expand...
You really can't beat $77 for a reef light.
 

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