Best Budget LPS/Softy lighting for a 72g bowfront?

Budman93 · Sep 1, 2016

My tank dimensions are 4ft across, 23in high and 17 1/2in wide from the middle of the tank back. I've been researching LED fixtures as they seem to save on the electric bill and are usually cheaper. I am definitely a beginning reefer and don't want to start any harder and less forgiving corals until i've mastered the basics. While I'm not exactly strapped for cash I'd like to save money if possible and get a good light at an equally good price. I was considering putting 2 of the "Fluval SEA Marine & Reef 2.0 LED fixtures" on my tank but I dont think the PAR is that great towards the bottom. You seem to trade depth for spread with these.

The Par for the fixtures is as follows
376 @ depth of 3″ (76 mm)
222 @ depth of 6″ (15 cm)
90 @ depth of 12″ (30.5 cm)
47 @ depth of 18″ (46 cm)

Obviously this would be higher with 2 units but I have no idea how much more so. Any ideas?

Nibejeebies · Sep 1, 2016

What's your budget?
Also can you hang a your lights from your ceiling ? Most do this by flower pot hanging hooks along with included hardware from light .

I can't speak for every single member of the east Tennessee reef club but I can say a majority of us use ocean revive Arctic lights . They get really good growth a good spectrum some controllability and a great light for the money .

I have a 72 box ( dimensions are in my signature ) and I run two of them equally spaced apart . Here's a pic of the lights on my tank along with a shot of the par readings, and these lights arnt even at 50%!

Two channels, blues 40% and full spectrum at 30%

jsker · Sep 1, 2016

Same tank, I run 2 hydra 26 HD's. A link to my build thread is in my signature.

Budman93 · Sep 2, 2016

Nibejeebies said:
What's your budget?
Also can you hang a your lights from your ceiling ? Most do this by flower pot hanging hooks along with included hardware from light .

I can't speak for every single member of the east Tennessee reef club but I can say a majority of us use ocean revive Arctic lights . They get really good growth a good spectrum some controllability and a great light for the money .

I have a 72 box ( dimensions are in my signature ) and I run two of them equally spaced apart . Here's a pic of the lights on my tank along with a shot of the par readings, and these lights arnt even at 50%!

Two channels, blues 40% and full spectrum at 30%

I was looking to spend around $400-$600 but it's not firm. I like your setup a lot! The lights are the T247 model correct? My tank is a foot longer but if it's true that you are only running those at 50% they could be perfect for me. I can hang them but I suppose I would prefer something with a bracket like yours or something sitting right over the tank. The price is also right in line for my budget as it looks like it would be about $400 for two of them if I have the model correct.
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@jsker Also I've researched the Hydras before and they look phenomenal! I gotta say that controlling the lights from my iPhone would be pretty cool. However since I'm not aiming for SPS until I have a year+ of experience maybe I can get away with something cheaper. It looks about $350 a light on bulkreefsupply.com and since I'd get two like you it's a bit out of the range I was looking to pay.

Thanks for the info guys!

jsker · Sep 2, 2016

Budman93 said:
I was looking to spend around $400-$600 but it's not firm. I like your setup a lot! The lights are the T247 model correct? My tank is a foot longer but if it's true that you are only running those at 50% they could be perfect for me. I can hang them but I suppose I would prefer something with a bracket like yours or something sitting right over the tank. The price is also right in line for my budget as it looks like it would be about $400 for two of them if I have the model correct.

Also I've researched the Hydras before and they look phenomenal! I gotta say that controlling the lights from my iPhone would be pretty cool. However since I'm not aiming for SPS until I have a year+ of experience maybe I can get away with something cheaper. It looks about $350 a light on bulkreefsupply.com and since I'd get two like you it's a bit out of the range I was looking to pay.

Thanks for the info guys!

Why buy twice, when you can have a light for now and the future

Budman93 · Sep 2, 2016

jsker said:
Why buy twice, when you can have a light for now and the future

Because I'm cheap

But you're probably right. If they have a decent sale sometime I might get them. I'm really only planning a tank with frogspawn, xenia, zoa's and newbie coral at the moment. If the addiction is how I've read though, I might have to beef up my lights

Nibejeebies · Sep 2, 2016

I have sps in that tank and 2.5 weeks is all it took for a tiny little purple bonsai Acro to start encrusting.
And yes that is the correct model number. The lights come with mounting legs and hanging hardware.

I'll post a link in a moment to our club treasurer tank build he's running the ocean revives he swears by them . Couple of the other members have SPS only or SPS dominant tanks and they're running the ocean revives .

You simply can't beat the power of these lights for the money .

The lots have two channels blue and full spectrum you can tune the blue or the full spectrum to have an on and off cycle and you contain him to what intensity you want each at .
Wow it doesn't have connectivity to an iPhone or Wi-Fi it does come with a nifty little remote that you can turn it on or off for use it to program it .

Honestly this thing is as powerful as the howitzer Zero elevation.

I'm pretty much maxed out where I'm at now unless I want to start bleaching LPS.

Edit: here's the link to our treasures build... It's an awesome thread if you have time but you can skip toward the end for pics and such... https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-150-gallon-reef-savvy-tank-build.210693/

mcarroll · Sep 2, 2016

Budman93 said:
My tank dimensions are 4ft across, 23in high and 17 1/2in wide from the middle of the tank back. I've been researching LED fixtures as they seem to save on the electric bill and are usually cheaper. I am definitely a beginning reefer and don't want to start any harder and less forgiving corals until i've mastered the basics. While I'm not exactly strapped for cash I'd like to save money if possible and get a good light at an equally good price. I was considering putting 2 of the "Fluval SEA Marine & Reef 2.0 LED fixtures" on my tank but I dont think the PAR is that great towards the bottom. You seem to trade depth for spread with these.

The Par for the fixtures is as follows
376 @ depth of 3″ (76 mm)
222 @ depth of 6″ (15 cm)
90 @ depth of 12″ (30.5 cm)
47 @ depth of 18″ (46 cm)

Obviously this would be higher with 2 units but I have no idea how much more so. Any ideas?

In only a slight order:

I disagree with the title – stop trying to think about "SPS/LPS/Softy". There is no "SPS lighting".

Focus on corals you like - only get those. There will be easy ones among your choices.

Corals seem to generally be happy with >10,000 lux...on up to about 50,000...some even higher.

Clams are the ones with the light addiction.....requiring 30,000+ lux up to surface irradiance levels.

I think two of those lights you linked (2 x $199) would be a good start...light on the bottom would be fine for corals. Adding a third might be desirable at some future date, or now if you plan to keep clams...but in that case...

An Orbit Marine Pro would be a single-strip solution ($332) the would need no supplementation, now or later. It also has nice features.

Puck lights aren't the best fit for a long, skinny tank, but if you like the idea, I'd suggest more, smaller fixtures vs one or two larger ones. For example, four Primes would be preferred to two 26HD's. They could be mounted lower, keeping more light inside the tank. And they can be spaced out better, giving you more even lighting.

Another thing to be aware of is the amount of shadowing puck and shoebox-type lights cause. It's not a problem per-se, but it seems to end up bothering a significant number of folks to the point that they spend more money on different lights to "fill" the shadow space or on different lenses to cut down on the intensity, which makes the shadows less intense too. These folks should have gone with a strip-format light that doesn't create those shadows in the first place, IMO.

spartanman22 · Sep 3, 2016

I run OR-T247s on my dos dominant tank. My previous tank ran an OR-T247 for about 2.5 years. I switched from a radium to the OR and was very happy. I have great growth and many high end SPS. I also have a blue gig. Color is fantastic and growth is good. I'm not even running mine at 50% yet either.

I've had Kessils, T5's and fancy halide setup's and this is by far my favorite all around.

Bpb · Sep 5, 2016

On a budget the ocean revive lights are your best bet. If you are ok with spending 400-600 you could swing a couple AI prime HD or a pair of Kessil a160we units. Since you're not doing acros you don't need a ridiculous amount of light. Please stay away from those Fluval lights. There are MUCH higher quality options available at that price point