Budget Reefing

[LiveFreeAndReef]

Not saying that the Noopsyches are bad, just that if we're being budget conscious then you're talking about the difference between a light, and a light and 2 powerheads or an ATO

 

[MaxTremors]

The aquaknights are always available on Amazon, and you'd have to have a pretty good discount code for a Noopsyche as they're $110 more than an aquaknight. That's almost 3 aquaknights for 1 Noopsyche! ;Writing

The only real V2 36w Aquaknight/Spectra that I can find on Amazon is $202.44 (unless you’re talking about the rebranded 1st gen 30w being sold as Nicrew, which are really underpowered). The 75w Noopsyche is currently on sale for $139.99. With the Noopsyche, they’d be able to grow pretty much anything, with the aquaknight they won’t.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

This light right here: And they can grow everything, I have them over zoas, softies, LPS, SPS, and anemones and they're all growing fine. I'm not even running them at 100% either! It also comes with a mount, which the Noopsyche @$139.99 doesn't (unless they have this listed somewhere I haven't found, their website has the V3 listed at $175 with the mount).

 

[EMeyer]

black boxes are widely available for 80-90, I can't imagine paying more than that for an aquarium light if the goal is a budget build.

 

[Koh23]

Little expensive but better than black box - turing rs 90......

 

[MaxTremors]

This light right here: And they can grow everything, I have them over zoas, softies, LPS, SPS, and anemones and they're all growing fine. I'm not even running them at 100% either! It also comes with a mount, which the Noopsyche @$139.99 doesn't (unless they have this listed somewhere I haven't found, their website has the V3 listed at $175 with the mount).

Products

Noo-Psyche factory direct sales

noopsychereeflight.com

And the 75watt does come with the mount.

As I said, the aquaknight isn’t a bad light, just the other day I recommended the Aquaknight V2 to someone here, even tracked down a couple US retailers V2s available (msrp is around $140), but I do think that if the budget is there, the Noopsyche is a better ‘budget’ light.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

Products

Noo-Psyche factory direct sales

noopsychereeflight.com

And the 75watt does come with the mount.

As I said, the aquaknight isn’t a bad light, just the other day I recommended the Aquaknight V2 to someone here, even tracked down a couple US retailers V2s available (msrp is around $140), but I do think that if the budget is there, the Noopsyche is a better ‘budget’ light.

I think the problem here is we're talking about 2 different lights lol The aquaknight A029 is the model I'm referring to

 

[jda]

I built and maintained a 60g cube for a year under $1000. There is a link in my signature. You don't have to buy expensive stuff... just look high quality used.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I was planning a budget 20 long, really budgeted to the max. Hard to go on a budget and want high tech.

same Aqueon 20g long of course
Aqueon pro 100w heater and thermometer with a magnet
2 ac110 fuges
2 koralia nano 240s
Manual top offs cuz I’m cheap and it’s not that much work

Lighting is the tricky part to budget, but being a shallow tank just about anything should work depending on what you want to have in the tank. I’d probably blow the budget on lighting display and fuges. But I decided to skip on this build and go for a 33g long.

^^^ This. Just go with a couple Hydor Koralia to start. They are fairly reliable imo. I run a 90 gallon with no skimmer, sump, or mech filtration... so I rely on flow,I have a bunch of them pointed in various directions, switch them up every so often, along with a small Jebao wavemaker. Manual top off as mentioned, and agree with shallow tank you can likely get away with some lower budget lights, non programmable will be cheapest.

Budget means a bit more work in some areas and less in others imo.... creativity.