Can you check out this light fixture please?

[mallorieGgator]

Hey all! I was wanting to use this fixture for my 20L nano in 90. Does anyone know if this is a good enough fixture to keep everything under in a 20L? I don't want to waste my money on an LED fixture and not get any growth. Let me know. I was also looking at a 4 bulb t5 from aquaticlife since I already have the 48" one and love it. I don't know which one to go with. Help would be great. I am on a budget so I can't get any better LED than $270.That is the top of my budget and I prefer to not go DIY.

AquaticLife 1.0 Watt Expandable LED Light Fixture

 

[k2parkstar]

Most LED'ers will tell you that you want 70-80 optics. Personlly i'm a huge fan of T5's and as shallow it is you'd probably be ok to grow everything. Additionaly that led fixture is 24 total watts and in a 2 bulb t5 you'll have 2 24w bulbs. To add more actinic get some ecoxotic stunner strips. They make my tank grow. Good luck on your build!

 

[mallorieGgator]

Thanks- the T5 I was looking at is 4 bulbs so I can put an actinic in it.

 

[k2parkstar]

Even better! I love T5's! I've got a 4 bulb t5 with 2 blue+/1 true blue/ 1 true actinic purple, and still have 2 stunner strips! When my daylights go off my tank glows like grateful dead concert!! Can't wait to see your pics! Also I meant to say "glow" instead of "grow."

 

[mallorieGgator]

Thanks! I was wanting to go strictly ATI bulbs (KZ are awesome but a bit too expensive- I have 2 in my 48" fixture).

 

[Ace25]

Have you looked into1 or 2 PAR38 LED bulbs? I think that would be a better option for your size tank. The LED light you linked to, IMO, is a complete waste of $.

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[miyags]

I think lighting is so over rated....Par this Par that ...I've been using cheap light fixtures and bulbs for tens of years or more and love them. with great success . I use cheap T5s right now, and they will grow LPS all day long. But I'm going to add blue LED's just for pop!!! Goggle LED blue spot lights, you can add these to T5s For great glow!!!!. Or just use cheap 6500K LED's or less for growing out your corals.

 

[mallorieGgator]

I agree to an extent. Yes par is par but with a better fixture and reflectors, more energy is produced in the form of light instead of heat.

 

[Ace25]

PAR is only the intensity of the light, nothing else. People put way to much into an arbitrary number without looking deeper into it. 100 PAR can give the same exact growth as 2000 PAR under certain spectral conditions.

With LEDs you are looking at around 1/2 the cost in electricity and no annual bulb replacement costs and you get light output that is just as good as T5 and MH.

The video below was taken a few months after I replaced a 6 bulb T5HO fixture for a DIY LED light I made for my 29G, which is just a 6" deeper 20L. I used a 23"x4" heatsink and standard 12/12 royal blue and cool white cree LEDs. I just set the fixture an inch off the glass with no optics and it grew everything fine. I had a frag rack full of SPS corals from someone that were browned out and they all colored up nicely under the LEDs. I now have this fixture hanging over my 60G, I only added optics to it and it is enough light for SPS corals on the sandbed, which is 34" under the light. It cost me under $200 to make. Replacement T5HO bulbs, 6 of them @ $25ea was $150+shipping, so just a couple dollars more to replace them with LEDs. I know you don't want to DIY, which is why I think 2 PAR38 bulbs is the best option for you. Do some research yourself on them, not all PAR38 bulbs are created equal. The link I posted above was an example, not an endorsement for their bulbs, but 2 PAR38 bulbs would cost less than the fixture you linked to and provide many more options for the tank design.

[video=youtube;fUlInNEgVwk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUlInNEgVwk[/video]