Frag tank light

[Mking36523]

I'm starting to invest in coral frag tank. I have a 55gal tank that is just sitting around and am going to use that as a frag tank. Been doing alot of reading and cant figure out a light for the tank. I know you needainly blue and purple lighting. But cant find a good light for it. The tank is 48 inches long. I haven't figured out if I just need the blue all the time or any other lights besides purple. Can I get some help. I'm an big shopper on amazon and am not trying to spend 300 on a light. Budget Is around 150 max 200. Let me know what is best to buy to grow corals and benefit them more. Thanks in advance

 

[ZoWhat]

Great light on Amazon:
Relassy LED Aquarium Light Panel

* 3 dimmable channels that are completely controllable thru your phone

* LEDs are Cree (well respected LED diode Mfgr)

At $100 a panel.... dang.... two of them is all you need.

 

[specwar]

I just ordered one and they had a $5 off coupon too. I have seen decent reviews from users and tank pics too. I found my info in a FB group "cheap Chinese LED Aquarium Lighting" - It's a budget purchase with my Amazon Credit so if it sucks I'll return it but if it works - then then we have a hidden gem!

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

are you looking to just grow frags or does this need to look good? Because if you’re just growing corals in a back room I’d grab a couple of those cheap T5 fixtures with some ATI bulbs and call it a day. Maybe grab a black box or a $100 fixture to supplement.

 

[specwar]

Yeah I will prob go the T-5 route on the Frag tank - but for the show I currently has t-5/led both underpowered so using as a team. Will see how the Relassy LED does on the display tank.

 

[The1HunnT]

FWIW I started with a five bulb T5 setup that came with the used tank I purchased, but wanted dimming and more than two bulb options in terms of channels. Then I tried the USA Current IC Pro—like many do—and while it was beautiful it fell short for my corals (though it was fine for my softies and some zoas). I decided to give Relassy a try and purchased two for my 75 gallon, and they cover the entirety of the 48” long aquarium.

Though the app sometimes “forgets” one of the lights so I have to tap twice instead of once, the lights have been *fantastic* for the four months I’ve had them. Unlimited timers, way more than enough wattage for my needs (they’re 300W each) and my LPS have started growing much faster. I’m finally getting one polyp a month for my rarer zoas (I’m not sure what they are but they’re fruit loop esque), and 3+ polyps a month from my other zoas—which is significantly faster than before.

Of course my pulsing Xenia are growing like crazy, but they are growing more than twice as fast as they were. I think I’m getting about 3 new heads per *week* (atm anyway) which is about triple what I was getting before, and it’s very satisfying to a reef n00b (but a seasoned FOWLR). The real test I suppose is longevity though I’ve heard from many that they honor their warranty and it’s 2 years I believe.

For $200 for two, having them for two years will be long enough for me to save up for my “dream lights” and in the meanwhile these will grow anything and you have complete control over the white and cyan channels—though I do miss the IC Pro’s four channels (red, green, blue, and white).

I also tried a black box, but was disappointed there was no app (tried another with an app but it didn’t work so I returned it). So now the MarsAqua is on a simple timer in the sump and now my red oro and chaeto are growing at least 2-3 times faster than when I had refugium grow light in there before. Just my 2 cents but they seem like the best deal on lights that include automation and a functional app; they’re significantly larger than most black boxes and still use Cree and Oram LEDs too.

Best of luck!

 

[specwar]

FWIW I started with a five bulb T5 setup that came with the used tank I purchased, but wanted dimming and more than two bulb options in terms of channels. Then I tried the USA Current IC Pro—like many do—and while it was beautiful it fell short for my corals (though it was fine for my softies and some zoas). I decided to give Relassy a try and purchased two for my 75 gallon, and they cover the entirety of the 48” long aquarium.

Though the app sometimes “forgets” one of the lights so I have to tap twice instead of once, the lights have been *fantastic* for the four months I’ve had them. Unlimited timers, way more than enough wattage for my needs (they’re 300W each) and my LPS have started growing much faster. I’m finally getting one polyp a month for my rarer zoas (I’m not sure what they are but they’re fruit loop esque), and 3+ polyps a month from my other zoas—which is significantly faster than before.

Of course my pulsing Xenia are growing like crazy, but they are growing more than twice as fast as they were. I think I’m getting about 3 new heads per *week* (atm anyway) which is about triple what I was getting before, and it’s very satisfying to a reef n00b (but a seasoned FOWLR). The real test I suppose is longevity though I’ve heard from many that they honor their warranty and it’s 2 years I believe.

For $200 for two, having them for two years will be long enough for me to save up for my “dream lights” and in the meanwhile these will grow anything and you have complete control over the white and cyan channels—though I do miss the IC Pro’s four channels (red, green, blue, and white).

I also tried a black box, but was disappointed there was no app (tried another with an app but it didn’t work so I returned it). So now the MarsAqua is on a simple timer in the sump and now my red oro and chaeto are growing at least 2-3 times faster than when I had refugium grow light in there before. Just my 2 cents but they seem like the best deal on lights that include automation and a functional app; they’re significantly larger than most black boxes and still use Cree and Oram LEDs too.

Best of luck!

Wow thanks so much for your response. I pulled the trigger and have had the Relassy
for a month now and I can honestly say I like this unit - by far the best deal/performance for the buck! Would be kind enough to share you light and timer settings that have given you good results. This is the part I'm still jacking around with.

 

[The1HunnT]

Unlike my T5 or Orbit IC systems, as I tried to share I realized it’s not that easy. I think the easiest way is with screenshots of my controller, and I’m sure you could optimize it far beyond where I’m at. I think I’m getting more growth mainly due to more light/higher PAR value—particularly in the ~460 nm range. That being said here we go!

For whatever reason they refer to the actinic blue channel as “ww” and the white channel—which includes RGB and some select UV (I believe) lights as the “cw” channel.

Each channel has a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 255. Again I have no idea why but with that I can share what I’ve been doing though I’ll certainly be tinkering over the next month.

10am: both lights (bl) 253 WW & 2 CW dragged to the lowest brightness available (as seen in pic).

12pm: bl- 253 WW & 2CW at half power using the slider.

3pm: bl- 174 WW & 81 CW at full power

5pm: bl- 174 WW & 81 CW at about 40% power

7pm: bl- 192 WW & 63 CW at about 25% power //this is when I get home and I like to feed them and enjoy the tank with more balanced lighting.

10pm: bl- 254 WW & 1 CW at the lowest strength the slider can each (~1%?). This allows me to enjoy the nocturnal clean up crew in vet low lighting before all lights are out.

12am: bl- all lights our completely until 10am when cycle begins again.

I hope this helps! I’m sure I’ll get a better and shorter routine, but dampening has helped prevent algae etc..

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

Reef Breeders all day long. Logan is the best at taking care of his customers as well.

ReefBreeders

www.reefbreeders.com

 

[Sailfinguy21]

I really hate LEDS so my vote on a 48 inch long tank is a 2 or 4 bulb T5 fixture.

I have these over my 6ft 135g tank.. one 24 inch one 48 inch fixture. I use two blue plus ati and two coral plus ati. Grows every coral you want just fine.

In fact alot of growers for frags have switched from leds back to T5s because they just grow the corals better..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XFT6S43/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[The1HunnT]

Reef Breeders all day long. Logan is the best at taking care of his customers as well.

ReefBreeders

www.reefbreeders.com

Wow those look amazing, and I love the six channel configuration. Maybe that will be my final light set.

 

[The1HunnT]

I really hate LEDS so my vote on a 48 inch long tank is a 2 or 4 bulb T5 fixture.

I have these over my 6ft 135g tank.. one 24 inch one 48 inch fixture. I use two blue plus ati and two coral plus ati. Grows every coral you want just fine.

In fact alot of growers for frags have switched from leds back to T5s because they just grow the corals better..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XFT6S43/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I hear you and started on a 6 bulb T5 system (I thought it was 5 bulbs oops). The thing is, for me, I want to be able to
Customize the light hue, saturation, and power and that’s hard to do with a T5–through not impossible. With my coral + and ATI blue specials I just found my reef looking very lit and as enjoyable to look at. This was most likely just because the tank was so bright and blue/purple. Now I can have a period in the evening where things look “natural” (whatever that means). If I was focusing solely on coral I probably would stick with my 48” T5 setup, but time will tell.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[specwar]

Thanks a lot Im going to try those settings! I also use a 4 Bulb t-5 over my frag tank. 2 Actinic 420nm and 1 ATI Blue Plus and 1 Coral Plus. Plug and play and the stuff grows!