Good budget nano sps lights?

[educatedreefer]

Wait sorry how many are you running and whats the dimensions of your tank.

My bedroom tank is just a Aqueon 10 gallon rimless with, now two Fluval Marine Nano lights, a heater, and a Seachem HOB Tidal 55 (250GPH) filter. That’s all!
Just the foundational basics, no skimmer, no water change, no ATO, no refugium, no calcium reactor, no Apex Neptune, and a lot of expensive “mistakes” or experience

 

[GHOSTLY]

My bedroom tank is just a Aqueon 10 gallon rimless with, now two Fluval Marine Nano lights, a heater, and a Seachem HOB Tidal 55 (250GPH) filter. That’s all!
Just the foundational basics, no skimmer, no water change, no ATO, no refugium, no calcium reactor, no Apex Neptune, and a lot of expensive “mistakes” or experience

Could I see your setup?

 

[educatedreefer]

Wait sorry how many are you running and whats the dimensions of your tank.

This was taken last night and there’s no PE cuz I may or may not have moved some corals around and made some “accidental” frags here and there hahahah

 

[Roatan Reef]

I threw this over a 10g I set up to QT live rock and honestly it’s great. Tossed a couple acros in for fun they’re doing great.

I have one too, bought it as an additional light fixture for my 40, to go along with my strip light...it's pretty impressive for the price.

 

[educatedreefer]

I have one too, bought it as an additional light fixture for my 40, to go along with my strip light...it's pretty impressive for the price.

I think it’s cheaper on AliExpress, but ordering from Amazon is a bit more reliable 100%
I bought it a while back and it grow corals well, but I just wasn’t a fan of the lack in pop and color towards the white spectrum. It reminds me of a black box version of AI Hydras with the spectrum of Kessil lights (blue and white)

 

[GHOSTLY]

This was taken last night and there’s no PE cuz I may or may not have moved some corals around and made some “accidental” frags here and there hahahah

Whats the red coral in the middle right above the rampage chalice? How much par is there in that are

 

[educatedreefer]

Whats the red coral in the middle right above the rampage chalice? How much par is there in that are

That would be my red montipora cap! Grew it out from a small frag from AquaSD.
The top few inches of the tank gets about 250 PAR and where the red monti is gets about 110-120 PAR and the sand bottom is getting around 70-80 PAR.
If I turned up my white intensity from 25% to 50%, id get around 100 PAR on the sand bed, 150-220 PAR where the red monti is, and about 280-300 PAR at the water surface.
After measuring the PAR earlier, I think im going to ramp up my white intensity to 50-60% hahahah

 

[GHOSTLY]

That would be my red montipora cap! Grew it out from a small frag from AquaSD.
The top few inches of the tank gets about 250 PAR and where the red monti is gets about 110-120 PAR and the sand bottom is getting around 70-80 PAR.
If I turned up my white intensity from 25% to 50%, id get around 100 PAR on the sand bed, 150-220 PAR where the red monti is, and about 280-300 PAR at the water surface.
After measuring the PAR earlier, I think im going to ramp up my white intensity to 50-60% hahahah

Do you have any more pictures of your acros and their placement?

 

[educatedreefer]

Do you have any more pictures of your acros and their placement?

pm me and tagged you in my build thread!

 

[ProvidenceTidalReef]

Ai prime hd16 is your best best for that tank with mounting arm. You will get the power you need and control ability thay you dont get with those jank ebay specials. And when you are ready for more you will have the extra power available on demand. Those cheap lights havent been tested for longevity/extended use. You dont know if 2 months or 2 years from now of the light will loose power over time like all LEDs do. But the chances are higher with low quality equiptment. Buy from a company that had been around for years not days. There is no support for that chinese jank. If it breaks on 24 hours you will be buying another one.
Bye once and be happy.

 

[educatedreefer]

Ai prime hd16 is your best best for that tank with mounting arm. You will get the power you need and control ability thay you dont get with those jank ebay specials. And when you are ready for more you will have the extra power available on demand. Those cheap lights havent been tested for longevity/extended use. You dont know if 2 months or 2 years from now of the light will loose power over time like all LEDs do. But the chances are higher with low quality equiptment. Buy from a company that had been around for years not days. There is no support for that chinese jank. If it breaks on 24 hours you will be buying another one.
Bye once and be happy.

Are you referring to those reef lights on Amazon or black box lights?

 

[Spare time]

Ai prime hd16 is your best best for that tank with mounting arm. You will get the power you need and control ability thay you dont get with those jank ebay specials. And when you are ready for more you will have the extra power available on demand. Those cheap lights havent been tested for longevity/extended use. You dont know if 2 months or 2 years from now of the light will loose power over time like all LEDs do. But the chances are higher with low quality equiptment. Buy from a company that had been around for years not days. There is no support for that chinese jank. If it breaks on 24 hours you will be buying another one.
Bye once and be happy.

Lol AI lights aren't very lost lasting either unless you run them at a lower intensity.

 

[educatedreefer]

Lol AI lights aren't very lost lasting either unless you run them at a lower intensity.

Despite all being used around water, Kessil and AI lights are definitely not water resistant or water proof either hahah
I lost two AI Hydra 32HDs during an accident where the single screw attached to the mount got lose whereas the Fluval marine nano light has an IPX rating of 7-8 I think so it won’t get its circuit fried in the case of an accident. Come to think of it, they should really seal these lights up since they’re surrounded by water 24/7 hahahah

 

[SilvermistInc]

Ai prime hd16 is your best best for that tank with mounting arm. You will get the power you need and control ability thay you dont get with those jank ebay specials. And when you are ready for more you will have the extra power available on demand. Those cheap lights havent been tested for longevity/extended use. You dont know if 2 months or 2 years from now of the light will loose power over time like all LEDs do. But the chances are higher with low quality equiptment. Buy from a company that had been around for years not days. There is no support for that chinese jank. If it breaks on 24 hours you will be buying another one.
Bye once and be happy.

Lol what?

 

[ProvidenceTidalReef]

Yes, but you cannot argue testing and support.. the AI has both.
Ive ran tuna,xr15,xr30, black box, current USA ,
they are all the same company. With diffrent names.
You gotta remember there is only a handful of people making led light boards worth talking about.
Neptune,AI,Radion. The rest are sub par.

Unless you plan on taking the light aprart every 6 months and soldering in new leds. Dont do it
Do you understand how each one of those pucks has individual lenses that have narrow spread and send a direct beam of par into the water making horrible hot spots.
Do your reasearch.

Aslo your tank is minature. Why do you need 2-3 led pucks???
Do you understand par? Do you understand wha over lighiting is?
Do you understand how specturm works? And what wave lenghts the coral can utilize ?
If you answer NO to any of these, than starting off with jank. Is a death sentence i would only use that light as a filler to spred par more evenly.

You want a clear path to sucess remeber the health of the animals you put in that tank depends on you the moment you add 1 coral or fish.
Would you cheap out on your meals or life support system. I doubt it.
Try not to go down a path that only 2% of the comunity supports.

Each tank is diffrent, just because 1 guy says oh these are great thats .001%
The rest of the community would tell you otherwise
Ive been in this hobbie 18+ years
i have waltdisney that would blow your mind

Im trying to give you solid advice so you can advance. Not be set back because 1 guy tells you his methyod works.



Best of luck to you

 

[educatedreefer]

Yes, but you cannot argue testing and support.. the AI has both. Ive ran tuna,xr15,xr40 they are all the same company. With diffrent names. You gotta remember there is only a handful of people making led light boards worth talking about.
Neptune,AI,Radion. The rest are sub par.

Aslo your tank is minature. Why do you need 2-3 led pucks???
Do you understand par? Do you understand whT over lighiting is? Do you understand how specturm works? And what wave lenghts the coral can utilize ?
If yoy answer no to any of thise than starting off with jank. Is a deth sentence i woudl only use that light as a filler to spred par more evenly. Also yout light is super close to surface of water. It should be 8 inches min.

You want a clear path to sucess. Not go down a path that only 2% of the comunity supports.

Best of luck to you

I’m not sure if it’s your attitude, which is unfortunately rash and demeaning, but I don’t disagree with you at all. I’ve been reefing since 2016 so I’m well aware with PAR, photosynthesis, and coral biology.
I have a B.S. in Pharmacology and Data Science with a minor in Marine Biology so I’m well educated and believe your responses on this thread, and misspelling, to be mildly offensive and not supportive or productive.
If you did your due diligence and research, the Fluval Marine Nano lights have a maximum mounting of a few inches due to it’s low wattage requiring it to be closer to the water surface for deeper penetration unlike other lights such as the AI Hydras or Kessil that require 12 inches or more depending on lighting intensity.
If I had my light 8 inches from the water surface, my PAR penetration would be greatly reduced and not be sufficient for my tank requirements.
If you listened to podcasts or spoke with longtime reefers, you’d find that nano builds has been rising in popularity for the past decade and are typically best suited for advanced hobbyists due to the difficulty in managing managing swings whereas shifts are greatly reduced in larger systems (unless it’s heavily stocked).
And “clear path to success,” buddy I’ve been reefing since 2016 and my results speak for themselves hahah
Try to lower your passive aggressive tone and just support other reefers man
My family’s living room 250gallon (;

 

[educatedreefer]

Yes, but you cannot argue testing and support.. the AI has both.
Ive ran tuna,xr15,xr30, black box, current USA ,
they are all the same company. With diffrent names.
You gotta remember there is only a handful of people making led light boards worth talking about.
Neptune,AI,Radion. The rest are sub par.

Unless you plan on taking the light aprart every 6 months and soldering in new leds. Dont do it
Do you understand how each one of those pucks has individual lenses that have narrow spread and send a direct beam of par into the water making horrible hot spots.
Do your reasearch.

Aslo your tank is minature. Why do you need 2-3 led pucks???
Do you understand par? Do you understand wha over lighiting is?
Do you understand how specturm works? And what wave lenghts the coral can utilize ?
If you answer NO to any of these, than starting off with jank. Is a death sentence i would only use that light as a filler to spred par more evenly.

You want a clear path to sucess remeber the health of the animals you put in that tank depends on you the moment you add 1 coral or fish.
Would you cheap out on your meals or life support system. I doubt it.
Try not to go down a path that only 2% of the comunity supports.

Each tank is diffrent, just because 1 guy says oh these are great thats .001%
The rest of the community would tell you otherwise
Ive been in this hobbie 18+ years
i have waltdisney that would blow your mind

Im trying to give you solid advice so you can advance. Not be set back because 1 guy tells you his methyod works.



Best of luck to you

Literally the OP asked for affordable lights and reefers are trying to advise him with practical options and evidence.
It doesn’t take a lot to know better lights result in better growth and coral coloration, but again, they’re looking for “affordable” lights and it’s up to them to decide what to accept and try.
Just because I say that the lights im running are good and not commonly used that it’s 0.001% (random figure) and should be shut down by the reefing community without giving it a try?
Your input isn’t solid advice, it’s a long rant on why other people’s opinion don’t fall in line with your beliefs and that they’re completely “wrong.”

 

[educatedreefer]

Yes, but you cannot argue testing and support.. the AI has both.
Ive ran tuna,xr15,xr30, black box, current USA ,
they are all the same company. With diffrent names.
You gotta remember there is only a handful of people making led light boards worth talking about.
Neptune,AI,Radion. The rest are sub par.

Unless you plan on taking the light aprart every 6 months and soldering in new leds. Dont do it
Do you understand how each one of those pucks has individual lenses that have narrow spread and send a direct beam of par into the water making horrible hot spots.
Do your reasearch.

Aslo your tank is minature. Why do you need 2-3 led pucks???
Do you understand par? Do you understand wha over lighiting is?
Do you understand how specturm works? And what wave lenghts the coral can utilize ?
If you answer NO to any of these, than starting off with jank. Is a death sentence i would only use that light as a filler to spred par more evenly.

You want a clear path to sucess remeber the health of the animals you put in that tank depends on you the moment you add 1 coral or fish.
Would you cheap out on your meals or life support system. I doubt it.
Try not to go down a path that only 2% of the comunity supports.

Each tank is diffrent, just because 1 guy says oh these are great thats .001%
The rest of the community would tell you otherwise
Ive been in this hobbie 18+ years
i have waltdisney that would blow your mind

Im trying to give you solid advice so you can advance. Not be set back because 1 guy tells you his methyod works.



Best of luck to you

Gotta stop editing your posts to enhance your argument. Like I said before, I DONT disagree with you hahahah
You keep mentioning “do your research” and I’ve tested the PAR and the light works for me (,:
Don’t tell my corals they’re better, more expensive lights xD they’ll come for my wallet!
Anyways, your tone and demeaning “advice” should be dialed back a bit but to each their own, right?

 

[ProvidenceTidalReef]

So your saying telling someone who is new to the hobbie.
To go with somthing that has not been well tested. That is shipped from china made in some dudes basment, is the best idea? Or knolege you can provide?
I think thats a bit off mate.

If the guy was in the hobbie as long as a few of us here. Then yes id say go for it. Because that person has the knolege and experience to identify if things arent working properly.

Telling a nubie that this light is good when you havent personally tested for longer than a year is not good advice either.

Mabye we dont see eye to eye. I dont expect to. But leading a new reefer down a path of no proven sucess. Seems a bit ******* ish in itself.

Its like telling someone its ok to play with fire but not explaning it will burn...
who ever sent that tank awesome bro great job there needs to be more people like us that make it past the 5 year mark.

I dont want to see another reefer pushed out over bad decision making.
All i was saying, is that of you buy quality you get what you pay for. Thats 100% in this hobbie
Any of the lights i talked about have good warantee and support for them. Are widely used, tested, I know radion upgraded my lights for free when i sent them in for maintenance.

So essentially you pay for what you get. Like im not saying dont buy it. But what i am saying is dont use this as your main light, keep it for a back up if anything goes wrong with your other lights.

Mabye i did get a bit rant but when your passionate about what you do for a living
Ita hard to watch experienced reefers tell nubies that its okay to throw yourself down the rabbit hole.

If you have to spend 2× in one year for a light.
Why not go with the better option.
Yes affordability is a factor. But you cann
just save up for alittle longer and achieve better results and have a peice of mind.

The lights look great. But would i trust them as far as i can throw them. heck no lol
I have a gen 3 radion thats gotta be what 6-7 years old now. Thing puts out par like it was made yesturday.

 

[SilvermistInc]

Yes, but you cannot argue testing and support.. the AI has both.
Ive ran tuna,xr15,xr30, black box, current USA ,
they are all the same company. With diffrent names.
You gotta remember there is only a handful of people making led light boards worth talking about.
Neptune,AI,Radion. The rest are sub par.

Unless you plan on taking the light aprart every 6 months and soldering in new leds. Dont do it
Do you understand how each one of those pucks has individual lenses that have narrow spread and send a direct beam of par into the water making horrible hot spots.
Do your reasearch.

Aslo your tank is minature. Why do you need 2-3 led pucks???
Do you understand par? Do you understand wha over lighiting is?
Do you understand how specturm works? And what wave lenghts the coral can utilize ?
If you answer NO to any of these, than starting off with jank. Is a death sentence i would only use that light as a filler to spred par more evenly.

You want a clear path to sucess remeber the health of the animals you put in that tank depends on you the moment you add 1 coral or fish.
Would you cheap out on your meals or life support system. I doubt it.
Try not to go down a path that only 2% of the comunity supports.

Each tank is diffrent, just because 1 guy says oh these are great thats .001%
The rest of the community would tell you otherwise
Ive been in this hobbie 18+ years
i have waltdisney that would blow your mind

Im trying to give you solid advice so you can advance. Not be set back because 1 guy tells you his methyod works.



Best of luck to you

What