Good lighting for a Pico?

[DracoKat]

I have a 2.7 pico cube and looking for relatively budget friendly light.
I am planning on having pest corals (kenya, xenia, GSP..) and possibly some zoas.
Something sleek and modern looking would be a big plus!

Suggestions please?

 

[Texas Reefer]

https://www.amazon.com/AquaIllumination-Prime-LED-Light-Black/

 

[DracoKat]

thank you for that suggestion not sure if I want to spend that much. if there's no other alternative I will look more into it

 

[brandon429]

Abi tuna 12 w is the ticket search Amazon

Top picos are using it, cheapest out there. I prefer it's lighting to my 260.00 kessil but the kessil looks nicer on form factor so I'll keep it

A twenty dollar light beats my kessil in terms of coral growth and looks for pics

 

[ajm83]

I should think that one of those PAR38 reef LEDs would work well on that size of tank for softies. Or something like a Beamswork Evo.

I used an 18W Evolution Aqua iNano LED in my old pico, and it grew SPS including acros no problem. Looked awesome as well, only real issue was that it beeped every 10 seconds for around 20 mins when you switched it on ;Wideyed

 

[DracoKat]

keep the suggestions coming! I am looking into all posted

 

[cwalton00]

Kessil A80 tuna blue.

 

[DracoKat]

I am comparing the Kissel and ABI tuna blue. both looks great and need to figure out which to get.

 

[cwalton00]

You can't go wrong with the kessil.

 

[mcarroll]

By my calculations, that a cube of 8.5" or so, right?

A flashlight would do it.

Seriously, if you can wire up a single gu10 socket (first photo) to ordinary AC power, then one of these will do it. Two if you want to mix colors (one or two blues with one cool white) without special ordering a bulb.

Sockets cost 50¢ to $1. Bulbs cost from $1-$7. I wired my first ones to the end of an extension cord from which I had removed the female end....add wire nuts....you're in business! So even if you go for the 2 bluw:1 white formula and don't find the absolute cheapest bulbs or sockets, and get three bulbs/sockets, and buy a $5 extension cord to sacrifice, you're only into it for $15 or so. Hard to call that a bad DIY experiment even if you end up not liking it.

I'd look for 30º lenses and watts to be <5.

A single 3-watt emitter is fine too, but there seems to be a limited selection of lenses for these.

More wattage is OK for the tank, but I'd worry about the longevity of the bulbs.

FWIW, I've been growing for

 

[DracoKat]

based on the reviews, decided on the ABI

@mcarroll - awesome write up! Thank you so much! I am not a DIY'ser as I am terrible, but you made it seem so easy the tank is 8"x9"X10"H

 

[mcarroll]

It's definitely not as easy as just plugging in a ready-made fixture, but it really is darned close! By far the easiest DIY I've done so far.

 

[Best Fish-Jake]

HOB elive strip lights work just fine, and are wallet friendly [emoji4]

 

[DavidMc]

Abi tuna 12 w is the ticket search Amazon

Top picos are using it, cheapest out there. I prefer it's lighting to my 260.00 kessil but the kessil looks nicer on form factor so I'll keep it

A twenty dollar light beats my kessil in terms of coral growth and looks for pics

Don't mean to intrude on the thread, but I was llooking for the same thing for a 3g pico. Was looking at this light on Amazon but I can only fid it in blue lights. Is that the same one you are talking about?

 

[DavidMc]

Umm....never mind, I found the right one lol

 

[DavidMc]

Umm....never mind, I found the right one lol

 

[DracoKat]

lol, probably is.

The seller sent me a new light due to my previous disappointed review.. the new light they sent was too white and washed all out (Also in the $20 range).

got the Coral Compulsion ($80), and like it much better. smaller bulb and not too white or blue. Sure, the blue will make the corals pop more, but it didn't make the rocks or anything else look "natural" to me. So far my zoas and GSP is responding very well to CoralCompusulsion.

 

[DracoKat]

Oh.. the seller stated in email "I sent a new bulb based on your review and this should do better. Please consider removing the negative review" on Amazon. Just tells me that they try to do right, but doubt most of those reviews are honest