How to light a 6ft Tank?

[125gSW]

Need help deciding which reef lights to get to light my tank. Either a strip, 3 24" or 2 36".

My tank dimensions are 72lx18wx22h

My tank: http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/mari...18wx22h-reef-ready-glass-fish-tank-97011.aspx

Nothing too expensive, good adjustable "starter" lights

 

[Oceanwave45]

If you are looking for something thats decent and moderately priced, I heard Current USA has a MARINE ORBIT LED. I have heard good things about Current USA, the only issues I found is their PAR ratings are low depending on the depth of the tank. I am sure you can find a 72 inch light that would work. Also Fluval makes a decent marine LED, so I've heard. Again, I had the Current LED, but I had to return it because I found the lighting was too weak for a 2 foot deep tank.

I personally like Kessil light but I know they can be expensive. Just my opinion! Good Luck!

 

[aKlevans]

Are you thinking LEDs? T-5's? What is your budget?
Are you trying to grow sps and other high light corals or just LPS/softies?
If you are going with LEDs, the cheapest bare bones lights are the "chinese black box leds" (marsaqua, galaxyhydro)
They have decent PAR, but are not very reliable.
The next step up would be SB Reef Lights, not too much more expensive.
If you want more controllability, Par, and reliability, I would go with any AI fixture.
I don't really know anything about t-5's so I cant help u there

 

[125gSW]

Are you thinking LEDs? T-5's? What is your budget?
Are you trying to grow sps and other high light corals or just LPS/softies?
If you are going with LEDs, the cheapest bare bones lights are the "chinese black box leds" (marsaqua, galaxyhydro)
They have decent PAR, but are not very reliable.
The next step up would be SB Reef Lights, not too much more expensive.
If you want more controllability, Par, and reliability, I would go with any AI fixture.
I don't really know anything about t-5's so I cant help u there

Oops forgot to include all that in the main post.
I'm thinking of LEDs and as for my budget I'm aiming for cheap to moderate priced. I plan on getting high end LEDs way later on. As for the Chinese Black box, are they safe and easy to program?
As for corals, I'm going for easy to take care of corals so zoas, anemone, toadstool, frogspawn, brain coral etc..

 

[125gSW]

If you are looking for something thats decent and moderately priced, I heard Current USA has a MARINE ORBIT LED. I have heard good things about Current USA, the only issues I found is their PAR ratings are low depending on the depth of the tank. I am sure you can find a 72 inch light that would work. Also Fluval makes a decent marine LED, so I've heard. Again, I had the Current LED, but I had to return it because I found the lighting was too weak for a 2 foot deep tank.

I personally like Kessil light but I know they can be expensive. Just my opinion! Good Luck!

I was recommended to avoid Fluval by my LFS. I will check into Current USA, thanks!

 

[aKlevans]

Oops forgot to include all that in the main post.
I'm thinking of LEDs and as for my budget I'm aiming for cheap to moderate priced. I plan on getting high end LEDs way later on. As for the Chinese Black box, are they safe and easy to program?
As for corals, I'm going for easy to take care of corals so zoas, anemone, toadstool, frogspawn, brain coral etc..

I have never used them, but I have heard stories on both sides. If you want more controllability, you can get the ones with WiFi built in, so that you can control the color via phone app

 

[aKlevans]

Here is a PAR chart for Current USA, its pretty accurate:
http://current-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Orbit-PAR-Measurements-1.pdf

 

[125gSW]

Here is a PAR chart for Current USA, its pretty accurate:
http://current-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Orbit-PAR-Measurements-1.pdf

Do you mind explaining how to read that chart? Not very well versed in this aspect

 

[mcarroll]

I heard Current USA has a MARINE ORBIT LED.

You both would want the Orbit IC or the Orbit Pro. Go with a set of two if you want higher light for (e.g.) clams.

Seems that Current now offers a Bluetooth upgrade and app control if that's something you'd want to add. (The included remote control is IR based.)

 

[125gSW]

Would I be stupid to buy those standard reef lights meant for 50 gals from Amazon and have multiple of them?
For example : https://www.amazon.com/Galaxyhydro-...TF8&qid=1507047912&sr=8-6&keywords=reef+light

 

[MaccaPopEye]

Would I be stupid to buy those standard reef lights meant for 50 gals from Amazon and have multiple of them?
For example : https://www.amazon.com/Galaxyhydro-...TF8&qid=1507047912&sr=8-6&keywords=reef+light

Black boxes are completely fine and grow coral with no issues. I have 3x Mars Aqua lights over my 6ft, I'd say 4 is probably better if you can afford it.

And if you have a bit more room in your budget then look at SB Reef lights. Way better than standard black box LEDs. The basic versions are fine but they have Wifi ones too. I would still go with 4 16" lights though for the best coverage.

 

[LJLKRL05]

I will suggest you get 3 fixtures to fit between the braces. I have a six foot tank in a 210 with the same braces. Shadows drive me crazy since I have two fixtures that go over the braces.

 

[125gSW]

Black boxes are completely fine and grow coral with no issues. I have 3x Mars Aqua lights over my 6ft, I'd say 4 is probably better if you can afford it.

And if you have a bit more room in your budget then look at SB Reef lights. Way better than standard black box LEDs. The basic versions are fine but they have Wifi ones too. I would still go with 4 16" lights though for the best coverage.

That's what I was thinking, plus in the future I can have them be used for individual tanks as well. I will definitely look into SB. Are teh Mars Aqua programmable? As in timer?

I will suggest you get 3 fixtures to fit between the braces. I have a six foot tank in a 210 with the same braces. Shadows drive me crazy since I have two fixtures that go over the braces.

My only issue is based on that model, my model has 2 panel areas which makes it annoying. Specifically this style

And I have the same pet peeve, I can't take shadows and the middle beam drives me nuts. So im avoiding 72" strips fo rthat reason but if it covers it all then fine. But thats why I was thinking smaller lights and just have multiple of them to cover the entire area. Any recommendations you may have?

 

[MaccaPopEye]

That's what I was thinking, plus in the future I can have them be used for individual tanks as well. I will definitely look into SB. Are teh Mars Aqua programmable? As in timer?
My only issue is based on that model, my model has 2 panel areas which makes it annoying. Specifically this style
And I have the same pet peeve, I can't take shadows and the middle beam drives me nuts. So im avoiding 72" strips fo rthat reason but if it covers it all then fine. But thats why I was thinking smaller lights and just have multiple of them to cover the entire area. Any recommendations you may have?

The Mars Aqua lights are basic and cheap (but still effective especially if you are on a budget). You will need mechanical timers from a hardware store to turn them on and off automatically (but that does work fine). They have 2 plugs, 1 for whites and 1 for blues and then a dimmer for each. The dimmer is manually set and they don't ramp up and down (nice to have but not essential). They cover the needed spectrum to grow coral but are nothing fancy by any means.

The SB reef lights are still a black box style but are different where it counts. The basic models are a little bit more expensive than the Mars Aqua and have slightly better quality internal parts (power supplies, heat sinks, fans etc.) and the spectrum is just a bit better as it is slightly more fine tuned for coral. Then the wifi models are a bit more expensive than the basic models and have the same improvements as the basic models as well as inbuilt timers you can control via wifi and I think they also ramp up and down (not certain though).

If I could go back in time I would just buy the SB lights instead of the Mars Aqua ones for sure. I'd still recommend 4 of the 16" lights to get the best coverage though, especially if you have a brace in the centre of the tank. I say 4x 16" lights instead of 2x of the longer ones as with the 16" ones you will be able to orient them "sideways" and get a bit better spread IMO

 

[LJLKRL05]

That's what I was thinking, plus in the future I can have them be used for individual tanks as well. I will definitely look into SB. Are teh Mars Aqua programmable? As in timer?



My only issue is based on that model, my model has 2 panel areas which makes it annoying. Specifically this style

And I have the same pet peeve, I can't take shadows and the middle beam drives me nuts. So im avoiding 72" strips fo rthat reason but if it covers it all then fine. But thats why I was thinking smaller lights and just have multiple of them to cover the entire area. Any recommendations you may have?

I see, mine has two braces, yours only has one. Should be no problem then. I have two Reefbreeders Photon V2 32 inch fixtures over mine. They are fine as far as growing corals, but the shadows drive me nuts. Two of these over yours would work though.

 

[125gSW]

I see, mine has two braces, yours only has one. Should be no problem then. I have two Reefbreeders Photon V2 32 inch fixtures over mine. They are fine as far as growing corals, but the shadows drive me nuts. Two of these over yours would work though.

Anything under 300-250 a piece you'd recommend? I honestly should just shell out and get good lights at once but I'd rather do those upgrades later when I can handle all types of corals

 

[LJLKRL05]

Anything under 300-250 a piece you'd recommend? I honestly should just shell out and get good lights at once but I'd rather do those upgrades later when I can handle all types of corals

I think I paid about $500 each for mine, and I cannot recommend anything else because I have not used anything other than Reefbreeders and Ecoxotic. Was not happy with Ecoxotic though.
I am hoping to get some Radions after the first of the year for mine.

 

[Reefing newbie]

I've tried both the galaxyhydro and sbreef lights. Between both I like the sbreef lights better because the galaxyhydro had more of a pink hue. That being said is there any reason you want leds specifically? I know it's over done but i highly suggest going with t5 depending on what type of corals you'll be getting.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

SBreeflights - my corals have started splitting and growing so much better since i've put the 16" basic on my biocube... Haven't changed a thing aside from the lights [for now]

The 16" Wifi models mentioned before are here [$259.95 free shipping]

The 16" timer models are here [$209.95 free shipping]

The 16" Basic models are here [$134.95 free shipping]

The basic models as mentioned above are two power cords [one for white one for blue] and standard do not ramp (but they do have dimming knobs)

 

[125gSW]

I think I paid about $500 each for mine, and I cannot recommend anything else because I have not used anything other than Reefbreeders and Ecoxotic. Was not happy with Ecoxotic though.
I am hoping to get some Radions after the first of the year for mine.

Thank you for that, personal experience helps me narrow down my choices. I was looking at Ecoxotic as well

I've tried both the galaxyhydro and sbreef lights. Between both I like the sbreef lights better because the galaxyhydro had more of a pink hue. That being said is there any reason you want leds specifically? I know it's over done but i highly suggest going with t5 depending on what type of corals you'll be getting.

Lights I can buy immediately without care would be the galaxy while everything else I would want to make sure I get my moneys worth. Any other upside/downside to the galaxy?

Tbh no specific reason for LEDs just thought they looked cool and controllable, I am open to all suggestions and advices. I have never done corals in my life so this is all a new experience for me, hence all the very noob questions lol

as for what corals, I'm aiming for easy to grow beginner stuff like zoas, anemone, toadstool, frogspawn, brain coral and what not

SBreeflights - my corals have started splitting and growing so much better since i've put the 16" basic on my biocube... Haven't changed a thing aside from the lights [for now]

The 16" Wifi models mentioned before are here [$259.95 free shipping]

The 16" timer models are here [$209.95 free shipping]

The 16" Basic models are here [$134.95 free shipping]

The basic models as mentioned above are two power cords [one for white one for blue] and standard do not ramp (but they do have dimming knobs)

Can they be daisy chained? if I do 16 or 32 I would need multiple and could lead to a lot of wires and connections