Increasing lighting on a budget?

[laezur]

Hiya guys! I have a fluval nano marine light that I’m currently using on a 42g Red Sea reefer.

I had this light on a nano, and then upgraded tank and couldn’t afford to upgrade the light so I kept this one. I don’t currently have a PAR meter but I have a weird feeling it’s just not producing enough light towards the bottom of the tank, and maybe even the mid section as the tank is a cube and quite deep.

I actually have two Phillios
Philips Hue Play White and Colour Ambience Light Bar (2-pack)

Philips Hue Play White and Colour Ambience Light Bar (2-pack)

Create a vibrant ambience with the Hue Play light bar. Choose from 16 million colours to experience different light effects. Buy online now at apple.com.

store.apple.com

These can be changed and timed etc via Bluetooth app. I’m not sure if they are full spectrum, Google says they are but also says they are not… they can definitely be changed to either blue or white with different intensities.

While they will look super ugly, could I mount them on my tank alongside my current light to increase PAR until I get a new light?

 

[flashsmith]

For that price there are better options. A Chinese black box is a better option. Check Amazon

 

[blaxsun]

Unless they have a kelvin (K) rating, I suspect they're for entertainment purposes only.

 

[laezur]

For that price there are better options. A Chinese black box is a better option. Check Amazon

It's not about the price, I already own them. Money is the reason I am looking for a short term solution, while I buy an upgrade

 

[laezur]

Unless they have a kelvin (K) rating, I suspect they're for entertainment purposes only.

4,000 kelvin at pure white, but Phillips doesn't provide a chart on kelvin ranges for different colours

 

[blaxsun]

It's not about the price, I already own them. Money is the reason I am looking for a short term solution, while I buy an upgrade

The short answer is that I don't think they'll honestly make much difference. PAR level is something the eye can't detect, so even if it appears to add a lot of light it may not actually be doing much.

 

[blaxsun]

4,000 kelvin at pure white, but Phillips doesn't provide a chart on kelvin ranges for different colours

If you look at the Fluval Evo 13.5 lights even those tiny ones are something like 14,000 kelvin for just the blue (I'm going off memory here).

 

[Zach B]

I would like into T5's, they are great supplemental lights. Also check out @noopsyche they have affordable reef lights Best of luck

 

[laezur]

If you look at the Fluval Evo 13.5 lights even those tiny ones are something like 14,000 kelvin for just the blue (I'm going off memory here).

Ah okay, so it's likely these make absolutely no impact at all then in that case. Okay, no worries! Just a thought I had

 

[blaxsun]

Ah okay, so it's likely these make absolutely no impact at all then in that case. Okay, no worries! Just a thought I had

Without getting a PAR meter it's impossible to say, but just based on the type of light and low kelvin rating - my guess is probably not. Or at least not enough to help.

Is this a Red Sea 170 tank?

 

[Spare time]

Concise adding some lumi lite or lumi lite pros. They are fantastic lights for the price

 

[laezur]

Without getting a PAR meter it's impossible to say, but just based on the type of light and low kelvin rating - my guess is probably not. Or at least not enough to help.

Is this a Red Sea 170 tank?

It is a 170 that’s right!

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

Agree with t5’s. You can get a setup for very cheap.

you could also sell those ( Philips hue stuff is ***** expensive) and buy some fancy ish lights!

 

[laezur]

Agree with t5’s. You can get a setup for very cheap.

you could also sell those ( Philips hue stuff is ***** expensive) and buy some fancy ish lights!

I could sell them! I haven’t used them in months. Used to have them setup to my PC and they would change colour to match what was on my PC screen when gaming. Pretty awesome, but no use for them now.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Metal Halide Replacement LEDs

Metal Halide Replacement LEDs

21ledusa.com

I recently discovered this brand of budget reef lights, I've not seen many reviews for them but they seem to be pretty good quality! They could be worth checking out. four of these with a controller is the same price as one AI Hydra 64.

 

[laezur]

Metal Halide Replacement LEDs

Metal Halide Replacement LEDs

21ledusa.com

I recently discovered this brand of budget reef lights, I've not seen many reviews for them but they seem to be pretty good quality! They could be worth checking out. four of these with a controller is the same price as one AI Hydra 64.

Wow these are incredibly reasonably priced. It seems to good to be true haha. Have you got one yourself?

 

[Acros]

Look into these if you are buying on a budget. Placing an order myself this week.

36.98US $ 20% OFF|Populargrow 54w/81w/108w Led Aquarium Light With Only 470nm Blue Spectrum Strip Light Beautiful Your Coral Reef Fish Tank Lamp - Lightings - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Wow these are incredibly reasonably priced. It seems to good to be true haha. Have you got one yourself?

not yet, which is why I'm not pushing them 100%. But they really do seem to be good quality, for what you get. They also sell reef bars that have a mix of different light temps, which is helpful. I want to get some of these for frag swaps and the like.

 

[Spare time]

Metal Halide Replacement LEDs

Metal Halide Replacement LEDs

21ledusa.com

I recently discovered this brand of budget reef lights, I've not seen many reviews for them but they seem to be pretty good quality! They could be worth checking out. four of these with a controller is the same price as one AI Hydra 64.

That would actually be pretty interesting to see tested with a par meter and spectrometer

 

[laezur]

So I’ve just done some searching and here are the specs for the light I have, the park is 75 at 12”…

The Red Sea reefer 170 is 19” so… my corals are getting prettt much no PAR, right?

dang it, no wonder I’m not getting growth