LED fixture for 12g long?

[biggiesmalls]

Hey there,

I'm building a 12 gallon long reef (36" x 8.5" x 9.5"), planning on a full blown mixed reef with roughly 45% SPS, 45% LPS, and 10% softies. Wanted to see what LED recommendations people had, somewhat on a budget. I'd like to stay under $500 if possible, and lower is better
I don't at all mind going used, if anyone's got anything that might work that they're looking to dump.

Take care
Drew

 

[Spare time]

Do you prefer mounting arms/brackets or hanging the light?

I will say that a tank that shallow may be difficult to have as an SPS tank with LPS as their flow requirements are dramatically different (you could work around the rock structure to help fix this).

 

[biggiesmalls]

Do you prefer mounting arms/brackets or hanging the light?

I will say that a tank that shallow may be difficult to have as an SPS tank with LPS as their flow requirements are dramatically different (you could work around the rock structure to help fix this).

Yup, that was exactly my thought. Arranging the rockwork in a way that'll allow me to get 200-300ish par near the top half of the tank, and down to like 150 near the lower half and 50ish on the sand bed. Rough numbers obviously, but something around there.
Flow will be a closed loop - I'm doing something very similar to @eschulist 12g long build.

As far as mounting, I'd prefer hanging lights but could work around a mounting bracket as well.
I've got decent deals on used Ecotech Radion G2 XR30Ws, Ecotech Radion G4 XR15Ws, and Kessel A360W tuna blues - any of these suitable, or would a single 3 foot fixture be preferable?

 

[Spare time]

Yup, that was exactly my thought. Arranging the rockwork in a way that'll allow me to get 200-300ish par near the top half of the tank, and down to like 150 near the lower half and 50ish on the sand bed. Rough numbers obviously, but something around there.
Flow will be a closed loop - I'm doing something very similar to @eschulist 12g long build.

As far as mounting, I'd prefer hanging lights but could work around a mounting bracket as well.
I've got decent deals on used Ecotech Radion G2 XR30Ws, Ecotech Radion G4 XR15Ws, and Kessel A360W tuna blues - any of these suitable, or would a single 3 foot fixture be preferable?

If you do the kesil, I would do 2 or 3 depending on how much SPS you want. I really like kessil shimmer. I would do the radion g4 xr15 over the g2 xr30 (with diffuser) as I prefer multiple smaller fixtures. A single 3ft fixture could work. Whether its LED, t5, or combo is up to you depending on if you want to annually spend money on new bulbs.

If you buy new, you can do ai primes red sera reef LED 50, quality black boxes, reef breeders, or some quality low budget lights.

Much of this depends on what you value in a light (color blending, coral pop, controllability, etc.). I personally value color blending and spread as I hate rainbow discoballs and hotspots.