Lighting for a 8 gallon nano reef tank

badstorm48 · Dec 14, 2015

What would be the best lighting to get for a tank like this without killing the wallet? Everything else I have figured out but the lighting. I don't care if it's leds as long as it will make my corals and fish happy.

Dtackett · Dec 14, 2015

badstorm48 said:
What would be the best lighting to get for a tank like this without killing the wallet? Everything else I have figured out but the lighting. I don't care if it's leds as long as it will make my corals and fish happy.

this is what I use on my reef bowl and its doing great so far. true 35 watts, dimmable, built in fan, great spectrum with UV, great spread.
https://www.21ledusa.com/category_s/1842.htm

The Kahnasaur · Dec 14, 2015

JBJ Pacifica and Flipper would do the job. I don't have either though. I use their Viper 70W metal halide on my 9 gal, but it looks to be discontinued. Its awesome for my tank though if you look for a used one.

nstd · Dec 14, 2015

get a used kessil

Dtackett · Dec 14, 2015

this is what that par30 I listed does.

badstorm48 · Dec 14, 2015

Between the par 30 and the flipper which would be considered better?

ca2or · Dec 14, 2015

Check out the ai prime

Dtackett · Dec 14, 2015

badstorm48 said:
Between the par 30 and the flipper which would be considered better?

well, heres the stats on the flipper

36 blue & 72 white LED bulbs. Equivalent to 18.9 watts of pl output.

Will fit on rimless tanks with a 6 mm maximum thickness

so they are low wattage leds, non dimmable, and only total 18.9 watts... but, it attaches to the side of the tank and looks nifty. so ill give it that.

the par30 is true 35 watts, has a much better spectrum, dimmable, built in fan to keep it cool and costs less. it also has a mount you can get to attach it to the back of your tank.

in my opinion, based on the stats I say the par30 is better.

badstorm48 · Dec 14, 2015

Okay. The problem I have is just I don't know what wattage I need for the tank and what to look for in lighting. It seems like lighting is the most important thing besides filtration but filtration is pretty self explanatory since it will tell you this filter is good for sat 10 to 20 gallons

Dtackett · Dec 14, 2015

well, wattage doesn't mean a whole lot. but its a good measurement when youre looking at lights as they don't tend to list PAR/PUR. also the spectrum is more important than the wattage as well. however when youre looking at lights you want a combination of watts and a good spectrum. the par30 provides that. also you want a light that is dimmable so you can set it however you want. its easier to have a fixture that can turn the power down than it is to raise or lower the light as needed.

I stand by my recommendation of the par30.

badstorm48 · Dec 14, 2015

Yeah I believe I will go with that light that you recommended. It has everything I need. Now out of curiosity how big of a tank do you think that light could do well with, cause if I could use it later on when ever I decide to get a bigger tank it would be cool if I could use that light. By bigger tank I was thinking a 20 gallon tank.