Lighting for progressing to corals?

[Veetz]

Im new to the hobby and I'm purchasing a reefer 350 without the lights but I'm getting incredibly overwhelmed with all these different light fixtures. I want to progress slowly from FOWLR and then start adding some beginner coral and advancing. I was opting to not purchase the deluxe so I can purchase the LEDs separate, but now im unsure. Tank dimensions are 47x22x20

Some brands I looked at:
Single Kessil ap700
Dual radion xr30 pro gen 3 (found someone selling a pair for 700, good deal?)
Basic marineland led strips to start?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Im new to the hobby and I'm purchasing a reefer 350 without the lights but I'm getting incredibly overwhelmed with all these different light fixtures. I want to progress slowly from FOWLR and then start adding some beginner coral and advancing. I was opting to not purchase the deluxe so I can purchase the LEDs separate, but now im unsure. Tank dimensions are 47x22x20

Some brands I looked at:
Single Kessil ap700
Dual radion xr30 pro gen 3 (found someone selling a pair for 700, good deal?)
Basic marineland led strips to start?

Basic lights would suffice for now.
The radions are not a bad deal.

 

[jda]

Understand the risk/reward of used lights. If you can handle the risk of them just dying at any time, then they can be really great... especially if they last for a few years (most of them do). There will be no warranty and no guarantee of repair with the Radions - they might be able to repair them, but they usually just offer a slight discount on new ones. Plan on nothing/worst if you buy used and be happy if you get anything.

If you are thinking LED, then plan ahead. Most people end up with T5s to supplement their LEDs. ...so, buy the T5s now and use them in the FOWLR stages the intro to your coral stuff. Then, when you are ready to ramp up, you can get some new panels that have less time on the clock.

FWIW - a single Kessil ap700 is garbage over a 48" once corals start to grow... it can spread that far, but the shadows are horrible. A pair of 360s or other panels will cover better since you can spread them out more.