Lighting help for new aquarium

[cww81]

Hello! I’m getting a 120G Aqueon megaflow aquarium in about a month or less. The 120 is a 4x2x2 that has a black brace down the middle of the tank and had me wondering what to do about lights. Do I get LEDs and put them on each side of the brace or do I get a light bar such as a reef breeder? Also any recommendations for lights?

 

[siggy]

I had a Marine land and used 2 kessils, shading wasn't an issue. Good luck with your new system

 

[cww81]

I had a Marine land and used 2 kessils, shading wasn't an issue. Good luck with your new system

Thanks so much for the reply! What Kessils did you use and was the par good for a mixed reef, mainly lps, if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[siggy]

I had two 360 we and they worked well. I also have a hybrid that helped to kick it up a bit. If your budget allows
2 radions xr15's would be the ticket. Or two Noopsys' if your on a budget. Just my opinion, lots of great lights out there.

 

[cww81]

Well I’m on a budget but I’ve also found that good quality lighting with enough par to grow sps is quite expensive Are the XR15s leaps and bounds better than say the noopsyches or similar budget lighting? I just don’t want to run into the problem of buying lighting that I’ll need to upgrade anyway to support sps in the future. Also have been looking at T5 but of course while cheaper early on, that would get expensive long term.

 

[SeaSickness]

You could consider: I've had good success with these.

 

[cvrle1]

No matter what light fixture(s) you use, there will be some shading. With that said, it wouldnt be that much of an issue. Rent a PAR meter and see how much of a difference there is once you setup whatever lights you go with. Then you can decide what to place there. I was going to use 2 Viparspectra 165W units over exact same tank.

 

[cww81]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I think I’m narrowing it down to a pair of XR15 G5s, hydra 32s, noopsyches, or the cheaper black boxes such as the viparspecta or something similar. Talked to my local fish store and they’re gonna give me 20% off when I buy my tank on everything except the tank itself!