wowatracy
Community Member
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- Nov 26, 2018
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- What state or country do you live in
- California
I built this bar 14 years ago when I lived in a one bedroom one bathroom apartment and wanted both a bar and an aquarium. Lighting has always been tricky since there is only a 2" space between the top of the tank and the bottom of the top of the bar and there are two viewing windows on top. I currently have an old Orbit Marine LED light which was fine for my mushrooms and fish but I lost the mushrooms to a heat wave last summer and lost my fish when the heater short circuited and tripped the fuse while we were out of town for a weekend.
I think this is the best time for a lighting upgrade. I'd love to be able to keep mushrooms and zoas, would really like bubble, hammer, candycane, maybe xenias, and would really like to have an anemone but if that becomes the deal breaker I can skip it. I'd love to keep it under $300 but it looks like I may have to go slightly higher. Tank is 55g 4' long 18" deep
Here are some options I'm thinking about but please let me know if you can think of anything else that might work in a 2" space.
Cheaper (under $300) but a little low on par values
https://current-usa.com/orbit-marine-ic-pro-dual-led/
Par Values on far right
https://current-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Orbit-PAR-Measurements-1.pdf
Best, would probably give me the most flexibility with adding corals, might need to add a few 12v fans to keep the air cooler under the lid, the light would stick out into the viewing windows could possibly cover most of the view, and is the most expensive.
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-24-v2/
Another Reef Breeder product they said might work better for me are 3watt LED strips and are similar lighting to T5 bulbs. They recommended one Royal Ice, one High Octane UV strip, and one Reefer 14k. I don't see anything about par values though. Other than being cooler to run than the Photon, they are strips and possibly block less of the viewing windows. Three 36" strips would cost more than the Photon 24"
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/lumenbar-color-36/
Please help! Any suggestions welcomed
I think this is the best time for a lighting upgrade. I'd love to be able to keep mushrooms and zoas, would really like bubble, hammer, candycane, maybe xenias, and would really like to have an anemone but if that becomes the deal breaker I can skip it. I'd love to keep it under $300 but it looks like I may have to go slightly higher. Tank is 55g 4' long 18" deep
Here are some options I'm thinking about but please let me know if you can think of anything else that might work in a 2" space.
Cheaper (under $300) but a little low on par values
https://current-usa.com/orbit-marine-ic-pro-dual-led/
Par Values on far right
https://current-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Orbit-PAR-Measurements-1.pdf
Best, would probably give me the most flexibility with adding corals, might need to add a few 12v fans to keep the air cooler under the lid, the light would stick out into the viewing windows could possibly cover most of the view, and is the most expensive.
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-24-v2/
Another Reef Breeder product they said might work better for me are 3watt LED strips and are similar lighting to T5 bulbs. They recommended one Royal Ice, one High Octane UV strip, and one Reefer 14k. I don't see anything about par values though. Other than being cooler to run than the Photon, they are strips and possibly block less of the viewing windows. Three 36" strips would cost more than the Photon 24"
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/lumenbar-color-36/
Please help! Any suggestions welcomed
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