Lighting question

Jamesmost · Apr 6, 2017

Ignore title, other questions as well...

New to hobby, set up:
-54gal corner,
-Mix of dead (40lbs) and live coral sand(25lbs),
-7lbs of live rock, 8 lbs base rock, 28lbs coraline "live rock" (man made dry)
-Marineland canister 360, Marineland hot magnum
-Coraline super skimmer
-hydor korilla circulator
-started with treated tap, but have been topping off with RODI (10gal)
-cheap butt yescom "full spectrum 129 led 36"-43"

Tank running for 17 days, past 8 days with the damsels
2 damsels cycling tank
Amonia peaked and dropped
Nitrate peaking now for a few days...
Much ph was lown 7.4 until 5 days ago when buffered to 8.3

U can see the light on amazon, was $43, will it be sufficient ?
*******What light should I look at ?

********As of this afternoon, brown growth on live rock and some coral sand, good, Yes???

Help and input appreciated......

Thanks James

smh254 · Apr 6, 2017

First off welcome to the community. What kind of coral are you trying to keep? I would go with a stronger light. That light might be ok for softies.

Jamesmost · Apr 6, 2017

Not necessarily keeping coral, not sure what I want,,,,
Nice 2 meet u...

smh254 · Apr 6, 2017

Maybe go with something like these https://www.ebay.com/itm/251495773757 https://www.ebay.com/itm/390885496493

smh254 · Apr 6, 2017

That light will work fine for a fish only tank. You can always get another light down the road if you want to try some coral.

smh254 · Apr 6, 2017

Tank looks nice. You are seeing Diatoms and this is part of the cycle. Give it some time and they will go away.

Jamesmost · Apr 6, 2017

What about lights like this ?

https://www.amazon.com/Current-USA-...=8-2&keywords=Current+usa+aquarium+light&th=1

Jamesmost · Apr 6, 2017

smh254 said:
Tank looks nice. You are seeing Diatoms and this is part of the cycle. Give it some time and they will go away.

Awesome, plan to add more rock when I find the rite pieces...

Jamesmost · Apr 6, 2017

smh254 said:
Maybe go with something like these https://www.ebay.com/itm/251495773757 https://www.ebay.com/itm/390885496493

So the lower watt is for corals & the 300w is fish and minimumbrella coral ?
Ideally u would use both ?

smh254 · Apr 6, 2017

Jamesmost said:
What about lights like this ?

https://www.amazon.com/Current-USA-...=8-2&keywords=Current+usa+aquarium+light&th=1

I would try to find a light with 3w LEDs. The lights your looking at have .5w LEDs I think.

Jamesmost said:
So the lower watt is for corals & the 300w is fish and minimumbrella coral ?
Ideally u would use both ?

Both these lights will grow any coral. The bigger one is pretty much just two small ones together. The one you would want depends on your tanks dimension.

Jamesmost · Apr 6, 2017

The 300w for my 54 corner...
The longest part across top of tank is 34 "
So that shoud be perfect.
Just for the $$$ this iz my best bang for the buck ?

smh254 · Apr 7, 2017

The smaller led has a spread of 24x24 so yes the 300w would work the best. This I think is one of the cheapest leds that can grow everything. You can get with sunset sunrise affect to just more money.

Jamesmost · Apr 7, 2017

I appreciate your input,,,
-The cheap light I have now, is it sufficient for fish only ?

-The MarsAqua light has 2 power cords,
is one for fans or
day and night on different cords so u can set on different timers?

As far as mounting is concerned, if I do not want to hang, are there brackets or stand or I just have to fabricate something ?

-I saw this 3w led fixture , only 24" what u think ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/360W-Dimmable-Full-Spectrum-LED-Aquarium-Light-for-SPS-LPS-Coral-Reef-Fish-Tank/391721578027?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=2&asc=40130&meid=153748c7d4aa4ce9bc903bd9c5f62357&pid=100005&rk=6&rkt=6&sd=390885496493

What about programmable lights,?

smh254 · Apr 7, 2017

The light you have is good for fish only and probably soft coral. Yes the light has 2 power cords. one for blues and one for whites. Most people have the blue light come on first and whites A little later. I don't think they make bracket thats sets on the tank for these lights.That light looks like it would work fine just don't know the build Quality.

smh254 · Apr 7, 2017

Programmable lights are nice just more expensive.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/292078014044

Jamesmost · Apr 7, 2017

Gotcha, that light is $420 bin.
You know it to be good build ?
I have to figure what my final goal is...

Jamesmost · Apr 8, 2017

Back to forgetting the title.
4/5/17 4/8/17
Temp 78 7.8
Salinity 1.024 1.0225
Ph 8.0 8.2
Amonia 0.125 0
Nitrite 5.0 0
Nitrate 20ppm 0
Kh n/a 179 (just got test)

Diatomaceous are increasing at a steady rate, spread to glass, and getting much heavier on the rock....

How doing ?
How long will Diatomaceous continue to produce?
Am I ready for first water exchange ? 30%?
When am I ready for more fish ?
Soft corals?

mcarroll · Apr 9, 2017

In a fish only tank, the lights are there just for you to see the fish.

I'd use a much smaller light than what you have if you want to avoid growing a photosynthetic mess in there.

Current's smallest Orbit Marine light would be my go-to if you want sunrise/sunset/effects. (It'll even grow corals in the top half of the tank!)

Otherwise, any on/off light will work....just don't make it too bright so you limit algae growth.

You can feel free to ignore the size of the LED emitters, BTW. That is only a concern if the light designer didn't know how to use the emitters they were working with.

Current USA's selection guides are accurate.

PAR Data

"Someday" when you want corals, upgrade to (or add on) something like the Orbit Marine Pro that has more kick.

Jamesmost · Apr 22, 2017

Update,
-Diatoms subsided, couple more fish, snails, h crabs, shrimp.
-Light just changed to an Evergreen it2081 set no higher then 30%
-Researching sump refugium, need to build one to get max size under the 54 corner. (3 gallon commercial sump, seems to be the one that fifs) but can build a 10, 15 or 20 high.
-wanna start some corals now, looking into additional test kits and additives (recommondations????

mcarroll · Apr 22, 2017

Stay away from all beginner corals IMO, unless that's really what you want. I consider most beginner corals to be only suitable for experts who know how to manage or cater to them.

Leather and stony corals are my favorite types. I really only keep stony corals though....plus the mushrooms that nobody warned me against at the beginning. They prevent me from keeping some corals.