Looking for better light than orbit Marine 30

[Cbones1979]

Have 20 L w some softies and a nem. Have orbit marine regular 30 inch led but it was suggested I get a stronger light for growth and to help the nem.

 

[Ron Reefman]

The Current Orbit led is OK, not great, but OK for use on shallow tanks (12" deep) for most corals. Deeper tanks, like 16" would need to stick with soft coral and maybe lps, 20" and deeper tanks would be fish only.

If your tank is about 12" deep. I wouldn't worry about the fixture. Wait until you upgrade to a bigger, deeper tank. It's very likely to happen as it does to most reefers who are at all successful. Have fun.

 

[Cbones1979]

The Current Orbit led is OK, not great, but OK for use on shallow tanks (12" deep) for most corals. Deeper tanks, like 16" would need to stick with soft coral and maybe lps, 20" and deeper tanks would be fish only.

If your tank is about 12" deep. I wouldn't worry about the fixture. Wait until you upgrade to a bigger, deeper tank. It's very likely to happen as it does to most reefers who are at all successful. Have fun.

Any softy suggestions?

 

[Ron Reefman]

Any black box led fixture will work. Mars Aqua seems to get a lot of support and they seem to have a good price as well. It doesn't have the features of sunrise/sunset or more than 2 channels of color control. But those are really more for our fun than for the needs of the coral or fish! And they have far more powerful leds, like 3w rather than 0.5w.

 

[Cbones1979]

How about this one

 

[Cbones1979]

How about this

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

How about this

The power on that looks extremely low. I would try one of the suggested black boxes instead.

 

[Cbones1979]

The power on that looks extremely low. I would try one of the suggested black boxes instead.

Currently I have the orbit marine

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

Currently I have the orbit marine

The orbit has really low power as well. It works for softies, but if you want anything else, I would still suggest upgrading to a blackbox.

 

[Ron Reefman]

The fluval is just like your current orbit. Divide the number of leds into the wattage, if the answer isn't at least 1.8 it's for very shallow tank or fish only tanks.

 

[Cbones1979]

The fluval is just like your current orbit. Divide the number of leds into the wattage, if the answer isn't at least 1.8 it's for very shallow tank or fish only tanks.

Ok thanks that makes sense

 

[Ron Reefman]

If you want a fixture that has the kind of features the Current Orbit or Fluval fixtures have (sunrise/sunset & 6 channel color control) in a fixture with more light intensity (PAR), a good place to look is the Reef Breeder Photon V2+. It's probably the best value dollar for dollar in a full feature led fixture. And they are well made by EverGrow in China. I own a 16", a 24" and a 32" that I use on my new 90g tank and my 16g local collection tank. Reef Breeders is also a sponsor here at R2R so they have a forum which makes them easy to chat with.

My new tank with just the 24" Photon. Yesterday I got a 32" Photon that I added. Photos soon in my build thread (link to it in my signature below).

 

[Intense37754]

We have 3 lights we use, the dual orbit marine, the Fluval 3.0 that you posted, and Kessil 360’s. The kessil hands down is the best with good growth that the Mrs use, the Fluval is ok and the Orbit seems to be just a light having, a light with a 24hr cycle is awesome. The Current system in theory is awesome because it’s inexpensive, controllable, and it’s hubs connects pumps and lights when programming.

Going to check out the Reef Breeder Photon V2+ as suggested for a new tank.

 

[Cbones1979]

If you want a fixture that has the kind of features the Current Orbit or Fluval fixtures have (sunrise/sunset & 6 channel color control) in a fixture with more light intensity (PAR), a good place to look is the Reef Breeder Photon V2+. It's probably the best value dollar for dollar in a full feature led fixture. And they are well made by EverGrow in China. I own a 16", a 24" and a 32" that I use on my new 90g tank and my 16g local collection tank. Reef Breeders is also a sponsor here at R2R so they have a forum which makes them easy to chat with.

My new tank with just the 24" Photon. Yesterday I got a 32" Photon that I added. Photos soon in my build thread (link to it in my signature below).

My only qualm is that these lights sit higher than the space my tank is in. Looking for something that only sits 4-5 inches off the top of the tank. Maybe 6 inches

 

[Intense37754]

Are you able to hang the fixture rather than using arms. I find it to be a benefit to have the light arms not resting on the tank

 

[Cbones1979]

Are you able to hang the fixture rather than using arms. I find it to be a benefit to have the light arms not resting on the tank

My TV is hung on the wall behind it. Have to please wifee

 

[Cbones1979]

May go with 2 of these for now. I can diy something on back of my stand that will keep them 5 inches above my tank

 

[Cbones1979]

 

[satttheman]

I have a used black box, new 24” Photon v2+, new 24” ATI Powermodule Hybrid. I’m in NJ

 

[Cbones1979]

Final setup. Not centered under tv yet tho