Need opinion on these lights I may purchase

[Raysup88]

So I have just a basic white led light that came with the fish tank I purchased from pets mart. I came across these lights for a good price. Current USA orbit marine led light with loop controller. I have a 65gal tank that’s fairly deep. It’s about 40” long and about 30” deep roughly. I am new to getting into an actual reef tank and want coral and just waiting on lights to start the journey. I guess I just want opinions if this is worth it. Like is this light strong enough to reach all the way down to my sand and be safe to purchase coral and feel confident. Any thoughts and knowledge much appreciated. Thank you

 

[Brett S]

Definitely not. The Orbit lights are pretty low power and while they can work for a shallow tank they won’t penetrate your 30” deep tank.

 

[RedFrog211]

I agree with Brett. I have an AI Prime, and that works well for my tank (20" depth). If you want a 65g reef, you're going to invest a good amount in lights. Maybe you can check local eBay for lights? obviously there may be some risks, but you could get lucky and find someone who just broke down their tank.

 

[BarSnackz]

Unfortunately those lights will not be sufficient enough for your tank if you wish to keep coral. I had a friend that had a 21" deep tank and purchased that light and ended up scrapping it within the month and purchasing some Kessil's as the Current Orbit light was hindering his coral's health that had been previously doing well under t5's.
LED's can be very expensive when it comes to trying to light a tank. But it's one of those things of "buy once, cry once". Black box lights offer a cheaper alternative and can penetrate just as good as some of the top brands you hear often on here - but may lack in some features such as wifi compatability, dimming, etc. Maybe some one else could pitch in to offer some other alternatives or other brands to look at that are around that price range.

I personally believe in T5's as a cheap alternative that will make everything grow. You can get a 2 bulb fixture for about $100 at Petco and slap some ATI bulbs in there and you'll be rocking and rolling. then down the road you can slap in some LED strips to supplement if you see fit.

Hope this helped!

 

[Raysup88]

Thanks everyone for the help. Maybe I should just go t5’s instead. I see the smaller led boxes and from what I’m hearing locally is I would need 2 of them for my tank and I just can’t afford $450-600 on lights right now. So now onto t5 lights lol

 

[Raysup88]

Also seen these just figured wasn’t going to be strong enough but y’all may know better than me. What about 2 of these?

 

[Raysup88]

Ok also just measured tank and I’ve got 3’ wide by 23” deep

 

[Bpb]

Also seen these just figured wasn’t going to be strong enough but y’all may know better than me. What about 2 of these?

Pair of those would be absolutely powerful enough for anything you’d want...but you have to hang them. No mounting feet. Definitely don’t run them at full strength those put out a significant amount of light.

 

[BarSnackz]

Also seen these just figured wasn’t going to be strong enough but y’all may know better than me. What about 2 of these?

If you were to go with this light then you would only need one as the manufacturer specs says it will cover a 3'x3'x3' tank. Not to mention that if you did get two, they would be hanging over the edges of your tank creating massive light spill in your room as each light is 21" long.

 

[Crustaceon]

The orbit? No. Probably just one of the Wills? Heck yeah.