New Tank Lighting Question

[Salsaa]

Hi All,

This is my first post but have been following and reading for a while. I currently have a 16g bow front that is empty and begging to be used. It has been many years since I have had a saltwater tank but thinking it’s time to dive back in. I keep reading about lighting and people talking about a T5, HD and of course LEDs. My tank currently has a 18" 15W T8 full spectrum bulb in the hood which I know will not work for what I want, FWLR.

There are so many options out there as far as lighting goes but I have decided to go with LEDs. I debated on DIY solution but found a decent deal on ebay for a 165W dimmable setup.

My question is will this be too much for my tank? The dimension are 20 1/4 x 12 7/8 x 17 3/4. I know that you need more power the taller the tank and as mine is nearly 18" thought this would be good but wanted to ask the experts.

Thanks again for helping a nooby get back into the hobby.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hi All,

This is my first post but have been following and reading for a while. I currently have a 16g bow front that is empty and begging to be used. It has been many years since I have had a saltwater tank but thinking it’s time to dive back in. I keep reading about lighting and people talking about a T5, HD and of course LEDs. My tank currently has a 18" 15W T8 full spectrum bulb in the hood which I know will not work for what I want, FWLR.

There are so many options out there as far as lighting goes but I have decided to go with LEDs. I debated on DIY solution but found a decent deal on ebay for a 165W dimmable setup.

My question is will this be too much for my tank? The dimension are 20 1/4 x 12 7/8 x 17 3/4. I know that you need more power the taller the tank and as mine is nearly 18" thought this would be good but wanted to ask the experts.

Thanks again for helping a nooby get back into the hobby.

So you're doing fish only, no corals? Pretty much any light will work. You don't need anything big and expensive, unless you plan on doing corals down the road, then the 165w black box would work out great.

 

[Salsaa]

Thanks for responding. I would love to add some corals a little later on so I guess the question should be would this lighting be enough when I add corals to the tank? Not sure what type yet, again just getting started and plan on taking it slow.

 

[Devan Petersen]

Black box lights are surely good enough to grow corals. they don't compare to the higher end lights, but they will do the job.

 

[Dana Riddle]

I kept many fishes under a 15w fluorescent lamp - not much of a problem with nuisance algae growing. In fact, many aquarium service companies use low light for their tanks. But that wasn't the question. The black boxes should be fine.

 

[Salsaa]

Thank you for the information!

Here is what I am looking at: 165W 55 LEDs Aquarium Light Dimmable Full Spectrum for Reef Fish Coral Tank. > $80.

One more question if I may, If I wanted to tinker with it is there a way to set it up for sunrise/set?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Thank you for the information!

Here is what I am looking at: 165W 55 LEDs Aquarium Light Dimmable Full Spectrum for Reef Fish Coral Tank. > $80.

One more question if I may, If I wanted to tinker with it is there a way to set it up for sunrise/set?

Unfortunately not, the black boxes are very limited for their controlability. Usually sunrise, sunset, storm, cloud cover are features on the more expensive light fixtures. The black boxes are simple on/off.

 

[Dana Riddle]

The Evergrow LED 'black box' allows control of two channels (blue and white) and has a timer. Crabs is right - it is more expensive, at about $130 on Amazon, last I looked.