Newbie lighting question

[DiverGirl82]

I've been looking around online a little about lighting, how much for how long, and I'm wondering if the amount of natural light makes a difference. My house gets a lot of natural light and my tank sits right next to a window. In a lot of the YouTube videos I've been watching it looks like the tanks are in somewhat darker rooms. Does this make a difference? If your tank gets a good bit of natural light can you run your lights less?

I should note my tank is empty but I'll finally be filling it and starting the cycling process next week.

I guess I should also note I'm using an older led fixture that came with the tank. It has blue and white lights.

 

[veselym]

the only thing natural light will do is feed algae...as long as you have blinds or a curtain it should be fine

my 55g sits about 5 feet in front of a window and with blinds it has no negative effects

do you know the brand of your light?

 

[DiverGirl82]

I do have pretty good blinds. If I start having algae problems I could rig up a curtain (I rent). As for my lights another reef2reef member identified them for me a while back as Chinese leds. I bought the whole tank set up off craigslist for $350 and the lights were part of the package. But of course I'm already looking to upgrade. I've been looking for budget leds that's are full spectrum and programmable which is what got me wondering about the natural light. At the moment this is my top contender
http://www.amazon.com/Galaxyhydro-M...id=1441919770&sr=8-9&keywords=galaxyhydro+led

 

[veselym]

what size tank and what is your budget...I would look into an ocean revive fixture, affordable and reputable

 

[DiverGirl82]

60g cube, so 24"x24"x24" I would prefer $200 or under.

 

[Ebone]

better off spending more on light up front or getting a deal from someone here, in the long run one of most costly mistakes is buying lights repeatedly because you didn't get a good one

 

[Ron Reefman]

What kind of Chinese leds do you have now?

Many of the well made and reasonably priced leds on the market now are made in China. There are some really cheap one and I'd shy away from them. Loud fans, no heat sinks, don't use stainless steel screws (or cheap stainless which are almost as bad), steel cases that are just painted rather than aluminum cases that are powder coated and won't rust.

I use OceanRevive, ReefBreeders and ReefRadiance and I'd completely recommend the first two. The third... ?

 

[DiverGirl82]

I'm not sure. There's no brand name on the unit. It came used with the tank.

 

[DiverGirl82]

I'm realizing my canopy is another issue. I'm not willing to ditch the canopy because I love the look so I'm thinking maybe I'll have to cut a section out. I'm not particularly diy savvy so this is a little intimidating.

But I would love to see pics anyone might have of leds mounted under a canopy.