Suggestions on lighting?

[ARreefer]

Setting up new tank.
65 gallon Aqueon Ensemble
Tank: 18.4 in L x 36.4 in W x 25 in H
Will have high and low rock structures.

Planing on adding two ocellaris clownfish and a couple of other undecided fish small reef safe fish.

I plan on having soft corals and zoas.

What would be a decent budget light that would support life. I hear so many people saying the high end lights are the way to go, others saying there are lower cost options that support life and allow your tank to thrive.

I would like so start out with a cheaper light if possible.

I have looked at these as possiable options:
https://www.chewy.com/current-usa-o...MIlJGNm7K33wIVU7jACh3CTghzEAQYAiABEgLjKPD_BwE

And

https://www.marineandreef.com/Aquat...MI6L-u1rO33wIVBNbACh3v3wQ9EAQYAiABEgLFrPD_BwE

Would either of these work?
If so, what would the distance from the top of the water need to be. Are there any other budget friendly lights that would work?

Thanks in advance for the thoughts and advice.

 

[jda]

Both of those are too weak for a 24 inch deep tank unless you buy multiples of them.

For the small budget about all that there is are the Black Box LED units. They are more powerful and can be OK. There are lots of them like Galaxy Hydro, Mars Aqua and the like. Most all of them use the same diodes, so you pay for features like more channels and timers and stuff. You can get one of these for around $100.

 

[Veetz89]

If you want something that's easy, straight forward and practical, I say get a nice 36 inch T5 fixture. Led's are nice but the the new trend is going back to the old days of metal halides and t5 because they are proven to work well

 

[ARreefer]

Both of those are too weak for a 24 inch deep tank unless you buy multiples of them.

For the small budget about all that there is are the Black Box LED units. They are more powerful and can be OK. There are lots of them like Galaxy Hydro, Mars Aqua and the like. Most all of them use the same diodes, so you pay for features like more channels and timers and stuff. You can get one of these for around $100.

I was also looking at models like those you mentiond as well, I was unsure if one would cover the entirety of my tank or would I need two, which would obviously double cost as well.

 

[jda]

You might need two. No doubt. The black boxes are usually powerful, it is spread that is the problem.

They do make 30-36" wide black boxes. Mars 300w (model number, not wattage) is 32 inches long.

 

[Chef Tommy]

I really like t5 and use the following on a 75 48l though.

https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Ag...drofarm+t5&dpPl=1&dpID=41TV2+ZkHWL&ref=plSrch

I’d think a 24” fixture would be fine for 3’ tank since you space the structure away from glass. I plan to use the same lighting on a 5’ tank I currently have. The t5 is nice because I added led strips by Orphek just for added colors. The t5 on its own did fine with any coral up to sps.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

Well welcome to the salt water word and an awesome forum R2R. Lots of great people and tons of advice and opinions. Sticking to his the two lights you have included the current light is much better than your other option. These lights are nice because they will cover the entire length and because your tank is not so deep (not tall) the spread will be front to back. As for as being 25 inches deep the corals your doing that you mentioned will grow just fine.

Yes there are other lights like mars aqua that are the same place but what others have not mentioned is you will need two because they won’t cover the tank length wise. So even going with that option even if you hang it you won’t habe enough coverage and all that extra par will be wasted. Either it will go over the tank, or won’t reach the ends. The two you mentioned will cover the whole spread of the tank left to right and front to back. Depth wise aka (.tall) your 25 inches and yes the par on those lights will be less but softies and lps don’t need much light. You can always move said coral up in the tank if you feel it’s lacking.

The t5 option is a decent option I have seen people doing more t5 and led combos then metal halide option. Depending where you live, you have to buy the bulbs for both between every six months or every year. These bulbs are expensive and more than your budget your seeking. It’s also something you will have to do every six months or yearly. You may also have to buy the ballast to in order to run said lights and it may not have its own ramp up and down feature. The metal halides and most of the t5 do not have this feature like the leds do. Another factor is metal halide will heat your tank and you will need s chiller and not to mention much more costly power bill wise.

Soley sticking to your budget and corals you want the current usa led is the best option. Yes there are better current version, yes there are better led lights like you stated etc but this light will grow softies and lps just fine. Your not putting sps in this tank (that I’m aware of) so most low light corals do fine and these lights average between 65-100 par on the bottom of your tank.

The other factor is you, which means everyone here will give you an honest opinion. But this is your tank, so make it your ocean and what you find to be inspiring. I personally like current usa, I like how they look and how they make my corals look and grow. I have great success with them and their customer service is truly amazing. With that said this is what I like, it may not be for others.

Take some time and see some reef tanks and how they look and find one you like. Ask what light they use, and possibly consider it. Take a trip to your local aquarium if possible and see their tanks and then see what they use. Granted their huge 500 gallon tanks or 100 gallon tanks will have better lights than what your asking. But lots of them have smaller tanks so see what they are using if you are curious to see what they have done.

Good luck and we love pics
Sarah

Edit so some mentioned some of my concerns as I wrote this so it may overlap or a few of the posts prior to mine mentioned some things I said did not. Also the hydraform isn’t terrible but it only has 6400k bulbs which you would need to swap at least two of them out with true blue and or purple and or uv.

Also reading your original post is the tank 18 long or deep? You have it mentinend that it’s 36.4 deep aka front to back. If that is true then you will need two of the lights you mentioned and also multiples of other lights mentioned.

 

[Jay Norris]

If you want something that's easy, straight forward and practical, I say get a nice 36 inch T5 fixture. Led's are nice but the the new trend is going back to the old days of metal halides and t5 because they are proven to work well

No, most are not going back to T5's or M/H, the LED lights take a little while to get use to, as they are not plug and play like the T5"s and M/H's, once you figure out how to use your LED fixture, they are as good, if not better then the T5's and M/H's. Another good thing is they are cooler to run, and you do not have to change bulbs every 8 to 12 months.

 

[Jay Norris]

Hello,

Well welcome to the salt water word and an awesome forum R2R. Lots of great people and tons of advice and opinions. Sticking to his the two lights you have included the current light is much better than your other option. These lights are nice because they will cover the entire length and because your tank is not so deep (not tall) the spread will be front to back. As for as being 25 inches deep the corals your doing that you mentioned will grow just fine.

Yes there are other lights like mars aqua that are the same place but what others have not mentioned is you will need two because they won’t cover the tank length wise. So even going with that option even if you hang it you won’t habe enough coverage and all that extra par will be wasted. Either it will go over the tank, or won’t reach the ends. The two you mentioned will cover the whole spread of the tank left to right and front to back. Depth wise aka (.tall) your 25 inches and yes the par on those lights will be less but softies and lps don’t need much light. You can always move said coral up in the tank if you feel it’s lacking.

The t5 option is a decent option I have seen people doing more t5 and led combos then metal halide option. Depending where you live, you have to buy the bulbs for both between every six months or every year. These bulbs are expensive and more than your budget your seeking. It’s also something you will have to do every six months or yearly. You may also have to buy the ballast to in order to run said lights and it may not have its own ramp up and down feature. The metal halides and most of the t5 do not have this feature like the leds do. Another factor is metal halide will heat your tank and you will need s chiller and not to mention much more costly power bill wise.

Soley sticking to your budget and corals you want the current usa led is the best option. Yes there are better current version, yes there are better led lights like you stated etc but this light will grow softies and lps just fine. Your not putting sps in this tank (that I’m aware of) so most low light corals do fine and these lights average between 65-100 par on the bottom of your tank.

The other factor is you, which means everyone here will give you an honest opinion. But this is your tank, so make it your ocean and what you find to be inspiring. I personally like current usa, I like how they look and how they make my corals look and grow. I have great success with them and their customer service is truly amazing. With that said this is what I like, it may not be for others.

Take some time and see some reef tanks and how they look and find one you like. Ask what light they use, and possibly consider it. Take a trip to your local aquarium if possible and see their tanks and then see what they use. Granted their huge 500 gallon tanks or 100 gallon tanks will have better lights than what your asking. But lots of them have smaller tanks so see what they are using if you are curious to see what they have done.

Good luck and we love pics
Sarah

Edit so some mentioned some of my concerns as I wrote this so it may overlap or a few of the posts prior to mine mentioned some things I said did not. Also the hydraform isn’t terrible but it only has 6400k bulbs which you would need to swap at least two of them out with true blue and or purple and or uv.

Also reading your original post is the tank 18 long or deep? You have it mentinend that it’s 36.4 deep aka front to back. If that is true then you will need two of the lights you mentioned and also multiples of other lights mentioned.

Hi, I think that tank is 36" long and 18" front to back.

 

[Ron Reefman]

If you want something that's easy, straight forward and practical, I say get a nice 36 inch T5 fixture. Led's are nice but the the new trend is going back to the old days of metal halides and t5 because they are proven to work well

A very simple question for you Veetz89, that data are you looking at to make that claim? IMHO you are very out of touch.

 

[Veetz89]

A very simple question for you Veetz89, that data are you looking at to make that claim? IMHO you are very out of touch.

Thanks for the insightful rebuttal Ron. I read alot, that's my data.

 

[Jay Norris]

Thanks for the insightful rebuttal Ron. I read alot, that's my data.

I read a lot too, and it really depends on who wrote it, and what you are reading, as far as the LED lighting goes. LED lighting is nothing like it use to be even a year or two ago, and their are four or so LED fixtures that I know of which will grow any kind of coral you can buy and put in your system without any supplemental lighting.

 

[jda]

It is an absolute fact that Hamilton is selling more gear now than ever. A retailer at MACNA states that Aquatic Life has sold more units than the top-three LEDs combined - wish that I knew who the top-3 were. VHO sales are steady (they probably always will be) and T5 manufacturing for aquariums is up. All of this is anecdotal, for sure. Of the 20 folks that I know locally who are into Acropora as much as me, none of them are all-LED anymore with only 4 or 5 that have any at all doing any heavy lifting that have 4xT5s... the other 15 are all MH again (or always were).

I tend to think of the back-to-mercury trend as more for established folks with higher needs, not so much people getting into the hobby. I deal with a VERY small, VERY isolated part of the hobby that just deals with acropora, but the progression is something like below, although I know that it is different for people who keep other stuff and even the easier SPS:
1). Got LEDs since they are cool and everybody says that they are the thing and that they "grow coral just fine"
2). Added T5s to the LEDs - love it
3). Saw what difference the T5s made, so just went all T5s
4). Kinda now wondering what all this fuss about MH is about... after all, the same people who told me that T5 would make a difference use MH a lot.

Again, this is a discerning crowd that I hang out with, but the trend is there with them. I know that this is NOT the same experience as people who keep different stuff. I also live in a low-humidity climate where weather and heat are no issue for anybody.

 

[Jay Norris]

It is an absolute fact that Hamilton is selling more gear now than ever. A retailer at MACNA states that Aquatic Life has sold more units than the top-three LEDs combined - wish that I knew who the top-3 were. VHO sales are steady (they probably always will be) and T5 manufacturing for aquariums is up. All of this is anecdotal, for sure. Of the 20 folks that I know locally who are into Acropora as much as me, none of them are all-LED anymore with only 4 or 5 that have any at all doing any heavy lifting that have 4xT5s... the other 15 are all MH again (or always were).

I tend to think of the back-to-mercury trend as more for established folks with higher needs, not so much people getting into the hobby. I deal with a VERY small, VERY isolated part of the hobby that just deals with acropora, but the progression is something like below, although I know that it is different for people who keep other stuff and even the easier SPS:
1). Got LEDs since they are cool and everybody says that they are the thing and that they "grow coral just fine"
2). Added T5s to the LEDs - love it
3). Saw what difference the T5s made, so just went all T5s
4). Kinda now wondering what all this fuss about MH is about... after all, the same people who told me that T5 would make a difference use MH a lot.

Again, this is a discerning crowd that I hang out with, but the trend is there with them. I know that this is NOT the same experience as people who keep different stuff. I also live in a low-humidity climate where weather and heat are no issue for anybody.

Those top three companies, quality wise are probably (1) GHL Mitra LX 7206, (2) Radions XR 30 Pro, 4th Gen., (3) Orphek Atantik 4 version, and one more the Reef Breeder Photon V2+ lights. I have tried all types of M/H, T5, and VHO combos, and they all work very well for growing corals, but the 4 LED manufactures I listed also grow any type of corals you can buy just as good as the M/H, T5, VHO combos, without the added cost of bulb replacement every 8 to 12 months. The trouble with LED's is, they are not plug and play like T5, M/H, or VHO lights, and their are a lot of cheaper units that don't use the correct LED's for a reef system.

 

[T-5unsystem]

Would be easier to make recommendations with some budgetary numbers, or perhaps it is just "as cheap as possible".

Regarding LED and T5 trends, I think you are all on the radical end of the spectrum, many folks are going back to T5 but many are going to LED just the same. IMO there is no way AquaticLife sold more fixtures than "the biggest 3", they sold so few in the past they discontinued their bulbs, until the Hybrid came out they were off the radar for T5 and for every Hybrid sold there are multiple LED units sold with it?