The best light setup for a 29 gallon nano is?

Reef_Tank_Fan_SC · Jul 19, 2017

tdileo said:
In terms of power it doesn't matter. You will NEVER use 100% power on them, its just too strong and will bleach your corals. Both are great fixtures, I wish I could have afforded them, but its just not really in the ballpark for someone who is 15. Would have brought my tank cost up to like $2200. Personally I could have gone with the Hydra 26s though. But lots of people prefer the Prime. See if you can find someone who has them both in person like an aquarium store and see which you prefer!

This is a very good idea my young friend.. how about it guys. Is there anyone out there that has had both the AI prime and the AI Hydra? If so which do you prefer.. or if anyone has experience with either of these lighting systems I would appreciate all the input I can get. Thanks in advance

trevormass7 · Jul 19, 2017

tdileo said:
Are you okay with spending a few hundred on lights? If so I'd reccomend 2 Kessil A160s, 2 AI Hydra 26 or 2 AI Prime fixtures. If you're like me and can't do that, there are lots of Chinese LEDs that work great but lack the ability to be controlled from your phone or your computer. Most will have to be put on a timer but some come with them built in. I have a GalaxyHydro 55x3 over my tank, but another popular choice is MarsAqua. They both do pretty much the same thing though. If you have the extra money and want the control features then go for an expensive one, the Hydra 26 is probably best for that. But if you don't want to blow a ton of money and just need something that will grow anything but lacks the super advanced control abilities go Chinese Black Box.

On the 2 leds you mention, can you change the color or is it always that pinkish color?

Coastie Reefer · Jul 19, 2017

Two hydra 26s on a standard 29g. Holy moly that's serious overkill. A single Prime HD would be plenty most likely. Especially if you're not wanting to have an all out sps tank. 2 Hydras could boil a 29. LOL

tdileo · Jul 19, 2017

Coastie Reefer said:
Two hydra 26s on a standard 29g. Holy moly that's serious overkill. A single Prime HD would be plenty most likely. Especially if you're not wanting to have an all out sps tank. 2 Hydras could boil a 29. LOL

My mistake for not checking dimensions. I assumed a standard 29 is 3' long since my 20L is, and the coverage doesn't reach the corners on that.

tdileo · Jul 19, 2017

trevormass7 said:
On the 2 leds you mention, can you change the color or is it always that pinkish color?

Mine isn't pinkish at all. It doesn't come out well in pictures but with my settings its very blue

trevormass7 · Jul 19, 2017

tdileo said:
Mine isn't pinkish at all. It doesn't come out well in pictures but with my settings its very blue

Ok thanks, online it displays three lights in a red or pink tint

tdileo · Jul 19, 2017

trevormass7 said:
Ok thanks, online it displays three lights in a red or pink tint

Check the 55x3. It's the one I have. On the top there are two knovs, one for the whites, reds, and greens and the other for blue. I keep mine on 15% white and 80% blue and actually had a monti cap like 16" away start to bleach so I had to move it. Adjust slowly when you get them

tdileo · Jul 19, 2017

trevormass7 said:
Ok thanks, online it displays three lights in a red or pink tint

Check the 55x3. It's the one I have. On the top there are two knovs, one for the whites, reds, and greens and the other for blue. I keep mine on 15% white and 80% blue and actually had a monti cap like 16" away start to bleach so I had to move it. Adjust slowly when you get them

trevormass7 · Jul 19, 2017

tdileo said:
Check the 55x3. It's the one I have. On the top there are two knovs, one for the whites, reds, and greens and the other for blue. I keep mine on 15% white and 80% blue and actually had a monti cap like 16" away start to bleach so I had to move it. Adjust slowly when you get them

I found it, thanks

Reef_Tank_Fan_SC · Jul 19, 2017

Coastie Reefer said:
Two hydra 26s on a standard 29g. Holy moly that's serious overkill. A single Prime HD would be plenty most likely. Especially if you're not wanting to have an all out sps tank. 2 Hydras could boil a 29. LOL

It says the max coverage for 1 hydra twentysix is 24×24 and my tank is 30 inches long. So 1 won't reach the corners. As for the overkill I agree with you that's why I am inquiring about the Primes also. I want to have something that I can run at a moderately low setting that way I'm not maxing it out all the time. But at the same time I don't want to have dark spots in the corners of my tank either.. as far as the single prime the max on it is pretty close to the hydra so it won't cover the full tank either

Coastie Reefer · Jul 19, 2017

Reef_Tank_Fan_SC said:
It says the max coverage for 1 hydra twentysix is 24×24 and my tank is 30 inches long. So 1 won't reach the corners. As for the overkill I agree with you that's why I am inquiring about the Primes also. I want to have something that I can run at a moderately low setting that way I'm not maxing it out all the time. But at the same time I don't want to have dark spots in the corners of my tank either.. as far as the single prime the max on it is pretty close to the hydra so it won't cover the full tank either

I have a single old school prime on a 10g. 20" long. There's plenty of spill over to cover the extra 5" on each side. For reference my LFS is running a 120g (48x24x24) with 2 hydra 26s and has a centerpiece chalice that's every bit of 2' wide.

Reef_Tank_Fan_SC · Jul 19, 2017

Coastie Reefer said:
I have a single old school prime on a 10g. 20" long. There's plenty of spill over to cover the extra 5" on each side. For reference my LFS is running a 120g (48x24x24) with 2 hydra 26s and has a centerpiece chalice that's every bit of 2' wide.

So one 26 will probably be my best bet then. Better than the one prime as far as coverage is concerned?

Coastie Reefer · Jul 19, 2017

If you really want the spread I'd go with 2 Primes. One 26 would probably be good but for just a little bit more the 2 primes would give you the ability to move the pucks a little farther apart to handle any shadowing you might get.

Reef_Tank_Fan_SC · Jul 19, 2017

I actually talked to several people today that said I should go with 1 kessil 360w. Most had pretty good reason behind it as only 1 used kessil personally. They all seemed to think that for what I'm wanting to do with the tank livestock wise that it would be all I need to have a successful reef..

brad908 · Jul 19, 2017

Nanobox Duo is by far the best option.

Reef_Tank_Fan_SC · Jul 19, 2017

brad908 said:
Nanobox Duo is by far the best option.

Do you have a nanobox that you can show me? I have never seen one so I would like to see it working

Rimsky said:
Nanobox.

How about you? I have looked at them on the site and I like the fact that they are customisable but I would like to see what they are capable of doing for the tank itself..

brad908 · Jul 19, 2017

Reef_Tank_Fan_SC said:
Do you have a nanobox that you can show me? I have never seen one so I would like to see it working

How about you? I have looked at them on the site and I like the fact that they are customisable but I would like to see what they are capable of doing for the tank itself..

I don't have a duo, just a nanobox hybrid (t5/led) and nanobox mini but he posts a lot of updates of others tanks on Instagram. The lights are hand crafted in North Carolina
https://www.instagram.com/nanoboxreef/

Reef_Tank_Fan_SC · Jul 19, 2017

brad908 said:
I don't have a duo, just a nanobox hybrid (t5/led) and nanobox mini but he posts a lot of updates of others tanks on Instagram. The lights are hand crafted in North Carolina
https://www.instagram.com/nanoboxreef/

That is cool, I actually live just a few hours from Greensboro N.C. I went on the page and looked at the shop, where do you go to do the custom orders? When I clicked on it, it took me staring to PayPal but didn't prompt anywhere for me to tell them exactly what I wanted. I was hoping to include all of that so that I could get an exact price of what it would cost to have it built. Do you happen to have any photos of your tank with the nano on it? I would like to see how it grows the corals out

brad908 · Jul 19, 2017

Reef_Tank_Fan_SC said:
That is cool, I actually live just a few hours from Greensboro N.C. I went on the page and looked at the shop, where do you go to do the custom orders? When I clicked on it, it took me staring to PayPal but didn't prompt anywhere for me to tell them exactly what I wanted. I was hoping to include all of that so that I could get an exact price of what it would cost to have it built. Do you happen to have any photos of your tank with the nano on it? I would like to see how it grows the corals out

Probably easiest to just email him on that, I am not exactly sure.

Nanobox Hybrid with Nanobox Mini flare. They have grown mangroves, macros, and LPS extremely well

This was a tank I had back in 2011 with a Nanobox quad (4 led pucks instead of the 2 in the duo)

Reef_Tank_Fan_SC · Jul 19, 2017

brad908 said:
Probably easiest to just email him on that, I am not exactly sure.

Nanobox Hybrid with Nanobox Mini flare. They have grown mangroves, macros, and LPS extremely well

This was a tank I had back in 2011 with a Nanobox quad (4 led pucks instead of the 2 in the duo)

Thanks my man. I believe that's what I will do. Just shoot him an email and see what he says he can do for me. Also thanks for the pictures. Two beautiful tanks .