Trying To Find The Best Light

ReefKeeper89 · Jan 28, 2022

Hello All! New here but not necessarily new to the hobby. However it has been almost 11 years since I had my 10 gallon nano reef and 50 gallon FOWLR. I set up my new 45 gallon tank a little over a month ago and as of now I have a decent CUC and 2 maroon clowns. I want to eventually add corals (both lps and soft) and am trying to find the best light. Preferably a programmable one that is wifi capable with remote that I can do gradual sunrise and sunset and it will save settings in the event of a power outage.... hopefully this is not wishful thinking. And tbh I am growing frustrated looking through them on Amazon with no direction. My tank is 36.25L x 24.80H x 12.60W. My LR/aquascape is not super high in the tank. Any suggestions? And if allowed on this thread I am trying to find a better protein skimmer as well. I have an "in tank" one right now and am not a huge fan. Would prefer a good HOB skimmer. Money isn't a huge issue right now but I do have 3 kids and am not rich hahaha. Thanks in advance for the advice!

Impala67 · Jan 28, 2022

ReefKeeper89 said:
Hello All! New here but not necessarily new to the hobby. However it has been almost 11 years since I had my 10 gallon nano reef and 50 gallon FOWLR. I set up my new 45 gallon tank a little over a month ago and as of now I have a decent CUC and 2 maroon clowns. I want to eventually add corals (both lps and soft) and am trying to find the best light. Preferably a programmable one that is wifi capable with remote that I can do gradual sunrise and sunset and it will save settings in the event of a power outage.... hopefully this is not wishful thinking. And tbh I am growing frustrated looking through them on Amazon with no direction. My tank is 36.25L x 24.80H x 12.60W. My LR/aquascape is not super high in the tank. Any suggestions? And if allowed on this thread I am trying to find a better protein skimmer as well. I have an "in tank" one right now and am not a huge fan. Would prefer a good HOB skimmer. Money isn't a huge issue right now but I do have 3 kids and am not rich hahaha. Thanks in advance for the advice!

Welcome back to the reef lol!! I’ve had this same problem trying to find the perfect light lol but what other people told me was there’s a whole lot of options that will work you just have to make the right choice. What is your budget, what type of light are you looking for led, hybrid, t5? What I’m really liking right now is the aquanest plus m7 I really like this one and it can also grow sps so in the future if you want to grow them you can! There’s also ai prims 26 hd those are nice but for all those controls you want the aquanest m8 will be your best bet!

ReefKeeper89 · Jan 28, 2022

I originally thought of getting T5's because 11 years ago there were definitely less options but then I found the LED lights and have been trying to find the right one. I just feel overwhelmed on Amazon because it's a mix of FW & SW and you have to read all the fine print and reviews. Just when I think I found the perfect one the reviews suggest otherwise. My budget is probably $300+ once I get my tax return but without the return it's more like $100-$150. I am not in a huge rush to overstock my tank. I just want the perfect setup for the long run. I also plan on getting a different set of wavemaker and a better protein skimmer because the one I have I am not a fan of. It's an "in tank" and I would much prefer a hob type. The pet store just didn't have a lot of options when I did my impulse buy.

jda · Jan 28, 2022

While there are lights that will purely perform better than others, they might not be the best for you.

If you leaning towards T5s, then that really could work well. See if you can find a high quality light on the used market - like ATI SunPower. These are held in high acclaim and are so well built that you can feel good about buying a used unit.

You really cannot afford to be cheap, but that does not mean that you have to spend a lot.

dedragon · Feb 11, 2022

I would look at 1 reefbrite lumenbar v2 UV/Blue paired with 1 orphek or3 daylight led strips in 36" size. These will help eliminate excess light spill and dont cost an arm and a leg. You can also add more bars later if you find you want to run an sps heavy tank or something. Reefbrite i think has a dimmer too, so you can adjust the amount of blue in the tank. Other low cost are smatfarms, nicrew, and noopsyche just run them a little close to the water level to eliminate light spill just not as high quality as Orphek or Reefbrite IMO

Aquajamin · Feb 11, 2022

I would definitely go with LED's. They use less energy, produce minimal heat, and can be installed without 120vac above the aquarium.
My favorites are Kessils and Radions with AI's being a distant third.

Freenow54 · Feb 11, 2022

There was an answer to someone here asking the same question. They made a very good suggestion. Your asking a lot in the light for the money you are talking about. My razor has everything you need except no APP. My Aquanest M 8 has everything you want but would run you about $400. I will try and find that thread.

Freenow54 · Feb 11, 2022

So found it. No mention of price but there are2 levels one with the App one not. It is a ReefBreeders Photon https://reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-48-v2/

ReefKeeper89 · Feb 11, 2022

Thank you everyone! I do appreciate the input and will check everything out! For now (until I get my tax return I have a NICREW LED 2 chanel adjustable brightness and timer to simulate sunrise and sunset. It was like $60. I am absolutely going to upgrade. I just added a small pulsing xenia and small zoa frags today and so far so good.