USA Current Marine Orbit

[Quietman]

If you like the Orbit Marine product, you can get dual Orbit Marine Pro IC 24" for $220 (36" for $250) These lights should do fine for LPS and perhaps some less high light SPS (Pavona). I considered these lights for quite a while before going in another direction with a Radion. They have a great profile and look sharp.

 

[Adriifu]

All right, thank you everyone! I think the Noopsyche will be my best bet considering price range, but I will give it some time before I make the decision. Feel free to continue with suggestions. I will have to look into selling my current LED once a new one comes in.

 

[Bpb]

The ai prime would be a bad choice, due to that thick black center brace. Either half the tank would be lit or you’d have an odd looking dark shadow right in the middle with a single puck oriented directly above it. A black box would do the trick on that tank for the cheapest option. But that center brace will cause a noticeable shadow. It would be better to flex that budget a bit and get a pair of ai primes. Used they can be found fairly cheap.

 

[Adriifu]

The ai prime would be a bad choice, due to that thick black center brace. Either half the tank would be lit or you’d have an odd looking dark shadow right in the middle with a single puck oriented directly above it. A black box would do the trick on that tank for the cheapest option. But that center brace will cause a noticeable shadow. It would be better to flex that budget a bit and get a pair of ai primes. Used they can be found fairly cheap.

Would the same go for the Noopsyche, as it has a similar design to the AI Prime and the brace would be in the way? I have two HOB filters on the tank, so I don’t know if I’d be able to fit two lights on the back unless I moved things around to the side.

 

[Bpb]

Can’t speak for mounting options as I don’t use any of those, just more speaking of the physics of light emission. Put a single source over an object occluding view of the water, and it’ll make a big fat dark shadow. Kessil, ai prime, ecotech xr15, Red Sea led, ect....any of these will do it. Even a metal halide pendant would do it. The only way to get around it is either two light sources (one on each side) or strip style lights like your current unit, Orphek strips. T5ho units ect.

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

Would the same go for the Noopsyche, as it has a similar design to the AI Prime and the brace would be in the way? I have two HOB filters on the tank, so I don’t know if I’d be able to fit two lights on the back unless I moved things around to the side.

The Noopsyche has two pucks, so it probably wouldn’t be as big of a problem.

 

[Adriifu]

I went to a really good LFS, and the guy was super nice. He bargained the price of a brand new AI Prime down to $180 so I could also get a mounting brace ($25) that I could possibly attach to the middle of the tank’s brace. With the light in the middle, I’d hopefully be able to angle it a certain way so that there is minimal shadow from the tank’s design. I didn’t make the purchase yet because I wanted to know what you guys thought of this. Would it work and is it worth the price? I wouldn’t be able to use my current glass tank lid if I end up doing this, so I might have to go to Home Depot and figure something out.

 

[Bpb]

I mean this with the utmost respect but a no amount of money off makes a single ai prime a good decision for that tank, aesthetically or functionally. You will be directly blocking the majority of the primary
Beam, or only illuminating half the tank. There is no win there.

 

[Adriifu]

I mean this with the utmost respect but a no amount of money off makes a single ai prime a good decision for that tank, aesthetically or functionally. You will be directly blocking the majority of the primary
Beam, or only illuminating half the tank. There is no win there.

Even with the light angled a certain way? If so, what do you think of the viparspectra previously mentioned? I really can’t go over the budget range of $200, as much as I’d love to for this tank.

 

[Bpb]

Even with the light angled a certain way? If so, what do you think of the viparspectra previously mentioned? I really can’t go over the budget range of $200, as much as I’d love to for this tank.

Angling the light will only throw the shadow one direction, illuminate the wall next to the tank, and again, light the tank unevenly. The viparspectra would be better physically due to the fact that it would overlap the brace a bit, but there would still be a shadow.

The only ways to eliminate the shade from the brace are two light sources. Or a light source spanning the length the tank. A 4 bulb t5ho fixture would honestly perform best in this instance. You wouldn’t see the brace shadow at all

 

[Adriifu]

Angling the light will only throw the shadow one direction, illuminate the wall next to the tank, and again, light the tank unevenly. The viparspectra would be better physically due to the fact that it would overlap the brace a bit, but there would still be a shadow.

The only ways to eliminate the shade from the brace are two light sources. Or a light source spanning the length the tank. A 4 bulb t5ho fixture would honestly perform best in this instance. You wouldn’t see the brace shadow at all

Are there any t5 fixtures you’d suggest?

 

[Bpb]

This plus 4 ati bulbs and a L bracket wall unit would be inside budget, fix the center brace shade issue, and provide enough light for whatever you want to grow.

The schpeal I give with lighting is this. You have 4 factors.

Price
Features
Power
Coverage

If you sacrifice price, you will have to sacrifice one of the remaining 3 factors.

At $200 your light will:

1)
Be powerful enough
Be feature packed
Lack coverage

2)
Lack power
Be feature packed
Provide coverage

3)
Be powerful enough
Lack features
Provide coverage.

I choose option 3 10 times out of 10 if there’s a smaller budget in place. Features entertain YOU. They don’t grow or color corals.

 

[S2G]

You can get a viparspectra 165w to your door for $105. That's a no brainers imo. It has enough adjustability to do what you want.

$95 dollars left for whatever else you need or coral

 

[Adriifu]

You can get a viparspectra 165w to your door for $105. That's a no brainers imo. It has enough adjustability to do what you want.

$95 dollars left for whatever else you need or coral

Do you think the shadow from the brace will be negligible enough to ignore? I would like to go for that, but I’ve also heard many good things about T5s. Then again, it would be nice to spend less than $200. I’m kind of stuck here. Just how bad would the shadow be? Right now I pretty much see no shadow other than at the water’s surface, but I guess that’s because my light sucks. I’ll either go for the Viparspectra or T5 fixture at this point. I’d have to replace the bulbs how often, every year?

 

[Bpb]

Do you think the shadow from the brace will be negligible enough to ignore? I would like to go for that, but I’ve also heard many good things about T5s. Then again, it would be nice to spend less than $200. I’m kind of stuck here. Just how bad would the shadow be? Right now I pretty much see no shadow other than at the water’s surface, but I guess that’s because my light sucks. I’ll either go for the Viparspectra or T5 fixture at this point. I’d have to replace the bulbs how often, every year?

18-24 months if you’re growing softies and lps. Sps corals yearly would be ideal to maintain optimum par

 

[Adriifu]

18-24 months if you’re growing softies and lps. Sps corals yearly would be ideal to maintain optimum par

That’s not bad at all. Would the L bracket be strong enough to support it, and are there any other ways to hang it above the tank?

 

[boacvh]

I had the pro (dual) version for a while and my softies and LPS grew w/o issues. In my experience it won't be enough to sustain a BTA unfortunately. I really loved the lights and their customer support but I ended up upgrading since I wanted to try a few SPS.

 

[Bpb]

That’s not bad at all. Would the L bracket be strong enough to support it, and are there any other ways to hang it above the tank?

Yeah but that would kind of be up to your creativity and diy ability. I built a canopy to house my lights in, some people use the L brackets screwed into studs and will have a decorative shelf above the tank

 

[Beezwax404]

i have the 24 inch dual current orbit marine IC's on my 29 gallon biocube and my Hammer Coral is growing fast midway up, torch coral is slowly growing on the sand and my candy cane and zoanthids are doing great about 4 inches off the bottom. this is at blue 100% white 78% red 100% green 100%. i leave it on 8 hours then do 6 hours of 100% blue 4% white 20% red 0% green. Hope this helps you out.

 

[S2G]

Do you think the shadow from the brace will be negligible enough to ignore? I would like to go for that, but I’ve also heard many good things about T5s. Then again, it would be nice to spend less than $200. I’m kind of stuck here. Just how bad would the shadow be? Right now I pretty much see no shadow other than at the water’s surface, but I guess that’s because my light sucks. I’ll either go for the Viparspectra or T5 fixture at this point. I’d have to replace the bulbs how often, every year?

This is 18" over a brace on 180 with dirty glass tops @ 60/20 intensity. I'd say you're good imho.

Excuse the gha. My skimmer refuses to act right.