very tight light budget

cablez · Jul 11, 2018

I am on a fixed income, and i know this isnt a cheap hobby and all that, but I am thinking about grabbing these : https://www.ebay.com/itm/72W-Dimmab...m=291935911949&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 ............................I have a 20 gallon long aquariu, with a modified side sump that i DiY'd, would these work for corals? as the tank is only 12" deep?

Eagle_Steve · Jul 11, 2018

cablez said:
I am on a fixed income, and i know this isnt a cheap hobby and all that, but I am thinking about grabbing these : https://www.ebay.com/itm/72W-Dimmable-24-LED-Full-Spectrum-Grow-Fish-Tank-Reef-Coral-Aquarium-Light-Lamp/291935911949?_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=1&asc=52935&meid=1961b524d2d543999a2fce31b0768fde&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=12&mehot=pp&sd=351897065584&itm=291935911949&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 ............................I have a 20 gallon long aquariu, with a modified side sump that i DiY'd, would these work for corals? as the tank is only 12" deep?

I have 2 of these lights and can say they will work for softies and some lps. They were originally used when I got into reefing. I had them on a 29 gallon aquarium that was used as my “do I want to really get into this hobby” tank. My dad has been reefing for years so I knew how much it could cost. I wish I had some pictures from the tank handy, but will look for some tomorrow to show you what they looked like. My coral list at first was some gsp, kenyas, torch, palys, Favia, and mushrooms. I also had a Condi in the tank with the lights and it was a bleached one that came back all green and pretty. That condi is in the tank I have now and is still doing great. The Kenyas and gsp grew very well, to well tbh (easy corals anyways). My palys went nuts and exploded from 3 buttons to over 60 in 3 months. Granted all of the before mentioned corals are super easy, but still need sufficient light. The torch did have to be placed about mid tank, but it was a 29 tall. The others types did well under the lights also.

In short if the tank is 12” deep, you keep all your params in order, they should work for the easier corals. At least from my experience with them. Note I kept nitrates at about 5 since everything I had likes it a little dirty.

I almost forgot. I removed the 60 degree lenses and put in 120 degree lenses. The 60s prob would have helped get the light deeper, but the disco with 60s on the bottom looked weird. The lights don’t blend the colors well as they are at depth. I also ran them with no lenses for a bit and I would say the spread was about 180 degrees. After 5 months a white led in one died and then a few other whites in the second one. Easy fix if you are handy with a soldering iron. As of now, they are sitting in a box somewhere in my garage loft without the power supplies. (Power supplies run a DIY fuge light now lol).

cablez · Jul 11, 2018

Great~! thanks for the response! this is my first aquarium in over 10 years, so i wanted to stay as cheap as possible. See if I even like the hobby as you said!

Eagle_Steve · Jul 11, 2018

Just be careful lol. I am up to 3 sw tanks at home, 3 fw tanks, koi pond, 1.5g pico at the office and piecing together everything for a 29 sps cube for the office lol. Slowly the fw tanks are moving to sw lol. If the koi pond didn’t have 30” koi in it, I would figure a way to make it a ray pond lol.

And best of luck with everything. If you ever need help or advice the people here are wonderful. Very helpful when I got into it.

Dana Riddle · Jul 13, 2018

Agreed with responses above. Spread of light will limit both animal selection and placement. Research carefully when selecting corals and purchase those tolerant of lower light intensities.