LED Reef Tank Lighting
- Thread starter jonw59
- Start date
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
First of all,...
I haven't seen you around, so welcome to the boards! I hope you enjoy your stay.
Second of all...
How big is your tank and what are you trying to keep? soft corals don't require as much as LPS corals, as much as SPS corals... Sometimes a huge light for SPS corals will burn corals that don't need as much light. Some corals are actually nonphotosynthetic invertebrates which don't require any light.
Let us know what you want to keep and then we will figure out how big your lights should be.
I haven't seen you around, so welcome to the boards! I hope you enjoy your stay.
Second of all...
How big is your tank and what are you trying to keep? soft corals don't require as much as LPS corals, as much as SPS corals... Sometimes a huge light for SPS corals will burn corals that don't need as much light. Some corals are actually nonphotosynthetic invertebrates which don't require any light.
Let us know what you want to keep and then we will figure out how big your lights should be.
jonw59
Member
Thanks I am new to the reef thread, just recently decided I wanted to dabble in corals. The tank is a 40 gallon 36" x 18" x 16" and I plan on having a 30 gallon refugium. As far as what Id like in the tank I'm still a little unsure, I just started looking into a few weeks ago and figured Id start with my light source as it is very outdated and poor. I suppose I would like a variety of things both soft and stone coral as well as an anemone. I've heard this is possible by sort of building layers throughout the tank. I still have a lot to learn about the subject and I'd like to do this right so any info would be great. also if there are any books or sites that you would recommend let me know
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
You want to keep a mixed reef then... 40g of water isn't a whole lot, so if you stick a metal halide unit over the top of it, it will generate a lot of heat and keep the temp unstable. I like T5HO fixtures and retrofit kits personally. Although, you will have to use higher quality bulbs like that of UVL or ATI. Dixie reef is a pretty good source. I don't think they have anything on lighting just yet.
LED lighting is also a pretty good source of light. They have come a long way in DIY LED reef lighting, as well as fixtures. A good fixture could cost you $500. Like those made by AI, like the Vega.
LED lighting is also a pretty good source of light. They have come a long way in DIY LED reef lighting, as well as fixtures. A good fixture could cost you $500. Like those made by AI, like the Vega.
jonw59
Member
I guess heat of the light is something I wasn't considering. So would you not recommend metal halides at all or for just this size tank, what size tank might they work for? I was honestly just looking at these because I thought it was a good deal and seemed to have all the different lights I would want. I dont know that it is in my budget to spend much more than $250 on lights, are there any options around this price?
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
There is a site right now that is selling a pretty good unit... it's a 6x39w 36" T5HO by Nova Extreme Pro on Marine and Reef dot com that is selling for $279.95 right now. It's $30 more than your budget, but it will be plenty of power for all the corals that you want. Including some SPS corals. I highly recommend this brand of fixture because I have used them reliably for years.
After six months or so, replace those stock lamps with some decent brand bulbs, like ATI and UVL brand bulbs. Much better PAR values and color temperatures.
After six months or so, replace those stock lamps with some decent brand bulbs, like ATI and UVL brand bulbs. Much better PAR values and color temperatures.
jonw59
Member
So I'm thinking a better way to go at this is to decide what would do best in my tank, Ive been hearing SPS corals are pretty difficult for a first reef tank. Have you come across any sort of chart that says what coral should receive how many K's and watts and how far the light source should be away from the coral? I was talking about building levels for the mixed reef tank but am not entirely sure how to go about that. I'm thinking I should look more into what I want on each level and then base the light source off that rather than the other way around.
jonw59
Member
Can anyone help explain to me the difference between a cheaper LED systems like Marineland Reef Capable , Aquaticlife 1.0 Watt Expamdable, and Ecoxotic Panorama Marine compared to more expensive systems like EcoTech Marine Radion and Aquailumination Vega. I realize there are different amounts/shades of lights for each unit but what exactly does this mean to my tank. Is it necessary to have 32 different LED lights? I'm hoping someone with some experience with LED lights can give me some input/advice