I know lights are one of the most important, but money is tight right now. I upgraded from a 29 biocube to a 75 gallon marine land. It is 18 inches deep, 48 inches wide. I do mainly the basic corals-hammer, leptoseris, polyps, birds nest, mushrooms, Xenia. In my 29 gallon biocube I had 2 clowns. May add more fish, but mainly reef. When i go to shops, they tell me....if i don’t get 2 kessal A360X at $449 each, $1,000, my corals will die.... then I go to the next store and they tell me that a $250 sea fluval will do the trick.... Please advise.
75 gallon marine land tank needs lights
- Thread starter DennyRay
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Sleeping Giant
Proud Canadian Reefer
I am running 1 Fluval marine 3.0, 1 Fluval original LED, and 2 t5 tubes in the hood light that came with my Marineland 75 gallon
IME, you can successfully run a reef tank with just about any type of light you want as long as they are of the correct spectrum and intensity.
What you have to do is figure out your budget and go from there. I understand that that doesn't really help a lot, but your budget will help weed out contenders so that you can narrow the field. Keep in mind long term costs when making the decision. T5 and MH will require bulb changes (generally every 12 months or so), and some of the less expensive Black Box LED's may not be built as robustly as the more pricey choices, and certainly won't be as adjustable.
I have used normal output T12, VHO T12 (Loved the color rendition of Actinic VHO), MH (didn't care for the heat or electricity usage), T5 (just didn't look as nice as T12 IMO), and finally LED (AI Sol blues - currently on my FT, Kessil A360 - currently on my QT, and a pair of Radion XR30 pro gen4 currently on my DT.) Other than the actinic that T12 absolutely dominated the radions are the best I've ever used, but certainly cost a pretty penny.
HTH?
What you have to do is figure out your budget and go from there. I understand that that doesn't really help a lot, but your budget will help weed out contenders so that you can narrow the field. Keep in mind long term costs when making the decision. T5 and MH will require bulb changes (generally every 12 months or so), and some of the less expensive Black Box LED's may not be built as robustly as the more pricey choices, and certainly won't be as adjustable.
I have used normal output T12, VHO T12 (Loved the color rendition of Actinic VHO), MH (didn't care for the heat or electricity usage), T5 (just didn't look as nice as T12 IMO), and finally LED (AI Sol blues - currently on my FT, Kessil A360 - currently on my QT, and a pair of Radion XR30 pro gen4 currently on my DT.) Other than the actinic that T12 absolutely dominated the radions are the best I've ever used, but certainly cost a pretty penny.
HTH?
CMMorgan
Counting my blessings...
I ran my Current Marine (36" - 48") adjustable LED for the longest time. I loved the look of it. I had healthy softies and a sweet monti running successfully. MY GSPs ran wild and my duncan held it's own. My Kenyan trees did exceptional under that light. I had an unrelated crash due to chemistry that wiped out several of my lot - unrelated to lighting.
It's far from the best but the lights are inexpensive by comparison. It's a place to start. Several folks sell them off on here as the budget expands. I'm about to trade up myself. The lights are fine for a beginner. That said, I'm not the best at following instructions - I could have gotten more out of it than I have.
It's far from the best but the lights are inexpensive by comparison. It's a place to start. Several folks sell them off on here as the budget expands. I'm about to trade up myself. The lights are fine for a beginner. That said, I'm not the best at following instructions - I could have gotten more out of it than I have.
Katepete722
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I’ve got a pair of viparspectra black boxes from Amazon on my 120. My corals seem to be growing nicely under them. I also recently upgraded from a biocube 29 that I lit with an AI Prime HD. I did prefer the AI light for its adjustability and WiFi access, but the black boxes are way cheap and do the job, albeit with a little less elegance.
Look into 2 OR3 light bars.
1 blue plus and 1 reef day.
You can add a third later.
Each bar is equal to 2 T5's.
This is quality without the inflated price, imo.
Many local reefers are selling their radions for these.
A used T5 unit will also work for you.
1 blue plus and 1 reef day.
You can add a third later.
Each bar is equal to 2 T5's.
This is quality without the inflated price, imo.
Many local reefers are selling their radions for these.
A used T5 unit will also work for you.
what do you think of this one please?
CURRENT USA Orbit Marine IC PRO Dual LED Reef Aquarium Light | Wireless Light and Pump Controller | Loop App - Bluetooth
| Light Source Type | LED |
| Power Source | DC |
| Finish Type | Matt |
| Brand | CURRENT |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 46.8 x 7.5 x 0.44 inches |
About this item
- MORE LIGHT | BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE - The Orbit Marine IC PRO produces a vibrant, full color spectrum using dual LED fixtures, delivering up to twice the amount of light. Now with wireless smartphone LOOP control, it’s easier than ever to program and control your LED lights, create waves and control the flow – all with a simple touch.
- OPTIMIZED COLORS | PERFECTLY CONTROLLED - A powerful blend of Dual Actinic blue, Dual Daylight white and RGB LEDs combined with 90° spherical optical lenses delivers the perfect spectrum of light for strong coral growth and amazing fluorescence.
- CORAL CAPTIVATED - See your corals in high definition color and immerse yourself with spectacular on-demand dynamic lighting modes and industry first binaural audio. Optional tank mount arm brackets makes for an even sleeker install.
- ULTRA SLIM DESIGN - Measuring less than ½” thick, the Orbit Marine IC PRO is still the thinnest, sleekest light fixture on the market. The thermally efficient LED design requires no cooling fan and runs completely silent. Optional tank mount brackets make for a polished install and provides both vertical and front-to-back adjustment.
- BLUETOOTH - The Orbit Marine IC PRO with Bluetooth control includes a LOOP controller for both LED lights. Use the LOOP app on iOS or Android mobile devices and connect. It’s simple, intuitive and requires no wifi network.
I would suggest looking for some used lights here on the forum. You can usually find a good set of used lights like AI Primes or kessils or some older gen radions
As I did what you did I bought the Amazon light bar. Ya it looked fine on the tank, did it grow much? Ehh maybe it did some easy things. Then I went to Red Sea reef LEDs. Great lights but I went with the 50s being cheaper. So now I’m upgrading again. But I’ve spend money on lights twice already. I would suggest spending on good lights the first time or at least ones that will last you a few years
I had those before my reefbreeder they are nice lights very easy to use BUT they are very weak. Low light coral only you'll need to add a t5 or led bar later to grow sps. The pic is my old setup with those lights
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The 48" model you show puts out a whopping 72 watts. That might be an ok light of a FO (Fish only) tank, I think you will find it woefully inadequate for a reef with any but the least light demanding corals. At max intensity it will give you ~10 PAR at the bottom of the tank (per their own charts). You will get much better results with even the least expensive Black Box LEDS. I'd keep looking.
Biglew11
Valuable Member
Can't really say IME yet, but this says it all.
I too have a 75 gallon Marineland tank. When I upgraded the lighting I knew I wanted the kessils eventually. So i went with an aquaticlife hybrid light fixture first. Saved up and about 1 year later added the two kessil a 360x.
You could get a 4 bulb t5 and add led later, place the birdsnest and leptos up high so they get the par.
Or If you have the space, time, you can leave the 29 up and keep the leptos and birdsnest in there, since you know they'll survive.
Similar, one Fluval 3.0 LED and two T5's on a 90 g
I run the Fluval at 75% just to supplement the T5's a bit. Plenty of light for my softies and Anemone.
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