Aquatic Life Coral Cover LED Lights for 60" FOWLR Tank

[KLaRue]

I've been reviewing all the lighting options again on BRS and came across a new hybrid system from Aquatic Life - Coral Cover hybrid fixture - for a new FOWLR setup. Since I'm targeting a 60"/150G tank with a full canopy, I've struggled with finding a lighting option that fits what I want - spread thru out the tank with shimmer and low heat (live in TX). I figured I would have to settle for a 48" fixture and be stuck leaving the outer 6" bare on either end. But today I found the new (to me, anyway) Coral cover fixture. The reality is the fixtures aren't the full length as advertised (24" is really 23", 36" is really ~34", & the 48" is really ~45"). My first thought was the 48" would leave even more area uncovered, so not a great option. But what about combining the 24" & the 36" fixtures? Together, they would be about 57" end-to-end. What I like about this option is the price is very reasonable (compared to the Reef Brite option) and leaves opportunity for down the road addition of a stronger fixture(s) for possible move to reef setup.
What are your thoughts? Is this a good option for spread on a 60" canopied FOWLR tank that could perhaps be changed over to a reef?

 

[Snoopy 67]

Yes it is. FO tanks really don't need that powerful of a lighting array.

 

[blaxsun]

Go with 2x 34".

 

[Oberst Hajj]

not sure if you have already purchased your lights, but I would suggest going with the Reef Brite 60" 50/50 Lumi Lite Pro. I'm running one 72" version on my 270g (84x30x25) FOWLR tank and I don't even run it on full power. The 60" is less than $250. Buy more powerful lights later on if you switch to a reef tank.

 

[KLaRue]

I considered the Reef Brite strips. The 60" strips are actually physically longer due to the cords feeding out from the end, so there is the issue of them fitting inside the canopy. Further, if I were to use the 48" version, to have the ability to automatically ramp up and down, requires the purchase of a controller and then additional (not cheap) hardware to connect the lights to the controller.
I will say that I had focused on the XHO's rather than the Pro's in my cost analysis. But that still makes for a costly system to fully implement.

 

[Oberst Hajj]

I considered the Reef Brite strips. The 60" strips are actually physically longer due to the cords feeding out from the end, so there is the issue of them fitting inside the canopy. Further, if I were to use the 48" version, to have the ability to automatically ramp up and down, requires the purchase of a controller and then additional (not cheap) hardware to connect the lights to the controller.
I will say that I had focused on the XHO's rather than the Pro's in my cost analysis. But that still makes for a costly system to fully implement.

Yeah, you would have to go with the 48" version. Since it sounds like you do not have a reef controller, I would suggest the Reef Brite Bluetooth controller. The two of those together would only set you back $360, pretty cheap for lighting a 60" tank.

I was a little concerned that one of the 72" Lumi lite pros would not be enough to light my 84" long and 30" depth tank evenly enough, so I mount the one light that I bought to try out towards the front of my light stand (I'm building a multi part canopy to go over the light stand you see below). I did this because I thought I'd need to add a second one towards the rear to fill light in back there. Turns out that the single strip more then lights the whole tank, even at reduced power.

 

[KLaRue]

Yeah, you would have to go with the 48" version. Since it sounds like you do not have a reef controller, I would suggest the Reef Brite Bluetooth controller. The two of those together would only set you back $360, pretty cheap for lighting a 60" tank.

I was a little concerned that one of the 72" Lumi lite pros would not be enough to light my 84" long and 30" depth tank evenly enough, so I mount the one light that I bought to try out towards the front of my light stand (I'm building a multi part canopy to go over the light stand you see below). I did this because I thought I'd need to add a second one towards the rear to fill light in back there. Turns out that the single strip more then lights the whole tank, even at reduced power.

That does look nice with just the one. Hmmmmm.... More thinking to do.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

I have a 6' long tank and have 2 24" light. My tank is bright enough, and Coraline grow. and I get just some algae on the glass. No corals, and I do not plan to add any, so for me that combination is good.