Best light for 20 gal peninsula?

[toadstool_paradise]

Hey there I have a 20 gallon innovative marine peninsula tank with a cheap light(current orbit or something) on it. Doing well I just have a soft coral tank but I would like to splurge and buy a better light for it! I hear AI prime and kessil lights are great. What light would you recommend for best color/growth on corals? Pics and any info you have is welcome :)

 

[Spare time]

Kessils are really pretty. An a160we has a 20x20 spread for mixed reed and 24x24 for soft corals. The AI prime works well too and has a 24x24 max spread. I guess it all depends om how you want to mount the light and what you want out of it.

 

[SoggyNW]

A photon v2 from reef breeders might be a good fit.

 

[JBKReef]

I have a 14 peninsula, 25 lagoon, and 40 mini from Innovative Marine. I love the tanks. I'm using 3 Kessil A80's over the 25 lagoon, 1 AI Prime over the 14 peninsula, and 1 AI Prime and 2 T5 bulbs over the 40 mini.

The 20 peninsula has a lighting requirement of 26.2" long, 11.8" wide and 13" deep.

With wanting nicer lights, and something that could support a full mixed reef (at 13" deep) I would suggest 2 Kessil A80's. It will keep too much light from spilling, still be streamlined, create good zones for a mixed reef (Even allow for SPS where the two lights overlap).

The only difficult problem with this would be finding a proper way to mount the lights. Some good DIY options out there.

Budget would come in around $260 for the two lights together, an extra $100 if you want the light controller, and then finding a mounting option.

 

[PicassoClown04]

I’ve got the IM 20 peninsula. AI Primes are the way to go imo. I’ve got one regular and one HD for the clam. Cost me $200 for both the lights and the arms, bought used off craigslist.

 

[old salt reefer]

Hey there I have a 20 gallon innovative marine peninsula tank with a cheap light(current orbit or something) on it. Doing well I just have a soft coral tank but I would like to splurge and buy a better light for it! I hear AI prime and kessil lights are great. What light would you recommend for best color/growth on corals? Pics and any info you have is welcome :)

Have same tank and light on it, Current USA IC Orbit PRO. Been looking for a new light as the orbit is barely up to the job and with the amount of white light you need to use to bring PAR up to usable levels it's really good at growing algae. Want a Reef Breeders 24" Photon V2+ but out of stock everywhere and their ETA keeps growing(IE 4-6 week ETA 2 weeks later becomes 4-5 weeks ETA). I dont't think the Reef Breeders 16" would be long enough to light the ends of the tank without raising it half way to the roof. I've looked at many,many other LED lights and each one got a no go for one reason or another(price, no ramp up/down,not enough PAR, pucks to close together, crappy customer service when it brakes, etc.) Which leads me to-----I have a AI Prime 16HD on a Nuvo 10 and it's a wonderful light (I love it- no complaints at all what so ever, grows coral(ever Acro) not algae). I would need 2 Primes for the 20 gal (I've done the math, the center of each puck would need to be 6.75 inch in from each end to be spaced evenly above the tank. I would need 2 hanging kits too as I use the tank cover,so $470.00 for the Prime set up---the Reef Breeders is $400.00. I have to make a choice soon. I'll be following this thread.

 

[old salt reefer]

So I just looked at the Kessil A80. It uses 15 1 watt LEDs. The Prime uses 16 3 watt LEDs(and my whites are set at 15% tops). Prime gives more bang for the buck(more PAR). I will admit that the Prime on my Nuvo 10 is only using 32 watts. If I get the Primes for my 20 that will be 64 watts.
Oh, the current USA uses .5 watt LEDs.