Cheap light I can purchase for a coral QT?

[kiran]

This might be a stupid question but I was wondering if there were cheaper alternatives to reef lights then the big names we normally see? I want to setup a coral QT/holding tank but wanted to see if there were other options out there. The tank in question is a 40gal breeder from petco.

 

[Woodyman]

The SmatFarm from Amazon comes to mind. I use it on a 20L as a zoa frag tank. Although for a 40B you'd probably want 2 depending on if your filling it completely with coral or just partially.

@noopsyche comes to mind as well. I don't have any of their lights, but I see/hear good things here about them!

 

[kiran]

The SmatFarm from Amazon comes to mind. I use it on a 20L as a zoa frag tank. Although for a 40B you'd probably want 2 depending on if your filling it completely with coral or just partially.

@noopsyche comes to mind as well. I don't have any of their lights, but I see/hear good things here about them!

Awesome man, thank you. I'll check them both out. Have you heard anything about NICREW?

 

[Beau_B]

Noopsyche is a lot for a little, I have a K7 V3 and so far it’s been impressive.

What about using bars? The Aliexpress LED bars are getting a fair amount of attention, I’m considering adding some to my tank for fill.

 

[Woodyman]

Awesome man, thank you. I'll check them both out. Have you heard anything about NICREW?

Heard mixed things on the NICREW. I've never used one myself.

 

[Reffetsevla]

I have a Nicrew 150w over my 20g IM Fusion Pro, I really like it, I highly recommend getting the controller for it though. Allows you to program specific percentages (5% increments) for blue and white and also functions as a timer. You can set several variations too so if you wanted to set a programming for low light corals and one for high demand you could.

I run mine at 95% Blue and 25% about 12" off the water and am getting great growth and color so far (lots of SPS). I did have to exchange the first one as the fan in it was "clicking" when on high, but it was an easy exchange and no hassle.

 

[cleon1990]

This might be a stupid question but I was wondering if there were cheaper alternatives to reef lights then the big names we normally see? I want to setup a coral QT/holding tank but wanted to see if there were other options out there. The tank in question is a 40gal breeder from petco.

Honestly you don’t need lights at all for QT/holding tank. But I have the white petco lights that originally come with those tanks, and never had any issue. QT are very very basic to run.

 

[Reefing102]

For a coral quarantine, I’d use either the smatfarm or @noopsyche lights. I have the smatfarm for my wife’s anemone tank and like it. Very simple to use. Controller isn’t very good though. I have heard good things about noopsyche but don’t have any.

Regarding NiCrew, some of their other lights may be good but I have a little pendant light (I think a 35watt or something) from them and it’s not good for coral. Extremely limited programmability.

I also run a couple aliexpress bars on my main tank to supplement my halides. There’s a thread on here I started that has par numbers but they don’t have any controlability

PopularGrow Par Readings

Hey guys, So I’ve been researching LEDs just to get more info if I decide to switch later on. I see a lot of people recommending the PopularGrow LED bars as a supplement light. I have a set of their blue bars but no one local has a par meter and I can’t afford the “rental” of one. I did a...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[doubleshot00]

Awesome man, thank you. I'll check them both out. Have you heard anything about NICREW?

I have two of there 30 watt and a 50 watt. The 30 watt is awesome matched up with there simple timer to ramp up and down. One is on a 20 gal frag tank and the other is on my wifes fluval. The 50 watt needs there fancier timer that is $45 and I didn’t want to spend more money on another light.

 

[Reffetsevla]

I have two of there 30 watt and a 50 watt. The 30 watt is awesome matched up with there simple timer to ramp up and down. One is on a 20 gal frag tank and the other is on my wifes fluval. The 50 watt needs there fancier timer that is $45 and I didn’t want to spend more money on another light.

FWIW I do really like the little $45 controller, but I have intents to daisy chain a couple over a 3ft 75gal tank so it's worth it for me. It does work quite well, although I wish the magnet to hold it to the mount was a touch stronger.

 

[cleon1990]

Honestly you don’t need lights at all for QT/holding tank. But I have the white petco lights that originally come with those tanks, and never had any issue. QT are very very basic to run.

‍ Sorry miss read the part of coral QT! I was talking about fish QT. Disregard my last

 

[doubleshot00]

FWIW I do really like the little $45 controller, but I have intents to daisy chain a couple over a 3ft 75gal tank so it's worth it for me. It does work quite well, although I wish the magnet to hold it to the mount was a touch stronger.

I wanted to get it but the light mount imo isn't long enough to hover over my 20gal long so I gave up on it.

 

[LeftyReefer]

for a 40b you will likely need a couple lights for complete coverage, or a few LED bars would be an option too.

For inexpensive lights, I really like the Smat Farm lights, or if you have a deeper tank maybe a pair of Noop V7.

or you could go with a couple LED bars like Quanta Bars or similar.

I have (2) Smat Farm lights and a LED bar over my 40b.

 

[piranhaman00]

A 2 bulb T5 would work perfect t

 

[Timfish]

PopBloom, they use reflectors instead of lenses so there's no issue of lenses browning over time.

 

[fishface NJ]

You can grow any coral under @noopsyche lights or T5

 

[Reffetsevla]

I wanted to get it but the light mount imo isn't long enough to hover over my 20gal long so I gave up on it.

I mounted a shelf above mine and hung the light from that. I didn't have enough room behind my tank to center the light, due to the way the arm adjusted, so hanging it was the best option. Unless you have a fair bit of room behind your tank the arm is tough to center on tanks that aren't a good 18"-20" wide. Mines a 20g IM (24" x 15"x 13") so at 15" I'd need a bit more room than available behind it. Really like the light though! lol

 

[doubleshot00]

I mounted a shelf above mine and hung the light from that. I didn't have enough room behind my tank to center the light, due to the way the arm adjusted, so hanging it was the best option. Unless you have a fair bit of room behind your tank the arm is tough to center on tanks that aren't a good 18"-20" wide. Mines a 20g IM (24" x 15"x 13") so at 15" I'd need a bit more room than available behind it. Really like the light though! lol

Yeah I may just have to build something simple but this 30 watt seems to be working ok but would like to use this 50.