First Tank, Lighting Advice?

Gobigorgohome_

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Hi,

I'm looking for some advice on how to best light a 24x18x18 (600x400x400). I'm new to the hobby and so am concerned of startup costs getting too out of hand, but at the same time want to the corals to pop and hopefully see reasonable growth.

I was thinking of perhaps going for 2x hipargero aqua knight led's to get a good spread and be budget friendly.

I could stretch to something like a single AI prime 16HD id need be.

What would you suggest? Any other light options I should consider?

Thanks
 
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Gobigorgohome_

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Any idea of what kinds of corals you want to keep?

I think the stuff I am looking to keep is relatively easy? but I am new to this so unsure.

I am thinking mainly of - Leathers, mushrooms, hammers, xenia, lps - and would love an anemone

Trying perhap to get an sps in their as a centre piece would be kool(maybe right under the light), but i'm not wanting to fill the tank with them and not too fussed if I cant get them in at all.

What light would you recommend for those?
 
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Gobigorgohome_

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When you look at specific lights, most manufacturers will publish PAR mappings. I found these useful to get an idea what to expect.

Yeh, I have had a look at these, there seems to be disagreement online about what a lot actually do so have been checking out youtube for people doing PAR tests on different lights. My understanding is that decent spread is important if you want placement options, which is why I was thinking that 2 cheaper lights might be a better option than one more expense one?
 

Uncle99

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Visparspectra is very budget friendly at $130 bucks, push more than enough PAR for anything.
The Hipergaro I believe is a 30 watt unit versus the Visparspectra which is 5 times that at 165w.

If your going to grow corals, make sure you have the best lighting you can afford as it’s their primary nutrition element.

I don’t think 30 watts is enough, or at leastI IMO

CA0D3540-BDC0-462F-9F82-0A39827EEC58.jpeg
 
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Crustaceon

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4 bulb t5ho. Dirt cheap initial cost. No intensity or color settings to worry about. No guesswork as to spectrum quality & whether or not it’ll grow coral and moderate pop with decent actinic bulbs.
 

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Ive used the hipagero. It is a nice budget light. Maybe check out this? Just saw it ol
I think the stuff I am looking to keep is relatively easy? but I am new to this so unsure.

I am thinking mainly of - Leathers, mushrooms, hammers, xenia, lps - and would love an anemone

Trying perhap to get an sps in their as a centre piece would be kool(maybe right under the light), but i'm not wanting to fill the tank with them and not too fussed if I cant get them in at all.

What light would you recommend for those?


I have used the hipagero and they are nice for a budget. However this might be something to check out

 

Wee Mad Arthur

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I used the hipagero on a previous tank, not a bad light but lacks controllability. The touch controls are a bit vague and you have no real feedback as to what intensity is set. If you can stretch to a Prime 16HD you won’t have to think about lighting again, they’re very popular for a reason. Just remember they don’t come with a mount, that’s an extra cost.
 

Mikeltee

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First of all, you havent told us what it will illuminate. A fish only tank has much different requirements than a SPS dominant tank.

Secondly, LED are expensive and overrated! A lot of people mess with their settings all the time while killing or stunting their corals each time they open up that app. IMO Par means nothing. It's all about lumens per watt of electricity used. With that said, nothing can beat a metal halide in that regards.

You can buy t5 and metal halide fixtures for next to nothing. You may even be able to get it for free as just about everyone is changing to LED.

For your tank, I would run 1x 150w Metal Halide flanked by 2x T5s on each side. I run that configuration on my 48x22x30 but with 2x MHs. The bulbs need changed every year and LEDs are good for at least a decade so they kind of pay for themselves in the long run. I perfer the growth potential in my setup vs LED. Many people that switched to LED have come back to incandescent. I really like the actintic look for corals with LED when viewing them, but that isnt good for growth.
 
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Gobigorgohome_

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First of all, you havent told us what it will illuminate. A fish only tank has much different requirements than a SPS dominant tank.

Secondly, LED are expensive and overrated! A lot of people mess with their settings all the time while killing or stunting their corals each time they open up that app. IMO Par means nothing. It's all about lumens per watt of electricity used. With that said, nothing can beat a metal halide in that regards.

You can buy t5 and metal halide fixtures for next to nothing. You may even be able to get it for free as just about everyone is changing to LED.

For your tank, I would run 1x 150w Metal Halide flanked by 2x T5s on each side. I run that configuration on my 48x22x30 but with 2x MHs. The bulbs need changed every year and LEDs are good for at least a decade so they kind of pay for themselves in the long run. I perfer the growth potential in my setup vs LED. Many people that switched to LED have come back to incandescent. I really like the actintic look for corals with LED when viewing them, but that isnt good for growth.

Yeh, I have watched the BRS stuff on T5's and was considering perhaps begining with T5 only with one of the hybrid setups, then adding LED's later for the shimmer and when I have more cash. Metal Halide's i'll have to do some more research on, I have not honestly really looked into them. Thanks for the idea's.

2nd hand is definitely something I am considering, I'll probs create some spreadsheets of the best options in each area and the scour ebay.

Corals wise I am still learning what they all are, but I'm pretty sure I want to do softy/LPS tank, though I would love have some plating montipora which as SPS I believe, so perhaps could get away with having them centralized in highish flow?
 

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First of all, you havent told us what it will illuminate. A fish only tank has much different requirements than a SPS dominant tank.

Secondly, LED are expensive and overrated! A lot of people mess with their settings all the time while killing or stunting their corals each time they open up that app. IMO Par means nothing. It's all about lumens per watt of electricity used. With that said, nothing can beat a metal halide in that regards.

You can buy t5 and metal halide fixtures for next to nothing. You may even be able to get it for free as just about everyone is changing to LED.

For your tank, I would run 1x 150w Metal Halide flanked by 2x T5s on each side. I run that configuration on my 48x22x30 but with 2x MHs. The bulbs need changed every year and LEDs are good for at least a decade so they kind of pay for themselves in the long run. I perfer the growth potential in my setup vs LED. Many people that switched to LED have come back to incandescent. I really like the actintic look for corals with LED when viewing them, but that isnt good for growth.


1. OP mentions the coals he want to use above.

2. LED save you much more money in the long run via power and longevity

3. It is true that people can mess up light settings but it typically is easy to fix and avoidable.

4. I am not sure why you say actinic = LED and why that isn't good for growth despite actiniv and deep blues falling into the ideal rang of chlorophyll A and C.

5. PAR is imporant (though not as much as PUR) and is more relevant that lumens. PAR refers to photosynthetic active radiation and PUR is photosynthetic usable radiation. Lumens simply refers to the amount of visible light given off by a source, and much of visible light is useless for zooxanthellae.
 

45ZoaGarden

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1. OP mentions the coals he want to use above.

2. LED save you much more money in the long run via power and longevity

3. It is true that people can mess up light settings but it typically is easy to fix and avoidable.

4. I am not sure why you say actinic = LED and why that isn't good for growth despite actiniv and deep blues falling into the ideal rang of chlorophyll A and C.

5. PAR is imporant (though not as much as PUR) and is more relevant that lumens. PAR refers to photosynthetic active radiation and PUR is photosynthetic usable radiation. Lumens simply refers to the amount of visible light given off by a source, and much of visible light is useless for zooxanthellae.
+1 you’d save with leds in the long run. I’d go with the Ai prime. No better option in the sub $250 market ;)
 

Spare time

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You could also pick up a used hydra 26hd for less than $250


I think a reef LED 50 or an AI prime 16hd would work well (as long as he maxes the blues and ignores red and green in the AI). Although I think he was looking for something cheaper.
 

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lighting is a personable thing. I run T5's because I like the look. I have MH but went with a used T5
Fixture for cheap. I will use the MH someday.
I ran the black box on my nano with good results. Just set the things up and dont keep changing the settings for good results.
 
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Gobigorgohome_

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I think a reef LED 50 or an AI prime 16hd would work well (as long as he maxes the blues and ignores red and green in the AI). Although I think he was looking for something cheaper.
I was looking for something cheaper it seems like perhaps by going too cheap I would be damaging the long run. So I guess I am looking for the sweet spot.

Will defiantly be considering he used market to try to hit both.
 

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