Help me pick an LED for new SPS tank

[MiamiAG]

Hi all -

I’m cycling a Waterbox AIO 35.2 with the purpose of it being SPS dominated in the future. I know it won’t be ready for quite a while, but want to start planning (and saving) for the lighting. I would appreciate your thoughts on what lighting would work given the focus on SPS and the dimensions of the tank.

The dimensions of the display portion of the tank are 23.6"×15"×17.7". I would like the spread of the light to cover most of that without too much light spill.

Here are my limitations:

1. LED only
2. No ability to hang from the ceiling so it needs an arm option
3. Spread and blending are important so something with a diffuser is preferred
4. Par should be 200 - 350 in the SPS zone

Thanks for helping me with this!

 

[fishski13]

I think the xr30 new gen would work good for your needs.

 

[rtparty]

XR15 (will eventually need two), XR30, Neptune Sky, Mitras LX7 (if you can deal with their software)

The XR30 and Sky are slightly overkill but more is better than less. You can turn them down

 

[piranhaman00]

T5s

 

[LeftyReefer]

Noopsyche K7 Pro III
now that it has wifi control, it's pretty hard to beat for only $210.
comes with an arm mount too.

 

[Jekyl]

Kessel 360 and an LED bar for best coverage.

 

[MiamiAG]

T5s

Thanks. Given the price of lights today, I want to run this for a long time. IMHO, I think it will become harder and harder to source T5s in the near future so this is a technology I'm going to pass on now. But thanks. It would do a very good job for what I'm asking.

 

[MiamiAG]

XR15 (will eventually need two), XR30, Neptune Sky, Mitras LX7 (if you can deal with their software)

The XR30 and Sky are slightly overkill but more is better than less. You can turn them down

Thanks. I initially thought about the XR15 but if I need two, why not just go XR30 from the beginning? So, I discarded the XR15 idea.

The XR30 and Sky are overkill in my opinion and I'm concerned about light spill. My footprint is 24" and those two give a spread that is closer to 36". I can try to have them closer to the water to limit light spill but then I'd likely have them turned down below 50%. At that point, I've paid a substantial amount for power I'm not using.

This is what is holding me back. I am hoping to find a light that has a 24" spread that I can be running at 50-75% so I feel I'm getting my money's worth.

 

[X-37B]

Take a look at 2 16 hds. They will grow anything you want. You can find used ones for a good price also. These are the lights that convinced me to replace all my halides with leds.
My 18" 20g nano cube running 2 16hds.

 

[Bpb]

Xr30 definitely. Checks all the boxes

 

[A Young Reefer]

Aqua illumination, you won’t regret it.

 

[MiamiAG]

Noopsyche K7 Pro III
now that it has wifi control, it's pretty hard to beat for only $210.
comes with an arm mount too.

Thanks. I will look more into them. You can't beat this price. What concerns me is whether these lights have the quality build that I would expect from such a key component of the reef. I will need to research reviews to see.

But then again, for the price, I would have to replace them five times to match the price of a single XR30.

 

[Tamberav]

Thanks. I will look more into them. You can't beat this price. What concerns me is whether these lights have the quality build that I would expect from such a key component of the reef. I will need to research reviews to see.

But then again, for the price, I would have to replace them five times to match the price of a single XR30.

I would not say all expensive lights are always superb quality.

I would check out reefi 2.0 pro as well.

 

[MiamiAG]

I would not say all expensive lights are always superb quality.

I would check out reefi 2.0 pro as well.

Thanks. I will check out Reefi.

 

[ClownSchool]

I would not say all expensive lights are always superb quality.

I would check out reefi 2.0 pro as well.

I had a 48” over my tank when first starting in the hobby last year. They only have 1 watt LEDs, and my SPS suffered.
An AI Hydra 32 would give enough coverage (I use three over a 55 gallon), but what I’ve seen of the NooPsyche referenced above, i’d look at those closer. If their shop’s page is accurate, they seem to have really good par in the 410 and 460 spectrum ranges (violet/blue), with close to the same coverage, for the money. The AI 32s are now over $320 and the mounting arms are about $75 each. That’s about a 40% savings.

 

[Tamberav]

I had a 48” over my tank when first starting in the hobby last year. They only have 1 watt LEDs, and my SPS suffered.
An AI Hydra 32 would give enough coverage (I use three over a 55 gallon), but what I’ve seen of the NooPsyche referenced above, i’d look at those closer. If their shop’s page is accurate, they seem to have really good par in the 410 and 460 spectrum ranges (violet/blue), with close to the same coverage, for the money. The AI 32s are now over $320 and the mounting arms are about $75 each. That’s about a 40% savings.

I don’t know what you mean by 48” and 1w leds? You mean an expensive brand you bought? Which one? Sounds like one of the led bar types with the legs?

This is the reefi I was talking about.

https://www.reefi-lab.com/reefi-uno-2-0-pro/

 

[Falc!]

Neptune sky is by far best spread and colors ive seen

 

[Falc!]

Neptune sky is by far best spread and colors ive seen

 

[razorskiss]

I think two smaller units plus some LED bars will give you the best combination of spread, par and shimmer. I run A360x + reef brites for example, but they make hybrid radion and AI mounts too.

 

[Jekyl]

Thanks. Given the price of lights today, I want to run this for a long time. IMHO, I think it will become harder and harder to source T5s in the near future so this is a technology I'm going to pass on now. But thanks. It would do a very good job for what I'm asking.

This is due to marketing ploys and not going to happen. T5 and halide will always be king. While LED marketers will do what they can to try and discredit to be able to charge higher prices.