Help with light recommendation

[jrhorn44]

Getting back into the hobby after quite a few years. (7 or 8 years)

What light/lights would you recommend for a 40gallon breeder? My only worry is my cats might jump on top the light so I was thinking 2 smaller ones but I’d like to keep it in the $200 range if possible. I can go more but I’d prefer not to.

I would like a light strong enough to put coral or anything that catches my eye.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Any led light of 100-150 watts will work IMO. I have used Nicrew and it has been good for me, but other lower cost lights are Smatfarm, Vivarspectra. I'm sure there are others that other folks can suggest, good luck

 

[jrhorn44]

Any led light of 100-150 watts will work IMO. I have used Nicrew and it has been good for me, but other lower cost lights are Smatfarm, Vivarspectra. I'm sure there are others that other folks can suggest, good luck

I was looking at the nicrew 100. Would using 2 nicrew 65’s be better or worse?

Just trying to keep them small to make the cats not temped to jump on them. ( not sure if they even would)

 

[me & my baby]

I am using Nicrew on my 150 and I am about to get 2 Nicrew Navareef 65 for my 40 breeder I just picked up

 

[Tahoe61]

Any led light of 100-150 watts will work IMO. I have used Nicrew and it has been good for me, but other lower cost lights are Smatfarm, Vivarspectra. I'm sure there are others that other folks can suggest, good luck

^ Popbloom IR90 is another good budget LED.

 

[jrhorn44]

I am using Nicrew on my 150 and I am about to get 2 Nicrew Navareef 65 for my 40 breeder I just picked up

That’s exactly the setup I was considering I just wasn’t sure how good they were lol.

 

[56longroof]

Halides. Always halides

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Halides. Always halides

Right on brother, my own 40 breeder runs with MH lights. I've had MH for the last 18 years and I'll always have one tank on MH. But I don't think its going to happen with the OP's budget lol

 

[56longroof]

Right on brother, my own 40 breeder runs with MH lights. I've had MH for the last 18 years and I'll always have one tank on MH. But I don't think its going to happen with the OP's budget lol

There are gobs of them on Marketplace. But getting a seller to ship is another story.

 

[jrhorn44]

Halides. Always halides

I want to know more lol. I don’t even know what that is.

 

[56longroof]

I want to know more lol. I don’t even know what that is.

Oh you have much to learn grasshopper. LOL They are arguably the best light for a reef aquarium.

 

[X-37B]

I went back to the future on my 112 growout. 400 watt halide.
The thing with halides is the reflector. Old school like my lumenbright put down significantly more par than the standard Reefbright.

I will buy any lumenbright anyone wants to get rid of.
I have all the bulbs I need to convert my 150 if I go that route but wont hang just any reflector.

If you want to run halides get some bulbs, ballasts and most importantly a proper fixture. They probably wont be around forever.
I got my halide fixtures for free. Lfs stores just laugh when I say I run halides.
Current 2 month old growout system.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Halides. Always halides

I agree with this statement.

Putting together a 54g corner tank with a 315w Mh above it!!

My 210 has 3x 315w above it.

halides!!

 

[dangles]

Man these halide guys sound like the guys behind the counter at my LGS. “Hey I need something for self defense” “Oh then you need a 45! BECAUSE STOPPING POWER!”

Do halide grow coral great? Definitely. Especially SPS packed tanks. But they’re not without their drawbacks (cost, aesthetics, power consumption, heat production, bulb availability…).

Based on this guy’s stated needs I think he’ll be just fine with the budget LEDs already suggested. They aren’t perfect either but they’re a great “80% solution” for most people. Tons and tons of people have killer tanks with budget LEDs.

 

[X-37B]

Man these halide guys sound like the guys behind the counter at my LGS. “Hey I need something for self defense” “Oh then you need a 45! BECAUSE STOPPING POWER!”

Do halide grow coral great? Definitely. Especially SPS packed tanks. But they’re not without their drawbacks (cost, aesthetics, power consumption, heat production, bulb availability…).

Based on this guy’s stated needs I think he’ll be just fine with the budget LEDs already suggested. They aren’t perfect either but they’re a great “80% solution” for most people. Tons and tons of people have killer tanks with budget LEDs.

Yea I started with 16hds from halides. I run 5 led systems now and 1 hybrid halide led. They grow coral as well as halides.
Plenty of bulbs if you look. I have enough ballasts, bulbs, but I could use some quality reflectors.
Heat never an issue if you lnow what your doing.
Yes you can use less watts with an led but 250 watts of led vs 250 watts of halides uses the same amount of electricity.
They do take up some space above the tank, lol.
One overlooked thing with halides is when you change a bulb you get a new light.
Anyone that wants to run halides now should invest in a few ballasts, bulbs, and reflectors.
I currently have 50 400 watt bulbs, 7K, 10K, 12.5k, 14K, and 20K. Enough to power my systems until my days on this planet end, lol.
People who never ran them will never understand the simplicity and value they offer.
Note: I love my led 150. However seeing it 2' from my 112 halide system makes me want to drop 2 400's on it. Just need the right reflectors I have the rest, lol.
The visual difference is hard to ignore.

 

[56longroof]

Yea I started with 16hds from halides. I run 5 led systems now and 1 hybrid halide led. They grow coral as well as halides.
Plenty of bulbs if you look. I have enough ballasts, bulbs, but I could use some quality reflectors.
Heat never an issue if you lnow what your doing.
Yes you can use less watts with an led but 250 watts of led vs 250 watts of halides uses the same amount of electricity.
They do take up some space above the tank, lol.
One overlooked thing with halides is when you change a bulb you get a new light.
Anyone that wants to run halides now should invest in a few ballasts, bulbs, and reflectors.
I currently have 50 400 watt bulbs, 7K, 10K, 12.5k, 14K, and 20K. Enough to power my systems until my days on this planet end, lol.
People who never ran them will never understand the simplicity and value they offer.
Note: I love my led 150. However seeing it 2' from my 112 halide system makes me want to drop 2 400's on it. Just need the right reflectors I have the rest, lol.
The visual difference is hard to ignore.

I rebuilt my light with PFO reflectors I bought on Ebay.