Light for 29 gallon mixed reef

[Coach v]

My 13 year old son is setting up his first salt water aquarium. He has a 29 gallon (30" x 12" x 18" tall). He wants to keep a mixed reef he believes, but is open. He likes hard corals.

After getting a flow pump, most likely jebao pp4, he will have about $100 too spend on the light. We are definitely not scared of used. Looking for led.

What do you recommend?

 

[Ludders]

Honestly, I would stretch your budget, good lights are so important.

Still go second hand and try and pick up a bargain.

Look for units made up of cree LED's around 16k spectrum. You will need at least 2 light clusters for that length, probably around 120w should be enough for a mixed reef.

Cheap lights will grow uglies more than SPS / LPS corals, I really can't emphasise the importance enough.

 

[trevormass7]

I use 16w mars aqua over my 29 biocube, haven't found anything I can't grow

 

[trevormass7]

165w

 

[cloak]

I would definitely look into the MarsAqua fixtures as well. I've been using the one in the link below over my standard 20 gallon tank for a little over a year now with no complaints. Like mentioned above there's pretty much nothing I can't keep with this light too.

https://www.amazon.com/MarsAqua-Dim...15442993&sr=8-1&keywords=mars+aqua+led+lights

 

[trevormass7]

 

[Coach v]

Holy Moly LED lights are expensive!

We will check out the MarsAqua, I am assuming these are what people refer to as "black boxes". Doing a quick search on Amazon, it seems there are quite a few different cheap "Chinese" units. Are the MarsAqua the best of the cheap?

 

[trevormass7]

Holy Moly LED lights are expensive!

We will check out the MarsAqua, I am assuming these are what people refer to as "black boxes". Doing a quick search on Amazon, it seems there are quite a few different cheap "Chinese" units. Are the MarsAqua the best of the cheap?

Mars aqua and I think the other brand is Dsunny, those are the 2 I've used and can recommend, idk about reliability or ability of the other brands

 

[lazlodawg]

I had an Ocean Revive T247B and it was a great low cost option for led. Comes with legs and hangers and can grow any kind of coral you could want. I wouldn't hesitate to use one again on my reef. If you decide to get one, be careful as it is a very strong light.

 

[Coach v]

He ended up going with a bloomspect chinese blackbox from Amazon. It has the built in timer. It is a decent unit and seems to function nicely. The light from the timer is bright and we had to cover that as it is in his bedroom. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XS3YMSJ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[[Cameron]]

Take a look at 21LEDUSA ReefBar Pro. It is a solid option given your price range. You will likely want to control it with a timer or pick up their $40 controller but it will cover the length of the tank for around $100.

https://www.21ledusa.com/aquarium_led_reefbar_pro_30_full_spectrum_p/rbpfs30.htm