Light Recommendations

[wil-yuhm]

Hello,
First post by new member.
Currently I am establishing a 66 gallon rimless reef tank. I plan to host a variety of coral and compatible tank mates. The rimless tank's volume is 66 gallons and measures 40 inches long 20 inches wide and 20 deep. I'd prefer a tank mount rather than hanging light and was hoping experienced reefers could recommend a led light. In the past I owned a Maxspect Razor 300 watt LED and was pretty happy but that was near half a decade ago and haven't kept up on current tech/hardware. At this time my tank cycles three weeks (added purple and pink algae spores) on the ground while I build a custom stand. In addition if anyone has added advice I'd like to later add a sump and would appreciate any recommendations for a sump kit: brand sump and model, return pump, protein skimmer for the sump to unclutter the rimless tank. The parts I have now will be stored on the parts shelf should future parts fail. To clarify my main inquiry in this post is recommended lighting for the above tank dimensions.

Picture below shows a 55 gallon tank stand not suited for the 66 gallon rimless. The lights hanging above are temporary. The 55 gallon stand sagged too much for me and I couldn't sleep at night after having experienced a 7.0 earthquake here in Idaho a couple of years ago.

Stand DIY build underway. Plan to use Pallets for side skins and make sliding barn front doors:

Side panels constructed from old used pallets:

 

[Jekyl]

Welcome to R2R! Lighting will depend largely on budget and coral preferences. What type do you intend on keeping? Softies? LPS? Mixed? SPS dominant? With the tank starting up you have a month or 2 before lights are even needed, so plenty of time for planning and saving.

Edit: my next tank will be a T5 hybrid with kessil supplementing.

 

[wil-yuhm]

Welcome to R2R! Lighting will depend largely on budget and coral preferences. What type do you intend on keeping? Softies? LPS? Mixed? SPS dominant? With the tank starting up you have a month or 2 before lights are even needed, so plenty of time for planning and saving.

Edit: my next tank will be a T5 hybrid with kessil supplementing.

Looking to host mixed corals. I had a great experience with the Maxspect Razor 300 watt LED in the past but the light is 48" wide and my 66 gallon is 40". The 200 watt Maxspect Razor dimensions will fit and I was questioning whether 20 inch depth for mixed coral below the Maxspect 200 watt light will have enough par? The Maxspect 200 watt sells for around seven hundred dollars and was looking for experienced reefer's advice if there might be a better alternative?

 

[Jekyl]

Looking to host mixed corals. I had a great experience with the Maxspect Razor 300 watt LED in the past but the light is 48" wide and my 66 gallon is 40". The 200 watt Maxspect Razor dimensions will fit and I was questioning whether 20 inch depth for mixed coral below the Maxspect 200 watt light will have enough par? The Maxspect 200 watt sells for around seven hundred dollars and was looking for experienced reefer's advice if there might be a better alternative?

If just looking for feedback on a certain light I would use the search function. No doubt others have talked about them at length on here. I myself am unfamiliar.

 

[Jekyl]

Other option would be to supplement with some LED strips if along the way you decide you need more lighting.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Two orphek OR3 Bars would work great ( one sky blue and one Blue plus)
OR
1-2 Ai Hydra 26hd

 

[wil-yuhm]

Two orphek OR3 Bars would work great ( one sky blue and one Blue plus)
OR
1-2 Ai Hydra 26hd

Since I had a great experience in the past with the Maxspect Razor 300 watt light and readily available parts (modular) to replace things such as noisy fans from salt spray etc I decided to go with the Maxspect Razor brand again. For the price and future maintenance replacement parts the Razor was more of a "confidence" purchase decision within the boundaries of my comfort zone.