Lighting a 20 long mixed reef

[Radicalrob1982]

Hi all. Was wondering what everyone’s thoughts were for lighting a 20 long reef? Mostly I only have softy’s. I have one hammer and one Hollywood stunner chalice. I would like to try a bird nest once some come available.

Right now I have one of those black box leds. Can’t remember the brand but to my own opinion it has too many 6500k leds. So when it’s on to where my corals are liking the intensity , my tank is more on the yellowish side. It’s definitely growing and ok for my corals. But I’d prefer something with more of an ocean blue colour. I also have a 2 bulb t5 (aquatic life) but I don’t think it’s enough power

can anyone recommend a light for this tank ?

 

[Spare time]

What kind of price range are you thinking of? Also, are you wanting to mount the light or hang them?

 

[Dempsey941]

I’ve been using an AI Prime Hd over a 20l frag tank, some shadows on the edges but it’s not to bad. I bet the new Prime 16 would fit nicely.

 

[Radicalrob1982]

I have the option of doing either or. I built a stand out of aluminum that trapezes the tank.i also have an ai prime but the 40 watt version. I didn’t think it would be enough for one fixture. I love t5 but can’t justify the bulb replacement every 8 months lol

 

[Radicalrob1982]

Has anyone used popbloom?

 

[Malifry97]

Has anyone used popbloom?

Mars aqua or vipar spectra are great. A low cost option would be two or three hipagero leds they grow corals like nothing and let out some great par

 

[Spare time]

I have the option of doing either or. I built a stand out of aluminum that trapezes the tank.i also have an ai prime but the 40 watt version. I didn’t think it would be enough for one fixture. I love t5 but can’t justify the bulb replacement every 8 months lol

I was thinking the new ai primes or ai sol (1 or 2) or maybe noopsyche (havent used them but they look like a great deal. My favorite lights that I ahve used are AI and Red sea. The Red Sea reef LED 50/90 is beautiful.

The AI prime 16 sol gives a nice blue color from my understanding and 2 of them would be great on that tank.

Noopsyche K7 Pro II Reef Aquarium LED Light Full Spectrum for Corals

============================================================== K7 Pro II is out of stock. Noopsyche manufacturer stopped production. Noopysche K7 Pro 3 available May or June. ============================================================== Brand : Noopsyche Type : LED light for marine tanks Model...

www.aquariumlowcost.com

Prime Sol - AquaIllumination

www.aquaillumination.com

 

[Aqua Man]

Have you tried putting in 2 blue bulbs in your T5? There’s a good read on here about the Vipar Spectre

 

[HumuhumuFan]

I have a CurrentUSA Orbit Marine on my tank and I have no issues getting growth from montipora and war coral. 20 gallon longs are SHALLOW. I nearly killed my first war coral frag by having the output set too high.

 

[Radicalrob1982]

Have you tried putting in 2 blue bulbs in your T5? There’s a good read on here about the Vipar Spectre

Right now I have a giesemann azure blue and

Have you tried putting in 2 blue bulbs in your T5? There’s a good read on here about the Vipar Spectre

i have a giesemann aqua blue coral and a aqua blue azure. It puts out some nice colour but wasn’t sure about how much par

 

[Radicalrob1982]

I have a CurrentUSA Orbit Marine on my tank and I have no issues getting growth from montipora and war coral. 20 gallon longs are SHALLOW. I nearly killed my first war coral frag by having the output set too high.

Was this the cheaper marine fixture or the more expensive one? I live in Canada and they sure shaft us with price difference as well as the exchange rate lol. They have the 24 to 36 for 120 Canadian but the par chart was really low. The more expensive one is triple the price

 

[Radicalrob1982]

I was thinking the new ai primes or ai sol (1 or 2) or maybe noopsyche (havent used them but they look like a great deal. My favorite lights that I ahve used are AI and Red sea. The Red Sea reef LED 50/90 is beautiful.

The AI prime 16 sol gives a nice blue color from my understanding and 2 of them would be great on that tank.

Noopsyche K7 Pro II Reef Aquarium LED Light Full Spectrum for Corals

============================================================== K7 Pro II is out of stock. Noopsyche manufacturer stopped production. Noopysche K7 Pro 3 available May or June. ============================================================== Brand : Noopsyche Type : LED light for marine tanks Model...

www.aquariumlowcost.com

Prime Sol - AquaIllumination

www.aquaillumination.com

Those lights look great and even in Canadian dollars I think would be nice

 

[Spare time]

Those lights look great and even in Canadian dollars I think would be nice

I really want to see what noopsyche looks like in person. The AI and Redsea produce a beuatiful blue and I'd love to see how the noopsyche compared in person.

 

[Radicalrob1982]

I really want to see what noopsyche looks like in person. The AI and Redsea produce a beuatiful blue and I'd love to see how the noopsyche compared in person.

I’m trying to use the website but it’s horrible lol. Must be better on a computer. They look like amazing lights. Much better buy than an ai prime in my opinion. Not saying it’s all better. But considering the price difference for what you get it’s amazing. Would just settle for another ai prime but they’re almost 400 Canadian with the bracket. Really expensive

 

[Spare time]

I’m trying to use the website but it’s horrible lol. Must be better on a computer. They look like amazing lights. Much better buy than an ai prime in my opinion. Not saying it’s all better. But considering the price difference for what you get it’s amazing. Would just settle for another ai prime but they’re almost 400 Canadian with the bracket. Really expensive

Here is noopsyches website (Wasn't sure if you were looking at that or that one stores website

Noopsyche USA Retail Shop

noopsycheusa

noopsycheusa.store

 

[Han]

I just got a fluval sea 3.0 24” for my new 20 long frag tank. No corals yet but the light looks nice and you can adjust the colors/intensity with an app. It’s not super powerful but I think on a shallow tank it’ll be plenty of light.

 

[HumuhumuFan]

Was this the cheaper marine fixture or the more expensive one? I live in Canada and they sure shaft us with price difference as well as the exchange rate lol. They have the 24 to 36 for 120 Canadian but the par chart was really low. The more expensive one is triple the price

It was the basic one, just the regular Orbit Marine, was about $100 USD if I recall correctly. It was the second generation one, which I heard made a huge difference. For a while people were selling the 1st gen models and you could only tell by the serial number. That said, I only keep very hardy corals since this is my first tank. I just have a hammer, a bunch of war corals, and red cap monti. The monti has probably increased in size 8 fold since I got it, and I've even broken it twice. The broken pieces are doing fine too. I will say this though, I have had no luck whatsoever with zoas. Not sure if that is light related, the fact the LPS and SPS are doing so well leads me to believe that it isn't.

 

[RayDRoot]

I started with a 20L, I used Kessil A360 Tuna Blue. I worked great.

 

[NanoDJS]

buy an xr15pro gen4 for 350 right now on mega sale at BRS , then scale it up when you get more tank , buy lights once , the corals your buying are mostly grown under them so it will help ensure you keep the pop of the coral better than alot of other lights .