Lighting Suggestions

[goody]

I'm moving away from my 80g mixed reef and going towards a less maintenance softie/gorgonian dominant tank. Tank is 32x24x24 and looking for lighting suggestions to replace my ATI t5 hybrid.

 

[Red_Beard]

My daughter's 30g cube nem tank needed an emergency light replacement last week, so i picked up a nicrew, i have been very impressed with it so far, especially at the price point. The spectrum is great. They have a 3 lens fixture that would be good for a single light option. Only downside is that it needs an external controller for fine tuning.

I have 2 meridian 11's over my 75 stick tank, those are fantastic and have been pumping up the SPS growth, the app is legit and i would definitely recommend, youll probably want a meridian 24 for a 32" tank.

The other option is to get a couple strips, 2 or 3. quanta helix strips are really awesome, but don't have a built in on off. The AI blades work great but are kinda pricey for what you get. I have also heard good things about the new AI Edge44 but don't have any hands on experience with them.

What all are you interested in keeping, just softies and gorgs? My suggestions would be sufficient for most anything, you might could get away with just 1 strip for those

 

[VintageReefer]

I would highly recommend a meridan 24

 

[goody]

My daughter's 30g cube nem tank needed an emergency light replacement last week, so i picked up a nicrew, i have been very impressed with it so far, especially at the price point. The spectrum is great. They have a 3 lens fixture that would be good for a single light option. Only downside is that it needs an external controller for fine tuning.

I have 2 meridian 11's over my 75 stick tank, those are fantastic and have been pumping up the SPS growth, the app is legit and i would definitely recommend, youll probably want a meridian 24 for a 32" tank.

The other option is to get a couple strips, 2 or 3. quanta helix strips are really awesome, but don't have a built in on off. The AI blades work great but are kinda pricey for what you get. I have also heard good things about the new AI Edge44 but don't have any hands on experience with them.

What all are you interested in keeping, just softies and gorgs? My suggestions would be sufficient for most anything, you might could get away with just 1 strip for those

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually have 2 Quanta bars to supplement my t5 hybrid but they're the OG Pop. I will take a look at the other fixtures you mentioned. I do have a single Hydra 26hd but I wasn't sure if that would be enough spread. I know softies don't require as much PAR as sps, but with the 32" length, I thought there might also be too much shadowing.

The tank is going to be softie/gorg and macroalgae dominant. I will also have some gonioporas and possibly a few hammers or torches.

 

[Indiana Reefin]

Take a look at Dalula. They make a nice light and it is set and forget.

 

[Red_Beard]

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually have 2 Quanta bars to supplement my t5 hybrid but they're the OG Pop. I will take a look at the other fixtures you mentioned. I do have a single Hydra 26hd but I wasn't sure if that would be enough spread. I know softies don't require as much PAR as sps, but with the 32" length, I thought there might also be too much shadowing.

The tank is going to be softie/gorg and macroalgae dominant. I will also have some gonioporas and possibly a few hammers or torches.

A single hydra 26 is definitely not enough spread by itself. If you used it with the bars, if they arent way too long, you would have higher par in the middle for more demanding stuff but still enough light on the sides for some lower demand stuff. Worst case, you could do that for a while since you already have the gear, decide you dont like it, and get a meridian 24 :)

 

[dwest]

I recently replaced my T5 hybrid system with nicrews and quanta bars. Looking back, I didn’t really need the quanta bars as the 3 Nicrew gen 2 200’s blanket my 6 ft 180 gallon reef quite well in their own.

 

[goody]

I recently replaced my T5 hybrid system with nicrews and quanta bars. Looking back, I didn’t really need the quanta bars as the 3 Nicrew gen 2 200’s blanket my 6 ft 180 gallon reef quite well in their own.

As the other member stated, the Nicrew fixture needs a separate remote to control. How is that working out? Easy to use? Can you program it and be done like the myAI app?

 

[goody]

Take a look at Dalula. They make a nice light and it is set and forget.

I've seen some of these on tigahboy's tank. Very nice!

I probably should have been more specific in my title in saying that I'm not looking to spend too much since this tank will not require tons of PAR. So the Meridian and Dalula are out.

I could stay with my t5 hybrid an quanta pop bars, but was trying to bring down electric bill and the cost and time of changing bulbs. I also have this hydra26hd that I mentioned but if I have to buy another used one for better coverage, is there something better for the $200-300 I'm seeing hydras going for?

I have been looking for a used rb photon v2 as an option.

 

[dwest]

As the other member stated, the Nicrew fixture needs a separate remote to control. How is that working out? Easy to use? Can you program it and be done like the myAI app?

That’s true. You will want the controller. The Nicrew controller is very similar to my old kessil controller. I was used to the style so it’s fine with me. You can program it and be done. I thinks it’s pretty intuitive but that is highly personal.

I’m not familiar with the myAI app so I can’t comment.