NEW HERE (MARIO)

[meowmix350]

Im new to this forum and new to reef keeping. I am interested in what everyone has to say. I currently have a 5 gallon tank with dwarf seahorse, and 55 gallon tank that is still in cycle. I am in search of a good light but on a budget of $200. looking to grow some pretty things that require low to medium light. if you guys have any idea comment below or send me a message. everyone is welcome. I get confused with the lighting setups like viperspectra 300w can one unit light the whole tank. Is it possible hang it over one area and have it illuminate the tank you can see I just have rock structure on the left side. this is an old photo but the set up has not changed. I know this is a topic often posted but im really just confused at this point. :( thank you for everything

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

 

[PeterC99]

Hi Mario and Welcome to R2R!

Love the seahorse!

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Just John]

WELCOME!

 

[MERKEY]

Hello and welcome to R2R!

 

[mehaffydr]

Welcome to Reef2Reef. I think with your budget you should either look for an LED fixture used on REEF2Reef fore sale forum or craigs list. Maybe you could find a nice 4' T5 light

 

[Fred2482]

Welcome!

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Kiwi reefer]

Welcome to R2R

 

[MaxTremors]

Welcome. If that’s a 48” 55g, you’re really going to need two fixtures if you go with pendant style lights. I don’t know that you’re going to be able to get anything decent quality that will light the whole tank, that will grow corals, for under $200. If you bumped up the budget to $300, there are more options. You could start out with one light and light only half the tank or the middle of the tank, and then get another down the line. You could also look for used lights. I see used AI Primes for around $150 all the time, 2 of those would be adequate for soft corals and LPS. A couple Noopsyches would allow you to grow pretty much anything (they retail for around $250, but they’re constantly on sale, I think right now they’re 30% off). I would stay away from any LED strip lights (like the orbit), they just don’t have enough power to grow anything but the lowest light corals. If you absolutely can’t go over $200, as others mentioned T5s might be the way to go, but keep in mind you’ll need to replace the bulbs every 9-12 months (which can be pretty expensive, bulbs are around $25 a piece).

 

[Alaeriel]

Welcome to R2R!
Staring into the tank like:

 

[Kennya]

Welcome to R2R Mario

 

[X-37B]

For you system and budget I would look at a T5 setup.
2 48" 2 bulb units will grow anything you want. You can just set them on the top of your tank.
Look at my 120 build thread.
I started with a 6 bulb unit and it was only 4" off the surface.

Oh and.........

 

[dannyd_]

For you system and budget I would look at a T5 setup.
2 48" 2 bulb units will grow anything you want. You can just set them on the top of your tank.
Look at my 120 build thread.
I started with a 6 bulb unit and it was only 4" off the surface.

Oh and.........

+1 on t5s

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[attiland]

Im new to this forum and new to reef keeping. I am interested in what everyone has to say. I currently have a 5 gallon tank with dwarf seahorse, and 55 gallon tank that is still in cycle. I am in search of a good light but on a budget of $200. looking to grow some pretty things that require low to medium light. if you guys have any idea comment below or send me a message. everyone is welcome. I get confused with the lighting setups like viperspectra 300w can one unit light the whole tank. Is it possible hang it over one area and have it illuminate the tank you can see I just have rock structure on the left side. this is an old photo but the set up has not changed. I know this is a topic often posted but im really just confused at this point. :( thank you for everything

Welcome to R2R

 

[ying yang]

Hello Mario and welcome ^_^

Edit: as max tremors said,noopysche has 30% off now and they always giving free lights away on reef2reef,just got do the bonus entries,whatever it says,they very simple.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/n...istmas-giveaway-30-discount-countdown.879250/

 

[JXNATC]

Im new to this forum and new to reef keeping. I am interested in what everyone has to say. I currently have a 5 gallon tank with dwarf seahorse, and 55 gallon tank that is still in cycle. I am in search of a good light but on a budget of $200. looking to grow some pretty things that require low to medium light. if you guys have any idea comment below or send me a message. everyone is welcome. I get confused with the lighting setups like viperspectra 300w can one unit light the whole tank. Is it possible hang it over one area and have it illuminate the tank you can see I just have rock structure on the left side. this is an old photo but the set up has not changed. I know this is a topic often posted but im really just confused at this point. :( thank you for everything

 

[Billldg]

Welcome to R2R!!!