Nicrew 18-24" good for Fluval 13.5?

[thoughtnomad]

Hi all, I just purchased this 18-24" Nicrew light off Amazon for my Fluval 13.5 gallon nano. It comes with the dual channel timer, which does ramp up/down, and the price was great. I'm going to customize a sheet of plexiglass to replace the current hood.

My question is, will it matter that it's only 20 watts? I'm seeing conflicting information on whether the wattage matters. It would only be going to a depth of 12" total, and my LPS is about 8" down in the tank.

 

[Spare time]

It would be ok but there are much better options for corals near that price

 

[hds4216]

I have that light over my low-tech low-maintenance freshwater planted tank. It grows plants fine, but not super well. I would urge you not to penny pinch on light if you're aiming to for long-term coral success. They're very important for it.

 

[thoughtnomad]

Awesome, thank you both! I currently have the stock light in the Fluval 13.5. Do you think the Nicrew is at least an upgrade over that, or do you think I'd be going backwards?

Edit: I ask not because I'm going to reject your advice, but because I may put it on there until I can decide on a better light setup for the Fluval.

 

[Spare time]

Awesome, thank you both! I currently have the stock light in the Fluval 13.5. Do you think the Nicrew is at least an upgrade over that, or do you think I'd be going backwards?

Edit: I ask not because I'm going to reject your advice, but because I may put it on there until I can decide on a better light setup for the Fluval.

The stock light seems to work just fine. The only downside of it is poor spread. If you would like a budget nano light meant for corals I'd be glad to help!

Fluval evo 13.5 PAR stock lighting

I purchased a seneye this weekend and thought I'd test it out to see if i could some PAR recordings on the stock lighting which comes with the fluval evo. Few general points: 1) Not great broadcasting of light, especially at the top. There were some sudden drop offs of PAR when recordings were do...

www.nano-reef.com

 

[thoughtnomad]

The stock light seems to work just fine

Great, thank you! I'll hold off on swapping the light out and cancel that Nicrew order. I really want to replace the hood, though, so will be looking for a better upgrade. Thanks again!

 

[thoughtnomad]

The only downside of it is poor spread. If you would like a budget nano light meant for corals I'd be glad to help!

That would be great, thanks so much! I'd like to keep it under $150 if possible, so I'm doing research in that area. I can do more, but over the month and a half since I started, I've probably spent a grand already, or pretty close to it... I knew it wasn't a cheap hobby coming in!

The only reason I jumped on the Nicrew (successfully canceled) is that it was $40 with great reviews, had dual channel with sunup/sundown, and also from the review pictures looked like it would make my corals' color "pop" a bit more. I also don't care for the blue light on the stock light since it is way too dark with no adjustments, and also I don't like the sudden change from off to bright white in the mornings.

What brands do you think I should be looking at?

 

[Spare time]

That would be great, thanks so much! I'd like to keep it under $150 if possible, so I'm doing research in that area. I can do more, but over the month and a half since I started, I've probably spent a grand already, or pretty close to it... I knew it wasn't a cheap hobby coming in!

The only reason I jumped on the Nicrew (successfully canceled) is that it was $40 with great reviews, had dual channel with sunup/sundown, and also from the review pictures looked like it would make my corals' color "pop" a bit more. I also don't care for the blue light on the stock light since it is way too dark with no adjustments, and also I don't like the sudden change from off to bright white in the mornings.

What brands do you think I should be looking at?

Nicrew does make a reef version of their light which is nice other than you need a timer and it doesn't have great spread.

This is a prettty popular budget light

 

[thoughtnomad]

Nicrew does make a reef version of their light which is nice other than you need a timer and it doesn't have great spread.

This is a prettty popular budget light

I just finished ordering this:

AquaIllumination AI Prime 16 HD Reef Aquarium LED

Will this be good? It looks like it should be... Since it has the app, I should be able to control from there, I hope.

 

[Spare time]

I just finished ordering this:

AquaIllumination AI Prime 16 HD Reef Aquarium LED

Will this be good? It looks like it should be... Since it has the app, I should be able to control from there, I hope.

That is a great light so you will be good!

 

[thoughtnomad]

That is a great light so you will be good!

Awesome, thanks for confirming! It was supposed to come in yesterday, but the snow here delayed the delivery. Now I'm bummed out because there's no expected delivery time! I was really excited, too...

 

[LexiconDevil]

Late reply, but I’ve had mine on my 10 nano for about two-three months and have no real complaints about it. I’m new to the hobby and have a pretty simple understanding of lighting, but I’m certainly no expert like some on these forums.
I will say that the lights are very intense in the blues, so much that even if I filter any images, the colour still looks pretty distorted. A real plus to this unit is the timer... a little complicated at first but as you use it more and more it’s pretty simple.
I would maybe eventually upgrade down the line depending on where you want to go. I only really want to go with softies and LPS so I’m not looking for a million dollar light, especially because I’m a beginner in the hobby.
I’m about to try the Nicrew HyperReef 30 on my tank, so if you’d like I can maybe update you or I’ll maybe start a thread because I haven’t really come across any posts regarding the unit and thought it’d maybe be a little helpful. Hope you like the light though, for the price I think it’s worth it!

 

[Spare time]

Late reply, but I’ve had mine on my 10 nano for about two-three months and have no real complaints about it. I’m new to the hobby and have a pretty simple understanding of lighting, but I’m certainly no expert like some on these forums.
I will say that the lights are very intense in the blues, so much that even if I filter any images, the colour still looks pretty distorted. A real plus to this unit is the timer... a little complicated at first but as you use it more and more it’s pretty simple.
I would maybe eventually upgrade down the line depending on where you want to go. I only really want to go with softies and LPS so I’m not looking for a million dollar light, especially because I’m a beginner in the hobby.
I’m about to try the Nicrew HyperReef 30 on my tank, so if you’d like I can maybe update you or I’ll maybe start a thread because I haven’t really come across any posts regarding the unit and thought it’d maybe be a little helpful. Hope you like the light though, for the price I think it’s worth it!

We use the 50 and 100w nicrew hyper reef at my work. I can answer a question if you'd like

 

[LexiconDevil]

We use the 50 and 100w nicrew hyper reef at my work. I can answer a question if you'd like

I just set my 30w up over my 10. My only question as of yet is if I can use the dual channel timer that came with the 18-24 that I originally had?

 

[Spare time]

I just set my 30w up over my 10. My only question as of yet is if I can use the dual channel timer that came with the 18-24 that I originally had?

I believe so

 

[sepulvd85]

I just set my 30w up over my 10. My only question as of yet is if I can use the dual channel timer that came with the 18-24 that I originally had?

Post some pictures. I been debating of replacing my light for the nicrew 50w.

 

[LexiconDevil]

Post some pictures. I been debating of replacing my light for the nicrew 50w.

I started a new thread for the fixture. Below is a link to it!

Thread 'Nicrew Hyper Reef 30'
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/nicrew-hyper-reef-30.788218/

 

[thoughtnomad]

That is a great light so you will be good!

It IS a great light. I'm really digging it so far. Still getting the schedule and color spectrum dialed in, but I'm having a lot of fun doing it.

Thanks again!

 

[Spare time]

It IS a great light. I'm really digging it so far. Still getting the schedule and color spectrum dialed in, but I'm having a lot of fun doing it.

Thanks again!

Just be careful not to change the intensity and colors drastically as this can stress corals or cause bleaching. They have an acclimation setting too.

 

[thoughtnomad]

Just be careful not to change the intensity and colors drastically as this can stress corals or cause bleaching. They have an acclimation setting too.

Thank you. Yeah, I read that and am taking that into consideration with my changes. I think that's the only thing I don't like about this light. I can't make changes to the schedule without having the light automatically preview the setting for the specified time period. While it's nice to see it in real time, when I'm setting up the schedule the lights are changing, a lot.

I'll have to try the acclimation setting. My pagoda, kenya tree, pulsing and pom pom xenias are all doing well so far. The only one that's not is my blasto, but I think that's because I tried to remove what I think is GHA from it with a toothbrush... Turkey baster wasn't doing it, and I couldn't get ahold of the strands with tweezers or my hands. You can see the blasto here. I've had a rough go with the blasto from the start. It's my first LPS so I'm still figuring things out.