Reef Aquarium Lighting

[MammothWombat]

Hello,

I have a 20 gal long reef tank (30"x12"x12"), and I am currently using the 24"-36" Fluval marine and reef LED light 25000K 32 Watt on it (I can still return). I have a couple of clowns, a royal gramma, some CUC, a BTA, and a small hammer coral. The BTA and coral don't look so good at the moment, so, I have been doing some research and read that the light I am using isn't enough to sustain or grow corals. Is that true? I have been looking at some other lighting option and came across the AI prime 16HD; however, most people complain about its fan noise. So, do you have any suggestions about other lights, that would be good for my tank, around that price point?

Thanks

 

[daybreaksky]

reef led 50 is in that price point. your tank is long but shallow so 2 AI prime or 2 Red sea 50s would cover it for lps and the nem

 

[MammothWombat]

reef led 50 is in that price point. your tank is long but shallow so 2 AI prime or 2 Red sea 50s would cover it for lps and the nem

Ok, Thanks. I was comparing the PAR values for the reef led 50, AI prime 16 HD and the one I have, and they look very close. These are the specs for what I have:

PAR / LUX (Depth) 3" (8 cm) 6" (15 cm) 12" (30 cm) 18” (46 cm)

376 / 16 290 222 / 8750 90 / 3620 47 / 1940

Shouldn't that be enough?

 

[daybreaksky]

where did you get those numbers from? I'm certain that light doesn't put out that par. plus it's spread over the distance of 24" and draws only 32watts for the whole tank, that's not possible. with 2 AI primes you will be about 118 watts total, each 59w only covering half the tank. and these lights will still be bare minimum.

 

[MammothWombat]

where did you get those numbers from? I'm certain that light doesn't put out that par. plus it's spread over the distance of 24" and draws only 32watts for the whole tank, that's not possible. with 2 AI primes you will be about 118 watts total, each 59w only covering half the tank. and these lights will still be bare minimum.

They are written on the box. They are also written on their webpage:

https://fluvalaquatics.com/us/marine-spectrum/

I have the 32 Watt one.

 

[daybreaksky]

oh no way they do list that! but provide no chart of spread. def. suspect since they don't provide how it's measured. here is the link to AI prime comparison to others.

PAR - AquaIllumination

www.aquaillumination.com

 

[Bpb]

That tank is short and narrow. I’d pick up a couple reefbright strips. Or a couple Orphek strip lights. They’ll have more power and par than your fluval lights. The AI lights and/or the Red Sea lights will have a ton of front to back wasted spillage.

 

[MammothWombat]

That tank is short and narrow. I’d pick up a couple reefbright strips. Or a couple Orphek strip lights. They’ll have more power and par than your fluval lights. The AI lights and/or the Red Sea lights will have a ton of front to back wasted spillage.

Do you have any recommendations on what type of these strips to get? And what PAR will I be having?

I also found a couple of cheaper lights the Nicrew 50W, two of this will cover my tank and will be around the $160 price point. Do you know whether these are good or bad?