Some questions on lighting?

[Reefo25]

I'm geting ready to set up my first reef tank and I don't really know much about light so i have a few questions. 1. I bought my tank used and it tlcame with 2 current led lights but from what see online these are freshwater lights. So what is the difference and can i get by using these while i add my first fish and some corals that do not require a lot of light? 2. I have a couple light fixtures that are stainless steel and hold 3 screw in bulbs in a line. These lights are meant for up to 250w bulbs like the flood light style bulbs. Is there any good reefs lights that are that screw in style? 3. What are the perferd K's, and colors for coral

 

[MSB123]

Budget?
Tank size?
What is your stocking?

 

[Flowering Reef LLC]

So, lighting is a very tricky business because there's more than one method that works! You might be able to get by with some lower light corals and your current LED lights but it all depends on what you want to keep! Some lights provide a different ambience and look to the tank than others... If I understand your description correctly i believe you are able to use T5 lighting on that fixture you have, which would work brilliantly as many people use and love t5 lighting... We like to use LED lights because they're more versatile and can be controlled more but there are risks to that much control, sometimes plug and play lights can be better!

 

[Reefo25]

Budget?
Tank size?
What is your stocking?

Budget- the cheaper the better, but I know I may have tp spend a bit more on lighting. Tank size is 36L×24H×18D (60g). I dont have anything in the tank yet but my plan is to start off with some easy LPS and maybe some softies. Eventually I would like to get an anemone.

 

[Reefo25]

Its not t5. Here is picture its not very good but its all i have right now till i get home

 

[cvrle1]

I would not use that fixture for sure. They look like grow lights used for plants. It could used for fuge with proper bulbs, but not good for main tank.
I would look into cheaper black boxes like mars aqua, vipar spectra, bloomspect and sb reef. These are great, cheap lights that will grow any coral without issues. They dont come with any bells and whistles like 6 channels of control, wifi, dawn/dusk, apex control and so on, but corals dont care about those features anyways.

For example, 1 viparspectra or bloomspect units (300W) over your tank would be great. You could even go with 2 165W ones, but that maybe a bit too much for your tank.

https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-T300-Aquarium-Dimmable-Spectrum/dp/B074PL12FM

 

[TexasReefer82]

I hate to say it but lighting is often the most expensive thing in an already expensive hobby. I wouldn't waste your time or money by straying outside of the commonly accepted lighting methods used in the hobby; LED, T5, and Metal Halide. If looks aren't a concern, the least expensive means of getting lights over your tank with the ability grow coral is to purchase a 4x bulb T5 fixture from the Home Depot in a 36" length. You'll need to also purchase two replacement High Output T5 ballasts for 36" bulbs (Bulk Reef Supply sells them). You'll need to remove the ballasts that came with the HD fixture because they're Normal Output and replace them with the High Outputs ballasts. Then the fun part is to pick four T5 bulbs of your choice (I'd suggest: 2x Blue+, 1x True Actinic, 1x Aquablue special). This 4 bulb fixture will be perfectly fine to grow all LPS and softies, and even some lower light SPS. You generally won't be able to grow acropora unless the coral is placed very high up and close to the lights. ATI HO ballasts cost $27 each.

Alternatively, you could build your own canopy frame (which is very simple to do) and then purchase 2x T5 retrofit kits from BRS that include: ballasts & wiring harness, reflectors, and waterproof endcaps. In either case you'll have to wire the ballasts and endcaps yourself which isn't hard to do. The Retrofit kits cost $122 each, bulbs not included.

If you wanted to get a little fancy... if you build your own frame you could incorporate 2x AI Prime LED's into the fixure. This would give you the intensity necessary to grow pretty much everything as well as the controllability for a dusk/dawn ramp, color adjustment to suit your taste, and shimmer! AI Primes are about $200 a pop.

 

[Reefo25]

Thanks everyone for all the good info!

 

[cvrle1]

I hate to say it but lighting is often the most expensive thing in an already expensive hobby. ....

Thing is, it doesnt have to be if you dont want it to be. There are some great, cheap options out there that dont cost arm and a leg. Hell, some of these units are less expensive than funky super hero named corals out there. Issue is that people think they have to spend $1K on lights, and that they have to get top of the line fixtures, which is not right. And then they will preach to others that they have to do the same, as nothing else will do.