Which LED for me?

Frop · Jul 7, 2016

Okay so I'm planning on making a mix tank. Was hoping on finding a good light for a ten gallon (10"L x 20"W x 12"H). Which I'll eventually double (or triple) the lighting for a 40 gallon breeder (18.2"L x 36.3"W x 16.8"H)

Do you guys have any good recommendations? So far I was thinking AI Prime HD. or even a used hydra 26HD if I can score it on eBay.

My goals are something like,
-par 150-250
-price <$300
-watt <60
-LED

icedgxe · Jul 7, 2016

I wish I had a good answer for you, but I'm kind of in the same boat. I want to upgrade my Skkye led on my nuvo 10 and am not sure if I should go with a Nemolight that would work on this tank but can't use on a future tank. Or should I go with an Prime HD or nano box that I can use on a Ref sea reefer when I upgrade.

Have you looked into the nanobox mini tide as well?

Frop · Jul 7, 2016

No, I haven't. But I'll check it out right now. =]

Frop · Jul 7, 2016

I should probably just save for the Hydra 26 HD. Use it on low power for the 10 gallon. Then when I get the breeder I can use 2 of them for 8hrs/day. It would run about $11.50/month in power (2x100watts @ $0.24/kWhr) when I upgrade to the breeder, plus the heat which the AC has to cool down in the house.

I'll have to get them used... One at a time... $350 is way too much for a 100watt light :/

morpheas · Jul 7, 2016

Consider the mars aqua lights. I have one over my 30 and I'm extremely happy with it. For less than $100 you can't beat it! It might be a little overkill for the 10 though in terms of size but it will provide excellent coverage!

If you stick with the 10 gallon aqua illumination makes prime for $199.

Frop · Jul 8, 2016

morpheas said:
Consider the mars aqua lights. I have one over my 30 and I'm extremely happy with it. For less than $100 you can't beat it!

Hmm this seem like a really good deal. I found some par reading online,
https://www.reddit.com/r/ReefTank/comments/2whsp2/400_par_measurements_of_mars_aqua_165_watt_led/

I'll have to look into it more. Still wondering what is out there.

morpheas · Jul 8, 2016

There's a lot of people with success stories online with this light. You can look on YouTube there was a guy that food a review of them when he got them and six months later and showed the growth.

From my personal experience, am growing sps under them and have two maxima clams that seem happy as well. All in all, like i said, you can't beat them for the price and they do work. I would highly recommend them.