20G Long Lighting Help Needed

[VW_TDI_02]

[update]

I splurged... Ended up getting the Current USA Orbit Marine 24-36" off of Amazon for $128. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone that helped.

 

I'm in the process of setting up a 20 gallon long soft coral tank and I'm a bit up in the air when it comes to which lighting to go with. So far I've been looking at a bunch of different things and haven't been able to decide. Ideally i would like to spend less than $100 on the lighting fixture but there is some room to work with.

 

DIY LED Strip

 

I would be using 4 strips of white (7000-7500K) 5630 SMD LEDs and then 4 strips of blue. These are .5W LEDs and with a total of 8 strips that would be 120 LEDs with half being blue and half being white. These would be run with their own power supplies and own dimmers. Links are below.

 

Blue LEDs

White LEDs

 

[updated Commentary]

Great for a freshwater tank but I just don't think this will work out all that great for this tank. Eight strips of LEDs is a lot of LEDs that I will need to mount to something (idk what). The total cost of this is right around $80 when one takes into account that they come in 5 meter rolls ($16 each) and you also need your dimmers, power supplies, extra wire, etc. Overall I think this could be a fun DIY project and I've seen it done before but for freshwater tanks with only 3-4 strips total.

 

BeamsWork EVO 24

 

This thing has 12x 10,000K LEDs and 8x Actinic Blue LEDs for a great price. They are 3 watt LEDs and run for $70

 

Link

 

[updated Commentary]

I think these could work but I'm not 100% sure. I currently have an 18" fixture with 10x 3 watt LEDs from this same line and when I put it on the main tank, it just didn't look as bright as it should. I think having it as a bare bottom and not being the full size played into this but even in the middle, directly under the fixture, it just wasn't quite cutting it for me.

 

BeamsWork Quad 1 Watt

 

30x 10,000K LEDs and 10x Actinic blue LEDs. These are 1 watt LEDs and also run for $70.

 

Link

 

[updated Commentary]

Even fewer LEDs than the first one and an even worse ratio of white to blue. I'll pass.

 

BeamsWork MR120

 

I really like this one and the price. It has 55x 3 watt LEDs (16x 10000K, 6x6500K, 27x Actinic 460nm, 2x Green 520nm, 4x Red 660nm) and the whole thing is dimmable unlike the other BeamsWork fixtures. The only issue is that I have no idea how I would mount it on my tank. it is a 20 long so I'm a bit worried that it may not cover the ends of the tank unless I put it up really high.

 

Link

 

[updated Commentary]

I like this one a lot. I really do. The only issue is mounting this thing. Where I currently live I don't want to be dealing with drilling holes in my ceiling and I also know that I'll be moving in about 8-10 months. The other issue is that I'm not sure how well this size fixture would work over a 20 long which is 30" from end to end.

 

PAR38 Bulbs

 

These have always been pretty attractive to me but the issue is mounting them. I do not want to mount anything from the roof either and this tank does not have a hood. I've tried the clamp lights from WalMart before and the flex arms could barely hold up their own weight. I can't imagine they would hold up well with a massive PAR38 bulb in there. The other issue is how many of these I would need. Would three or four of these be enough?

 

Bulb Link

 

[updated Commentary]

These look great at first but the costs tend to mount over time. Bulbs alone will cost you at least $20 each for a blue/white combination. RapidLED.com has these bulbs for 3-4 times that much. Stand up floor lamps with a gooseneck could work but even those start to get a bit expensive at $30 each (I would need 3-4). I think these would work great with a custom canopy where one can simply mount some E27 sockets and screw the bulbs in directly.

 

Quad T5HO

 

I was hoping to stick with LEDs but if I can't find one that would work well then I could also go with this guy. It comes with 2x 24 watt T5HO 10,000K bulbs and then 2x 24 T5HO Actinic bulbs as well as some basic LED lights that won't do much at all. The price is also great at only $70 and I know I would be able to grow some corals with this light.

 

Quad T5HO

 

[updated Commentary]

I'm a big fan of this company/brand. There have been rumors in the past about their metal halides catching on fire and unfortunately that has been transferred to their other products. I currently have a dual T5HO fixture (running ~10 months), the 18" LED fixture, and the Odyssea CFS 500 canister filter and so far I haven't had any problems. For the saltwater tank, I just don't think this will be the best choice and the costs will catch up. Changing 4 bulbs every year is going to get expensive over time. Oh, and this fixture is very wide and would pretty much cover my entire tank. haha

 

Cree DIY System

 

I just don't know about these all that much. I've read over the guide in the lighting section and I'm still not all that sure about it and would probably have to go back over it about 10 more times to figure it out.

 

[updated Commentary]

To put it simply, this is a bit daunting. I feel a bit like an idiot for not being able to understand the idiot's guide to setting one of these up but I think that's probably more of a mental thing and it appears to have a rather steep learning curve. I'm sure that with some help I could very well figure it out but I would definitely need to research this a lot more and have a better grasp of not only the electronics but also what the corals themselves need.

 

Current USA Orbit Marine 24-36"

 

I think this is the one I'm going to go with. I found it on Amazon for $128 shipped. I love how I can ramp up and down the lights and have an incredible amount of control. I have a pretty shallow tank so it should be more than enough power for my softies. On a side note, I think this fixture hits a very nice hole in the marketplace when it comes to price. For example, BRS doesn't even carry LED fixtures under $225 (cheapest I found was the Kessil A150 for $224.99).

[Odyssey350kc]

I personally went through this dilemma myself when setting up my tank. I actually went through so many ways of doing it in my head I bought the maxspect razor so I wouldnt go insane trying to get the light perfect, it is nice to be able to tune the colors to your liking but pricey.

 

If I hadn't gotten it though I would have probably went with the 3 or 4 par 38 bulbs, just for the simplicity of being able to buy whatever fixture you want to put it in, it gives soo many options, and the gooseneck style lamps allow for easy height adjustments. There is a really nice tank of the month with this sort of set up, check it out. http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/_/2012/marc3lo19-r59

[VW_TDI_02]

Wow, I never thought about going with just standing fixtures that you would use in normal room lighting. I think three of them should be good for now and then I could always add an extra one if it isn't enough. Just so you know, I did update the list just now. I got rid of one of them and then added three more. If there are any that you would discount then please let me know as well.

[NorthGaHillbilly]

Look into the coralife 24" t5 fixturespecially that are on sale for around 100

[VW_TDI_02]

Look into the coralife 24" t5 fixturespecially that are on sale for around 100

 

I've seen those before but for the price I would rather just go with the Quad T5HO fixture I linked above. I have the dual T5HO one currently and it has been going strong for almost a year now without any problems. Thank you for the suggestion though.

[dutch27]

Beware the Odyssea T5, they have a history of starting fires. Maybe they've upped the quality, but doubtful for that price.

 

I'm using PAR38 and hate it, no flexibility in dimming channels to tune the color. By the time you figure out and buy fixtures, probably adds up to more than $100.

 

Take a look at the reefbreeder value LED. Above your $100 limit, but one thing I've learned is if you buy the cheapest stuff, you spend more in the long run. Considering the cost of replacement bulbs a $180 led will pay for itself after nearly 1 round of replacing bulbs in a quad T5, which happens yearly.

[VW_TDI_02]

Beware the Odyssea T5, they have a history of starting fires. Maybe they've upped the quality, but doubtful for that price. I'm using PAR38 and hate it, no flexibility in dimming channels to tune the color. By the time you figure out and buy fixtures, probably adds up to more than $100. Take a look at the reefbreeder value LED. Above your $100 limit, but one thing I've learned is if you buy the cheapest stuff, you spend more in the long run. Considering the cost of replacement bulbs a $180 led will pay for itself after nearly 1 round of replacing bulbs in a quad T5, which happens yearly.

I've heard that rumor about Odyssea before but it was in regards to their Metal Halide fixtures. Like I've said, I've never had an issue with my current fixture. It's a dual bulb 36" T5HO fixture that has been running strong for almost a year now (~10 months or so). I agree with what you said about the bulbs though. I would MUCH prefer to go with some LEDs but I'm unsure as to which.

 

I've been trying to figure out how much it would cost to use the PAR38 bulbs but as you said, the prices are starting to stack up. I've been looking at bulbs and the cheapest I can find that have both blue and white are still $20+ each. $60 in bulbs and $20-$30 for each fixture means a lot more money than they are worth. I even have one of the gooseneck floor lamps and that still comes out to around $120.

 

What do you guys think about this one below? Again, I would have to find some way to mount this thing which will be a bit tough.

 

 

http://www.aquatraders.com/product-p/56591.htm

 

[Edit]

 

Idk how but this hobby just cuts right through my wallet. Started off with a CO2 system for my freshwater plants and now saltwater... So if I wanted to explore the options of a fixture in the ~$150 range, what would I be looking at?? Currently looking at the Current USA Orbit Marine.

 

[Edit 2]

 

Alright, so I went with the Current Orbit Marine LED 24-36". I found it on Amazon for $128 shipped and frankly I don't think I'm going to get much more bang for my buck. Updating the OP next.