20L need help on picking out a light

[deceptikhanh]

i have a 20 long tank 30.3" x 12.5" x 12.8 .. i really need help picking a light out .. i want a light that can support some sps .. i have narrowed it down to three lights .. the AI Hydra 26 .. Radion XR15w pro .. or the Nanobox Duo .. which one would you choose and why?

[VW_TDI_02]

I would go with the duo. The other two don't have the spread to cover a 30" tank IMO. The XR15W Pro definitely will not cover a 20 long.

[deceptikhanh]

thats what i was kind of leaning towards .. but would you think it would be ok if i hang the xr15wpro up a little higher ? i hear so much good things about radions .. your tank is awesome by the way! and thanks for responding

[VW_TDI_02]

Thanks! Was a little disappointed since I had some amazing growth for 2 weeks and nobody commented on my thread, haha.

 

In regards to the XR15, it's a great light but it isn't designed to cover such a large footprint. Even with the wide angle lenses, it isn't going to be enough. Below is a link to some diagrams from Radion showing the coverage for the XR15 Pro. The one on the left shows that even with the Wide Angle TIR lenses, it doesn't even reach 24" of coverage.

 

Another option would be to get a pair of AI Primes. Coverage should not be an issue, you get the built in wireless, and can hook them up together. The only thing is that you have to deal with their mounting brackets which aren't the best. If I recall, they did get them fixed though so I'm not sure.

[xmas_one]

I'd go with a duo or a quad, depending on what you want to keep in the tank. I think Dave also makes a "wide" duo, so that might be an option as well.

[HarryPotter]

thats what i was kind of leaning towards .. but would you think it would be ok if i hang the xr15wpro up a little higher ? i hear so much good things about radions .. your tank is awesome by the way! and thanks for responding

 

Is getting another XR15wpro not an option? Just because the lights you are discussing are around the same price

[VW_TDI_02]

Is getting another XR15wpro not an option? Just because the lights you are discussing are around the same price

Wouldn't two of those be like over $700?

[HarryPotter]

Wouldn't two of those be like over $700?

Yeah but if he already has one he is halfway there to an excellent lighting setup. Spend less on another XR15 rather than another whole lighting setup

[PieMan2k]

I have been looking at lighting and have seen the Curren Orbit 24-36" adjustable 24 hours lighting in person. i have to say it lit a 20 gallon long tank with no problem and all the fish colors aswell as the coral colors were really vibrant. you can find refurbished ones on ebay for around 75- $150 USD and a brand new one will be about 140- $USD.

[VW_TDI_02]

Yeah but if he already has one he is halfway there to an excellent lighting setup. Spend less on another XR15 rather than another whole lighting setup

 

I didn't see anywhere saying that he had one. I think when he was talking about hanging the XR15 a bit higher he was talking about a hypothetical question in order to see if one will work. That was my impression at least. If he does already have one then definitely just get another and be good to go.

I have been looking at lighting and have seen the Curren Orbit 24-36" adjustable 24 hours lighting in person. i have to say it lit a 20 gallon long tank with no problem and all the fish colors aswell as the coral colors were really vibrant. you can find refurbished ones on ebay for around 75- $150 USD and a brand new one will be about 140- $USD.

I wouldn't recommend them. I have one on my 20 long and I'm not a fan but I don't have the funds to buy something else. I ended up getting a two bulb T5HO fixture and have been running both of them. The controller on the Current Orbit Marine is amazing but it just doesn't have the power. For a softy and mostly LPS tank you should do great. You can keep some SPS but they're going to have to be within a few inches of the light.

[righttirefire]

I think morgan runs an radian... on her 20 long, http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/360119-two-cats-and-a-reef/, personally I run a fluvel marine/reef led 24" over my 20 long tank. No sps. But LPS and anenome. I'm tempted to try some low light sps and upgrade to nanobox. Personally I like nanobox out of the group from my research.

[PieMan2k]

 

I didn't see anywhere saying that he had one. I think when he was talking about hanging the XR15 a bit higher he was talking about a hypothetical question in order to see if one will work. That was my impression at least. If he does already have one then definitely just get another and be good to go.

I wouldn't recommend them. I have one on my 20 long and I'm not a fan but I don't have the funds to buy something else. I ended up getting a two bulb T5HO fixture and have been running both of them. The controller on the Current Orbit Marine is amazing but it just doesn't have the power. For a softy and mostly LPS tank you should do great. You can keep some SPS but they're going to have to be within a few inches of the light.

so you would not recommend getting this light fixture for my 20g long? if not what is a good light that you would recommend that is around the same price range as I do not have alot of money to toy around with.

[fishstick41]

I have been using a Kessil A160WE. Works fine for me.

[VW_TDI_02]

Honestly it depends on what you want to grow. If you're going for acros, I don't think the current orbit marine will cut it. I have a monti cap about 4" from the light and it's grown some but not much. I have seen people have some good luck growing some other SPS corals like digis and maybe millis (can't remember) but I haven't tried any other SPS corals in the display under the Current Orbit Marine. LPS on the other hand do fantastic under that fixture. I actually had to move some acan lords down a bit and they look a good bit better. Definitely more puffy looking.

 

Along the $140 price range there isn't too much. You can get something like a MarsAqua panel and that could work for a 20 long. The only issue is figuring out a way to mount it since it is a pendant light. Those go for about $80 each. I think with a pair of them you could easily do an SPS dominated tank which would be pretty awesome.

 

A Kessil A160 would also work but you're going to be limited as to what you can grow on the sides of the tank. Depending on the intensity, you could grow pretty much anything directly under it but after that, you're going to be limited to what can grow. Probably going to be mostly zoas and stuff like that on the sides. The other issue is that since it's a single point light source, you may get some shadows in your tank. The big factor is going to be your rockscape so make sure to take that into account as well.

[deceptikhanh]

i am sorry it took me so long to reply i just got off work lol .. first off i would like to thank everyone for putting out the time to reply to my post ..

 

 

Thanks! Was a little disappointed since I had some amazing growth for 2 weeks and nobody commented on my thread, haha.

 

In regards to the XR15, it's a great light but it isn't designed to cover such a large footprint. Even with the wide angle lenses, it isn't going to be enough. Below is a link to some diagrams from Radion showing the coverage for the XR15 Pro. The one on the left shows that even with the Wide Angle TIR lenses, it doesn't even reach 24" of coverage.

 

Another option would be to get a pair of AI Primes. Coverage should not be an issue, you get the built in wireless, and can hook them up together. The only thing is that you have to deal with their mounting brackets which aren't the best. If I recall, they did get them fixed though so I'm not sure.

hahah i always read peoples thread but never post on their page .. so im sure theres a large amount of people that is following your post like me so thanks for keeping us updated on your tank progression ..

 

 

Is getting another XR15wpro not an option? Just because the lights you are discussing are around the same price

im using a cheap hand me down marineland for now .. if i was to spend around $700 i would probably get a nuvo fusion with 1 radion xr15pro

 

 

I have been looking at lighting and have seen the Curren Orbit 24-36" adjustable 24 hours lighting in person. i have to say it lit a 20 gallon long tank with no problem and all the fish colors aswell as the coral colors were really vibrant. you can find refurbished ones on ebay for around 75- $150 USD and a brand new one will be about 140- $USD.

i kind of want to find a higher end light just in case i wanna grow some sps .. dont want to have to spend more money to upgrade but thanks for your input

 

 

I have been using a Kessil A160WE. Works fine for me.

ive heard kessil is good lights too .. i will have to look into it more thanks

I think morgan runs an radian... on her 20 long, http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/360119-two-cats-and-a-reef/, personally I run a fluvel marine/reef led 24" over my 20 long tank. No sps. But LPS and anenome. I'm tempted to try some low light sps and upgrade to nanobox. Personally I like nanobox out of the group from my research.

i was leaning toward a nano duo too

[Dmantz1]

The Duo would be the best purchase IMO but why not build your own diy led setup? I built my own led fixture for $225 and can grow anything.

It had more LEDs than the Duo.

[PieMan2k]

Honestly it depends on what you want to grow. If you're going for acros, I don't think the current orbit marine will cut it. I have a monti cap about 4" from the light and it's grown some but not much. I have seen people have some good luck growing some other SPS corals like digis and maybe millis (can't remember) but I haven't tried any other SPS corals in the display under the Current Orbit Marine. LPS on the other hand do fantastic under that fixture. I actually had to move some acan lords down a bit and they look a good bit better. Definitely more puffy looking.

 

Along the $140 price range there isn't too much. You can get something like a MarsAqua panel and that could work for a 20 long. The only issue is figuring out a way to mount it since it is a pendant light. Those go for about $80 each. I think with a pair of them you could easily do an SPS dominated tank which would be pretty awesome.

 

A Kessil A160 would also work but you're going to be limited as to what you can grow on the sides of the tank. Depending on the intensity, you could grow pretty much anything directly under it but after that, you're going to be limited to what can grow. Probably going to be mostly zoas and stuff like that on the sides. The other issue is that since it's a single point light source, you may get some shadows in your tank. The big factor is going to be your rockscape so make sure to take that into account as well.

I've done some research on all of the lights that you have told me about and so far the light that i have picked out is the best out of the 3. I am new to this hobby and i wont be doing much in the range of SPS corals as I am still in high school and need to focus on my grades not the amount of additives i need to put into my tank daily and the fact that it is recommended that i have more experience before I get SPS corals which will be a few years with a bigger tank. I appreciate the input and will start a thread on my build in a few weeks when i get my live rock and start my cycle.

[deceptikhanh]

The Duo would be the best purchase IMO but why not build your own diy led setup? I built my own led fixture for $225 and can grow anything.

It had more LEDs than the Duo.

im mechanically declined hahaha

 

 

I've done some research on all of the lights that you have told me about and so far the light that i have picked out is the best out of the 3. I am new to this hobby and i wont be doing much in the range of SPS corals as I am still in high school and need to focus on my grades not the amount of additives i need to put into my tank daily and the fact that it is recommended that i have more experience before I get SPS corals which will be a few years with a bigger tank. I appreciate the input and will start a thread on my build in a few weeks when i get my live rock and start my cycle.

yes! make a thread i would love to see the progress

[PieMan2k]

im mechanically declined hahaha

 

 

yes! make a thread i would love to see the progress

i just made it earlier today. I don't have the funds for it yet and am hoping some people could tell me if what i have picked out is good for the tank.

[VW_TDI_02]

I've done some research on all of the lights that you have told me about and so far the light that i have picked out is the best out of the 3. I am new to this hobby and i wont be doing much in the range of SPS corals as I am still in high school and need to focus on my grades not the amount of additives i need to put into my tank daily and the fact that it is recommended that i have more experience before I get SPS corals which will be a few years with a bigger tank. I appreciate the input and will start a thread on my build in a few weeks when i get my live rock and start my cycle.

The Current Orbit Marine is the best out of a Kessil A160, a black box chinese panel, and a Current Orbit Marine? I guess if you value control over performance then sure. I've been through the same research and ended up getting the Current Orbit Marine and definitely regret it. Not very strong and the color isn't very good either. The one big advantage is the control and the ease of use.

 

 

i just made it earlier today. I don't have the funds for it yet and am hoping some people could tell me if what i have picked out is good for the tank.

I think most people are on the same page. Out of those three, I would go with the Nanobox Duo since the other two just won't cover that size tank. I think your best bet is going to be either a Duo or a pair of smaller lights. You can get two AI Primes (brand new) for $400 and they have the built in WiFi and all those features. You can also look at getting a pair of A160s for about the same price as well. The only thing is that the Kessil's won't have anywhere near as many features as the two Primes or the Duo.

[PieMan2k]

The Duo would be the best purchase IMO but why not build your own diy led setup? I built my own led fixture for $225 and can grow anything.

It had more LEDs than the Duo.

Whats your setup with the lights and your tank?

[PieMan2k]

The Current Orbit Marine is the best out of a Kessil A160, a black box chinese panel, and a Current Orbit Marine? I guess if you value control over performance then sure. I've been through the same research and ended up getting the Current Orbit Marine and definitely regret it. Not very strong and the color isn't very good either. The one big advantage is the control and the ease of use.

 

 

I think most people are on the same page. Out of those three, I would go with the Nanobox Duo since the other two just won't cover that size tank. I think your best bet is going to be either a Duo or a pair of smaller lights. You can get two AI Primes (brand new) for $400 and they have the built in WiFi and all those features. You can also look at getting a pair of A160s for about the same price as well. The only thing is that the Kessil's won't have anywhere near as many features as the two Primes or the Duo

 

I will head down to my LFS and ask around seeing what they would recommend. I will tell them what i'm planning on doing and will ask good lighting sources for a tank like the one i am going to be setting up. thanks for all the advice and sorry if I am sounding rude.

also i made a thread on the lighting forum about this topic so we don't have to cloud up this topic and not helping.

[deceptikhanh]

The Current Orbit Marine is the best out of a Kessil A160, a black box chinese panel, and a Current Orbit Marine? I guess if you value control over performance then sure. I've been through the same research and ended up getting the Current Orbit Marine and definitely regret it. Not very strong and the color isn't very good either. The one big advantage is the control and the ease of use.

 

 

I think most people are on the same page. Out of those three, I would go with the Nanobox Duo since the other two just won't cover that size tank. I think your best bet is going to be either a Duo or a pair of smaller lights. You can get two AI Primes (brand new) for $400 and they have the built in WiFi and all those features. You can also look at getting a pair of A160s for about the same price as well. The only thing is that the Kessil's won't have anywhere near as many features as the two Primes or the Duo.

im pretty new to this hobby ... would you think the ai prime would be strong enough for some sps in the future ?

[HarryPotter]

im pretty new to this hobby ... would you think the ai prime would be strong enough for some sps in the future ?

Yes, but a pair like he mentioned

[PieMan2k]

Yes, but a pair like he mentioned

so the AI prime would be good but i would need 2 of them? on their power output on their website I read, "With a spread of 30" x 30", the AI Prime® has a peak PAR of 260µMol at a depth of 12 inches, more than enough for your hungriest of livestock. Drawing a maximum of 50 watts from the wall, it follows in the family’s efficient footsteps."