Coral Compulsion Par38 vs BML for Softie Propagation Tank

[Biokabe]

I'm putting together a small 5.5-gallon soft coral-only tank, with the intent to turn it into a productive producer of soft coral frags (mostly zoas). I have the rest of the tank up and running, so now it's just down to the light. I've narrowed it down to four choices:

 

1) Coral Compulsion 14w 18K Par30

 

2) Coral Compulsion 24w 14k Par38 (or the 20k version)

 

3) BuildMyLED 14k, 12" Fixture

 

4) BuildMyLED XB 20k, 12" Fixture

 

The light will be suspended about 6-12" above the tank. My primary concern is preserving the color of the corals - growth is important, but I don't want to have a bunch of fast-growing, ugly corals. I'd rather compromise on the growth rate, if it comes down to that.

 

Would these lights be good for my goals? Which would be best? Would they be overkill and potentially melt zoas from too much light? And are there any other lights in the same price range ($50-$150) that I'm overlooking?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[jedimasterben]

The BML 14K will be best out of those for what you want to do. More even light is best for maximum growth, and with zoanthids, most of the 'designer' ones in the hobby do not tolerate buckets of light.

[Biokabe]

Thanks! That's kind of what I was thinking, but I wanted a second opinion before I spent more than I had to. I'll probably end up going that route.