SCA 50 gallon Lighting

[TJR-RN]

Hey everyone,

 

My name is Tony. I'm a new nurse working my butt off and need something "relaxing" to do. I'm currently looking at buying a new saltwater tank. This will be my second saltwater tank, I had to tear down my first one when I started school. I'm pretty set on getting SCA's 50 gallon cube set up as it seems very affordable. Im curious what light would be best for this tank? I'm thinking mainly softies for now but down the road I would like the light to handle SPS. I would prefer LED.

 

I've been looking at Nanobox or perhaps a Kessil?

What would you guys recommend?

 

Thanks so much.

 

-Tony

[captainruiz]

For a tank like that i would personaly get a 6-8 bulb ATI or Geisemann T5 fixture.(not much of a fan of LED anymore) youl be able to grow any type of coral with a set of lights like that and its basicaly plug and play so not too much guess work involved.. hope to see a build thread soon!

[Horerczy]

I'd go with a nanobox hybrid on a tank with those dimensions. Get a little t5 in there but the LEDs are still the heavy lifters for photons.

 

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what you're lighting the tank with as long as it provides enough light.

 

Photons are photons and zooxanthellae (the microscopic photosynthetic dinoflagellates that feed Coral) don't care what the source is.

[rone_kevin66]

Get a t5 led hybrid best of both worlds

[TJR-RN]

Thanks so much for the fast responses and recommendations. I didn't think about T5s but will look into the ATI fixtures. Also, I'm debating between the SCA 50 gallon and the smaller Red Sea Reefer 170. The SCA price is the biggest plus for me, but the Red Sea seems to have a cleaner build. In the RSR 170, would a nano box duo be enough light?

 

Thanks

 

-Tony

[rone_kevin66]

The nano box duo is up to 30 in long

[DaveFason]

Thanks so much for the fast responses and recommendations. I didn't think about T5s but will look into the ATI fixtures. Also, I'm debating between the SCA 50 gallon and the smaller Red Sea Reefer 170. The SCA price is the biggest plus for me, but the Red Sea seems to have a cleaner build. In the RSR 170, would a nano box duo be enough light?

 

Thanks

 

-Tony

Tony,

I have a good amount of customers now using a Duo over the Reefer 170. The SCA being a bit deeper can also use Duo however you will need to place your rock work accordingly with the width. You could also look at the Quad for more light and spread.

 

Hope this helps!

-Dave

[mallek]

reef breeder superlux! i dont know if these tanks are very well advertised, but the planet aquariums crystalline series is kind of a higher quality reefer, my parents have one, solid wood stand, trigger sump, might be worth checking if your debating tanks!

[B-SMOOTH]

reef breeder superlux! i dont know if these tanks are very well advertised, but the planet aquariums crystalline series is kind of a higher quality reefer, my parents have one, solid wood stand, trigger sump, might be worth checking if your debating tanks!

any pricing info on these?

[mallek]

any pricing info on these?

theyre about 200 right now, they sell direct off their website

 

oh sorry ha i remember when we got ours they were around a hundred bucks cheaper than the comparable red sea

[TJR-RN]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I placed an order for the Red Sea Reefer 170, will order the nano box duo as well.

 

-Tony

[Sk8n Reefer]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I placed an order for the Red Sea Reefer 170, will order the nano box duo as well.

 

-Tony

You'll be happy with your duo! It's a nice blend of LED and T5 and is completely controllable ? I am running the quad on my SCA 50g