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Current USA Orbit Marine LED for 15g softy reef?


JLynn

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I'm looking into setting up a simple, 15g reef with a pair of naked clownfish and a blood red fire shrimp. The dimensions are (roughly) 24"x12"x12", so it's pretty shallow.

 

I'm only going to keep soft corals: some mushrooms, a couple (photosynthetic) gorgonians, an assortment of leather corals, and probably some pulsing xenia. Maybe a couple zoa colonies? I'm not sure about that one yet.

 

So, I'm wondering: will a single Current USA Orbit Marine LED module will be sufficient for this purpose?

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  • 2 weeks later...

You can do the following which are affordable and you can house lps with them as well as softies.

 

 

Current Orbit

Aquamaxx Marine

Coral Compulsion par 38 full spectrum

 

Fyi- gorgonians are really difficult to keep. They are expert level and often harder than sps.

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Fyi- gorgonians are really difficult to keep. They are expert level and often harder than sps.

 

Please do not perpetuate misinformation - many photosynthetic gorgonians are incredibly easy to keep, and among the easiest photosynthetic invertebrates many of us keep. See Grube's gorgonian - I have grown a couple of frags from 2" pieces to specimens over 12" long in short order with nothing more than moderate flow and light, and I am far from the only one to do so. I also have a number of photosynthetic Caribbean species that have been with me for years with the same regimen.

 

Please also note two things:

 

1) I did say many, not all, as there are some that are more difficult than others, needing higher flow (to prevent algal fouling) and possibly supplemental feeding to remain healthy, even if they are primarily photosynthetic.

 

2) I also confined my response to photosynthetic species, as most non-photosynthetic are difficult to keep long term without regular feeding, and some problematic even with regular feeding.

 

To the OP - make sure you are using the 24-36" model if you are going with the Orbit Marine, as it has quite a bit more light, which you will probably need - some leathers like quite a bit of light. The 18-24" model only has 16" worth of light devoted to the diode spread, whereas the 24-26" model will have 22" of diode spread, and consequently more power.

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RIP Sebastian

I'm looking into setting up a simple, 15g reef with a pair of naked clownfish and a blood red fire shrimp. The dimensions are (roughly) 24"x12"x12", so it's pretty shallow.

 

I'm only going to keep soft corals: some mushrooms, a couple (photosynthetic) gorgonians, an assortment of leather corals, and probably some pulsing xenia. Maybe a couple zoa colonies? I'm not sure about that one yet.

 

So, I'm wondering: will a single Current USA Orbit Marine LED module will be sufficient for this purpose?

 

For softies, I imagine it'd be adequate. However, no matter how certain you are now of only wanting softies, you'll eventually want LPS and SPS. Trust me. I recommend the AI Prime HD for a budget-friendly option, or a Nanobox. Dave has a great sale on his Cloak Series models.

 

Hope this helped,

 

Nick

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I had a 15 gallon tank setup using an Orbit Marine for a year before I upgraded to a lagoon 25 and and got a Nanobox Duo. I was able to keep lps, sps, and a maxima clam without issue. For the clam and sps I just placed them higher in the tank. They did not take off in growth, it was slow but they were growing.

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Please do not perpetuate misinformation - many photosynthetic gorgonians are incredibly easy to keep, and among the easiest photosynthetic invertebrates many of us keep. See Grube's gorgonian - I have grown a couple of frags from 2" pieces to specimens over 12" long in short order with nothing more than moderate flow and light, and I am far from the only one to do so. I also have a number of photosynthetic Caribbean species that have been with me for years with the same regimen.

 

Please also note two things:

 

1) I did say many, not all, as there are some that are more difficult than others, needing higher flow (to prevent algal fouling) and possibly supplemental feeding to remain healthy, even if they are primarily photosynthetic.

 

2) I also confined my response to photosynthetic species, as most non-photosynthetic are difficult to keep long term without regular feeding, and some problematic even with regular feeding.

 

To the OP - make sure you are using the 24-36" model if you are going with the Orbit Marine, as it has quite a bit more light, which you will probably need - some leathers like quite a bit of light. The 18-24" model only has 16" worth of light devoted to the diode spread, whereas the 24-26" model will have 22" of diode spread, and consequently more power.

My plan is to cluster the gorgonians together with a toadstool mushroom on the area of the rockwork closest to the powerhead, so I think I'll be ok on that count.

 

And thanks for the tip off about going for the 24-36" model! I actually had been planning on doing the 18-24", so I'm glad you mentioned this!

 

 

For softies, I imagine it'd be adequate. However, no matter how certain you are now of only wanting softies, you'll eventually want LPS and SPS. Trust me. I recommend the AI Prime HD for a budget-friendly option, or a Nanobox. Dave has a great sale on his Cloak Series models.

 

Hope this helped,

 

Nick

Oh, don't get me wrong, I absolutely do want LPS and SPS. :lol: But the issue is that right now I am in college (out of state, too), so over shorter holidays I will need to hire someone to tank-sit for me, and over longer breaks the livestock will be going on 9 hour road trips to get back home. So while I'm in college, I want corals that: a.) need very, very little care from a tank-sitter (so, no 2-part/kalkwasser), b.) can bounce back relatively easily from the inevitable mistakes that said tank-sitter will make, and c.) can withstand the rigors of long, relatively frequent road trips.

 

That being said, I am already planning out my mixed reef for after I graduate college. For that one, I'm thinking I'll go with a Red Sea Reefer and a Nanobox Hybrid! :D

 

I had a 15 gallon tank setup using an Orbit Marine for a year before I upgraded to a lagoon 25 and and got a Nanobox Duo. I was able to keep lps, sps, and a maxima clam without issue. For the clam and sps I just placed them higher in the tank. They did not take off in growth, it was slow but they were growing.

Oh, that's really good to know!

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RIP Sebastian

My plan is to cluster the gorgonians together with a toadstool mushroom on the area of the rockwork closest to the powerhead, so I think I'll be ok on that count.

 

And thanks for the tip off about going for the 24-36" model! I actually had been planning on doing the 18-24", so I'm glad you mentioned this!

 

Oh, don't get me wrong, I absolutely do want LPS and SPS. :lol: But the issue is that right now I am in college (out of state, too), so over shorter holidays I will need to hire someone to tank-sit for me, and over longer breaks the livestock will be going on 9 hour road trips to get back home. So while I'm in college, I want corals that: a.) need very, very little care from a tank-sitter (so, no 2-part/kalkwasser), b.) can bounce back relatively easily from the inevitable mistakes that said tank-sitter will make, and c.) can withstand the rigors of long, relatively frequent road trips.

 

That being said, I am already planning out my mixed reef for after I graduate college. For that one, I'm thinking I'll go with a Red Sea Reefer and a Nanobox Hybrid! :D

 

Oh, that's really good to know!

 

Sound awesome.

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