Can This Light Grow Any Coral...At All?

[Luke78]

The title basically says it. I will be using it on a fowlr but might get a few soft corals later down the road. Will it work for hammer coral or mushroom coral.

https://www.aqueon.com/products/lighting/led-optibright-light-fixtures

I will use the 30-36" version on a 20-gallon long tank

[lpsouth1978]

It would probably be fine for softies and mushrooms, and may even be ok for LPS (like hammer) if placed high in the aquarium.

[Clown79]

Doesn't look like it. Standard light, would work on low light plants.

 

There is no description of spectrum so its most likely 3700k-5000k.

 

The par is very low.

 

For the price there are far better options than this

 

 

[Luke78]

The spectrum is 6500k. Does this matter? It has been proven to grow medium light plants. All I need it to do is grow some kind of coral any kind.

[Luke78]

What about the NPS (non-photosynthetic) corals?

[HarryPotter]

40 minutes ago, Luke78 said:

What about the NPS (non-photosynthetic) corals?

 

Non photosynthetic means they don’t use light. So the brand probably doesn’t matter 😉 

[MrObscura]

It might work for shrooms since people grow them using regular old fluorescent aquarium lights. But I wouldn't count on it to grow anything. 

 

If you haven't purchased it yet and are serious about corals I'd do some research and go with something else. 

 

As for nps corals, as mentioned non photosynthetic means they do not need light at all. But they require their own unique care such as regular feeding. Since you sound like you are just getting into things I would do a lot more research before throwing corals in a tank. 

[paneubert]

3 hours ago, Luke78 said:

The spectrum is 6500k. Does this matter? It has been proven to grow medium light plants. All I need it to do is grow some kind of coral any kind.

Yes, spectrum matters a lot.  6500K grows plants well, that is true.  Problem is that  "plants" in the reef world usually means algae.  Either macro algae that we sometimes like, but more often micro algae, or macro that we consider a pest.  I mean, just look at the people who have controllable LED fixtures who turn way down or even off any green, red, or soft white LED's in their fixtures.  That should tell you something about the desire for a more specfic spectrum.  

[Clown79]

Spectrum and par are very important.

 

6500k is perfect for plants which means lots of algae.

 

Any coral you attempt will get very little growth, colouration of the coral will be poor- basically mostly browns and fleshy colour.

 

 

As stated before, for the price there are lights designed for corals as this one is not.

[Luke78]

I will get this light or something similar for this tank. When I get more serious about coral, I will put this on my 37-gallon fw(trust me this thing is 10x better than what came with the tank). I will get par 38 LED Full Spectrum bulbs when I want to grow coral(Will these work)?

[paneubert]

Sounds like a better plan. 

[Clown79]

Why ask us for our opinion when you still choose to use a light that won't work...waste of our time.

 

The light is  $67+ 

 

You can get an Abi par38 23 watt for $34. 2 of them is the same price and ya, they are made for corals.

 

If you want to waste your $$ on an inefficient light than go with Aqueon.

[Luke78]

I am sorry for not making my post clear. I meant another led bar. I'm sorry for wasting your time

[lpsouth1978]

26 minutes ago, Luke78 said:

I said or something similar. Did you not bother to read that part? By something similar  I meant some kind of led light bar whether it can grow coral or not. I still need a lighting upgrade for my fresh water tank and I figured that this would be the best way because I obviously don’t know squat about growing any type of coral. This is why I wanted to get this or something similar for the tank. Once again something similar means some kind of led light bar.It does not mean that I will get that particular light it means that I will probably  get something similar because I have a tendency to believe people who are more experienced than I am. Other than that I am sorry for wasting your time.

Wow, this got really hostile quickly. 😞

 

When I read "something similar" I did not read that to mean an LED light bar. To me, and I'm sure most others here, it means "something similar", as in a similar product with similar specs. When you chose your "something similar", please post it here and we can help you decide. People here can be VERY intense when it comes to the care of fish and corals, but it is only because they care and want to see people succeed. This is why, when someone asks for advice, and appears to disregard it (not saying you are), they can get a bit frustrated.

 

Again, please post the lights you are considering here, and we can give further recommendations.

[Luke78]

Sorry. I posted that out of anger and frustration. I knew that the issue of people reading it as similar par and specs would be an issue. I will take the post down.

[Jono]

Broken record time...just get something that works for coral right away. You're just wasting money with that light, if your end goal is actually coral. 

[Luke78]

2 minutes ago, Jono said:

Broken record time...just get something that works for coral right away. You're just wasting money with that light, if your end goal is actually coral. 

May I ask what record time that was broken? I am sorry if I am missing something. I feel so dumb

 

[Euphylin me]

im a little confused....not trying to offend at all but why would you throw money at something that in time (which will be a short amount of time bc you will want coral lol) will be useless to you? might as well get some lights so you are ready to go when you desire coral. the only reason why i am asking is bc you mentioned there was a reason for you buying this light to begin with

[paneubert]

5 minutes ago, Luke78 said:

May I ask what record time that was broken? I am sorry if I am missing something. I feel so dumb

 

"Broken record" as in the type of record that plays music.  You know, the old round black ones.  Haha.  A "Broken record" skips and repeats itself.  So @Jono is repeating what was already said, basically acting like a "skipping" record that repeats over and over.  "Broken record time" meaning "it is time for me to say what someone else said". 🙂

[Luke78]

12 minutes ago, Euphylin me said:

im a little confused....not trying to offend at all but why would you throw money at something that in time (which will be a short amount of time bc you will want coral lol) will be useless to you? might as well get some lights so you are ready to go when you desire coral. the only reason why i am asking is bc you mentioned there was a reason for you buying this light to begin with

It is because I needed to upgrade my fw light and wanted to use this on that tank to replace the light I have on the fw tank with an led light bar. I have been looking into led light bars and was wondering if this one is worth it. The plan was to move that light to the fw when I get serious about keeping corals and get par 38's on the fowlr to convert it to  a reef

[Euphylin me]

Just now, Luke78 said:

It is because I needed to upgrade my fw light and wanted to use this on that tank to replace the light I have on the fw tank with an led light bar. I have been looking into led light bars and was wondering if this one is worth it. The plan was to move that light to the fw when I get serious about keeping corals and get par 38's on the fowlr to convert it to  a reef

if that's the case...then i really dont see what's wrong with that decision, it not like you are going to throw it away when its done lol. although, as others have stated you can get some cheap leds for your fw system. and get the tuna blue abi par 38s with the spectrum it gives it wont grow algae like the one you are looking at

[Luke78]

How are these par 38 bulbs

https://www.ebay.com/itm/E27-PAR30-PAR38-LED-Coral-Reef-Plant-Grow-Light-Bulb-Fish-Tank-Aquarium-Lamp/332598498471?hash=item4d706a54a7%3Am%3AmRUQFr-gVOYU_Nb_ly_M1Rw&var=541705650058

[Euphylin me]

Just now, Luke78 said:

How are these par 38 bulbs

https://www.ebay.com/itm/E27-PAR30-PAR38-LED-Coral-Reef-Plant-Grow-Light-Bulb-Fish-Tank-Aquarium-Lamp/332598498471?hash=item4d706a54a7%3Am%3AmRUQFr-gVOYU_Nb_ly_M1Rw&var=541705650058

2 of the 36w ones would be fine for lower light corals and even some lps. im not sure about the longevity of those particular bulbs but as far as the specs go it seems fine

[Luke78]

Are the 56w bulbs any better?

Do you have any experience with the ABI tuna blue par 38s? Can they grow lps and sps?

 

[Euphylin me]

i have seen some videos on the growth rates with the abi tuna, go with the 54

watt ones if you want sps. 2 of those would be good for lower to low medium light sps if placed high in the tank...should be ok