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

[Luke78]

What are some recommended par 38 bulbs that will not limit me on what I can keep? How many of them would I need

[Euphylin me]

1 minute ago, Luke78 said:

What are some recommended par 38 bulbs that will not limit me on what I can keep

sorry for some reason i thought you said your tank was a 38 gallon tank lol....two of the 54 watt ones would be fine for most sps (sps generally go in the upper third portion of the tank anyways. playing around with the height of the fixture from the water's surface to find the right par for the corals you keep isnt a bad idea. so whatever mount you get for these bulbs make sure you are able to adjust the height

[Luke78]

The 54-watt ABI tuna blues right? I can not find any of those. Were you talking about the eBay bulbs?

2 minutes ago, Euphylin me said:

two of the 54 watt ones

 

[Euphylin me]

2 minutes ago, Luke78 said:

The 54-watt ABI tuna blues right?

 

oh i was talking about the ones in your link...i dont think that abi has 54w fixtures

[Luke78]

Thanks very much. I will probably get those, I would like to hear more people's opinion on it however

[Luke78]

Which wattage ABI bulb would I need and how many

[Clown79]

Many of us have used the Abi tuna blue.

 

I had sps growing under 12watt tuna blue.

 

On a 20g that's long 2 23 watts are more than plenty.

 

Par38's are powerful.

 

 

The reason why the bar is a waste of money- you will need to buy appropriate lighting for corals, do it from the start.

You can buy far cheaper lights on Amazon for a fw tank like the nicrew.

[Luke78]

So I need the 23 Watts and couldn’t use the twelve watts for a 20 long

 

[Euphylin me]

Just now, Luke78 said:

So I need the 23 Watts and couldn’t use the twelve watts for a 20 long

 

i would do 2 23 watts if you plan to keep higher light corals without an issue

[Luke78]

About how high will I need to place the lights so that I don’t get a spotlight effect? And will the 23w bulbs “melt” soft corals

[Euphylin me]

i would start out at 18 inches and move closer as needed and no, you'll be able to find a "sweet spot" to keep a mixed reef. soft corals normally are placed near the sandbed and mushrooms will even grow where the area is shaded from other corals

[Luke78]

Do I need calcium,alkalinity, and magnesium for soft and easier lps corals.(I know this is kind of a random question).

[Euphylin me]

Just now, Luke78 said:

Do I need calcium,alkalinity, and magnesium for soft and easier lps corals.(I know this is kind of a random question).

yes, i would monitor those levels regardless as if they go out of whack for some reason you will regret it. if you are planning on getting lps and sps corals i would just go with reef crystals

[Luke78]

I’m using instant ocean right now and have a clownfish with a cheap led over it. I guess I switch to reef crystals when I get coral

[lpsouth1978]

8 hours ago, 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

These would definitely be OK, but I personally am not a fan for a couple reasons. First, the ratio of white to blue is skewed in the wrong direction. You really want more blue LED's than white. Second, they are using cool while LED's, which are not the best choice for reef tanks. You really want some Neutral or even warm white LED's in the mix. 

 

I would go with something like this, https://www.ebay.com/itm/45W-E27-LED-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-Par38-Coral-Reef-Lamp-LED-Bulbs-for-LPS-SPS/263357959275?hash=item3d515b8c6b%3Am%3AmqRITh0oo_yFOpG1B-BjF5Q&var=562372514397

It has a better spectral mix to support the corals. If you don't want the red and green LED's you could get the Refugium version which has cool white, neutral white, royal blue and violet. These have a better ratio of white to blue as well.

[Luke78]

So I would need two of the 45watts. Do the red and greens have any benefits.

[Recci]

6500k will grow coral perfectly fine. In fact the whiter the light the more growth. It would just look like an unflushed toilet! It would also grow algae and god knows what else.

[lpsouth1978]

2 hours ago, Luke78 said:

So I would need two of the 45watts. Do the red and greens have any benefits.

Yes, I would go with 2 45W over your tank. The verdict is still out on the red and green LED's. All of the high end fixtures use them, but they are dimmable, so you can control how much is used. Both colors, in the correct amounts, can help bring out some colors in corals, but who knows if these have the correct amounts. Personally, I would probably go with the Refugium version without the red and green, though either would be much better than the LED strip you were originally asking about.

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, lpsouth1978 said:

Yes, I would go with 2 45W over your tank. The verdict is still out on the red and green LED's. All of the high end fixtures use them, but they are dimmable, so you can control how much is used. Both colors, in the correct amounts, can help bring out some colors in corals, but who knows if these have the correct amounts. Personally, I would probably go with the Refugium version without the red and green, though either would be much better than the LED strip you were originally asking about.

Par38's are very powerful. Many don't realize that you can easily fry corals under them.

 

2 45 w par38 is going to be ALOT on a 20g. 

 

I had 1 24w par38(cheap one and 60 degree optics) on a 15g which was 24" long. 

 

I had a 12w on my 10g growing sps under it.

 

If you are new to reef keeping, sps aren't recommended other than the easier sps which aren't as demanding as ppl often say they are. 

 

IMO

 

2 par38 at 24watts place 12-15inches high will be good for your needs. 

 

You want optics that are 80 degrees or spread will be limited.

 

 

[lpsouth1978]

I placed 2 of these over my 40b as a temporary light for a few days, and was surprised at how they did. They were definitely not enough for my 40b and created major spotlights, but 3 would have worked well. 2-3 of these would work well for the 20.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0PF72P/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, lpsouth1978 said:

I placed 2 of these over my 40b as a temporary light for a few days, and was surprised at how they did. They were definitely not enough for my 40b and created major spotlights, but 3 would have worked well. 2-3 of these would work well for the 20.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0PF72P/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Could be because all the cheap par38's from china over rate their wattage.

 

Like the 15w par bulbs are known to not be 15w but rather 5.

 

It also depends on the actual leds they are using. 

 

Not every par bulb is equal in value.

 

That's why the 

 

ABI, Coral Compulsion, and Rapid Leds are highly recommended.

[lpsouth1978]

It is not necessarily that they were inadequate to grow corals, though they are only running @ 1W each, and I only had them on the tank for about 3 days. My problem was with coverage. 2 lights left a decent amount of the tank in the dark, a third would have fixed this issue.

[Euphylin me]

5 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Par38's are very powerful. Many don't realize that you can easily fry corals under them.

 

2 45 w par38 is going to be ALOT on a 20g. 

 

I had 1 24w par38(cheap one and 60 degree optics) on a 15g which was 24" long. 

 

I had a 12w on my 10g growing sps under it.

 

If you are new to reef keeping, sps aren't recommended other than the easier sps which aren't as demanding as ppl often say they are. 

 

IMO

 

2 par38 at 24watts place 12-15inches high will be good for your needs. 

 

You want optics that are 80 degrees or spread will be limited.

 

 

good info!

[Clown79]

9 minutes ago, lpsouth1978 said:

It is not necessarily that they were inadequate to grow corals, though they are only running @ 1W each, and I only had them on the tank for about 3 days. My problem was with coverage. 2 lights left a decent amount of the tank in the dark, a third would have fixed this issue.

This particular brand has been complained about.

 

Red and green leds aren't even needed.

 

[Euphylin me]

ive read that red leds can actually exacerbate algae problems...not sure about the green