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LED Recommendations for 17g


Samppson

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Hi,

I am currently looking to build a 17g Rimless. Here is the tank:

https://imgur.com/a/HB5pVHU


I am looking for budget options on a decent beginner/starter LED light for this. I dont plan on doing anything crazy for now, mostly going to stick with soft corals that are easier.

Anyone have any recommendations? Also, any for powerheads for a tank this size? The smallest I have done was a 28g Biocube, so this is newer territory for me.

Thank you for the help!

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33 minutes ago, seabass said:

:welcome: to Nano-Reef.com!

 

On a budget, a 165W black box reef LED is likely still the cheapest (yet viable) option for a tank that size.  However, light spectrum can vary significantly across various models (so research your options before buying anything).

 

Awesome, thank you!

 

I found someone selling two Pixie 30's that are very new.

 

These

 

Do you think two of those would be sufficient for most coral besides SPS?

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15 minutes ago, Samppson said:

Do you think two of those would be sufficient for most coral besides SPS?

At 26-30W each, maybe just sufficient (would be approximately equivalent to two ABI Tuna Blues).  I'd probably invest in a little more powerful option (even for softies and LPS).

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I have the lumini asta 20 on my 2.5g

 

Not impressed with the very minimal growth I've gotten and I have easy corals in there, mostly easy softies.  

 

The cost of the 165w chineses boxes are about the same as 2 pixies but the Chinese boxes would be the better way to go and you only need 1.

 

I'd recommend Abi tuna blue par 38's, I've had far better results with it than the lumini light.

 

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NoOneLikesADryTang

I actually have that tank, and I bought a couple of those lights for a growth experiment (white vs blues) and did some par testing with them... If I remember when I get home, I can look it up and see what sort of par those lights were putting out, and I can even give you precise readings for that tank, at about 8 or 10 different spots in it. . (If you decide that that's the direction you want to go, I could probably even be convinced to sell them, as they were used for a couple of months and now are just boxed up taking up space). The two of them covered the ADA 60P well, but one light was not sufficient coverage, in my opinion. 

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48 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

I have the lumini asta 20 on my 2.5g

 

Not impressed with the very minimal growth I've gotten and I have easy corals in there, mostly easy softies.  

 

The cost of the 165w chineses boxes are about the same as 2 pixies but the Chinese boxes would be the better way to go and you only need 1.

 

I'd recommend Abi tuna blue par 38's, I've had far better results with it than the lumini light.

 

Oh ok makes sense. Do you have any recommendations for the Chinese boxes? Would I just need one?

8 minutes ago, NoOneLikesADryTang said:

I actually have that tank, and I bought a couple of those lights for a growth experiment (white vs blues) and did some par testing with them... If I remember when I get home, I can look it up and see what sort of par those lights were putting out, and I can even give you precise readings for that tank, at about 8 or 10 different spots in it. . (If you decide that that's the direction you want to go, I could probably even be convinced to sell them, as they were used for a couple of months and now are just boxed up taking up space). The two of them covered the ADA 60P well, but one light was not sufficient coverage, in my opinion. 

Oh its ok, I feared they wouldnt be enough but thank you. Do you have any recommendations for the 17g by chance?

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NoOneLikesADryTang
2 minutes ago, Samppson said:

Oh ok makes sense. Do you have any recommendations for the Chinese boxes? Would I just need one?

Oh its ok, I feared they wouldnt be enough but thank you. Do you have any recommendations for the 17g by chance?

I think a pair of them would be be enough, to be honest. I think I remember the PAR maxing out around 300+. I just don't think one light gives the tank enough coverage. 

 

I've tried a bunch of lights on my tanks. (Current Orbit IC - Meh. I liked the color and the the features, but it sustained life, and showed very little growth. Current Orbit Pro (the older model) - Decent light, I liked the color, I think this is a good light, but for the cost I believe there may be other options that are better. NanoBox Duo - Solid light. Well built. Good par and decent coverage for the ADA 60P. This is a personal issue - but I didn't care for the windex blue. I much prefer the royal blue color. AI Hydra HD 26 (This is what is currently on the tank) I love this light. It's probably overkill for the tank, but I've seen good growth, and I love the ability to control this light from my phone.) I've also tried both the Mars Aqua and ViparSpectra as far as black boxes go... I think they both provide good value, and crazy PAR numbers. 

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Poison Dart Frog

My girlfriend has one of the Pixie 30s on a 10 gallon and bought 2 of them for her 40 breeder. It's a lot of light. Not sure why people think you need 600 PAR or whatever. She doesn't even turn the whites up very high and still has to hide mushrooms in the corners for lower light otherwise they shrink up. I'm sure there are other factors besides PAR, but how on earth would 2 of those not be enough light for 17 gallons (especially for soft corals as the OP said)?

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42 minutes ago, NoOneLikesADryTang said:

I think a pair of them would be be enough, to be honest. I think I remember the PAR maxing out around 300+. I just don't think one light gives the tank enough coverage. 

 

I've tried a bunch of lights on my tanks. (Current Orbit IC - Meh. I liked the color and the the features, but it sustained life, and showed very little growth. Current Orbit Pro (the older model) - Decent light, I liked the color, I think this is a good light, but for the cost I believe there may be other options that are better. NanoBox Duo - Solid light. Well built. Good par and decent coverage for the ADA 60P. This is a personal issue - but I didn't care for the windex blue. I much prefer the royal blue color. AI Hydra HD 26 (This is what is currently on the tank) I love this light. It's probably overkill for the tank, but I've seen good growth, and I love the ability to control this light from my phone.) I've also tried both the Mars Aqua and ViparSpectra as far as black boxes go... I think they both provide good value, and crazy PAR numbers. 

This one?

 

https://www.amazon.com/MarsAqua-Dimmable-165W-LED-Aquarium/dp/B017GWDF7E/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=mars+aqua&qid=1575418106&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzS01FQ1MxTjQySVhZJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTU2ODUwMzdVOExXVUwzTUpFUSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTc2Mzc3M1AwQlhBUjhTMTVaMSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

 

or?

 

https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Control-Dimmable-Aquarium-Spectrum/dp/B07SHR6HW1/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=165w+led+reef&qid=1575418417&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=A1BSXM5KIS5MZE&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFPVzVZQjZHRjJaN00mZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2NzI1NjkxT08wTlpVNlFOODBJJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAwOTAxNjkxUEFCWDFSTTAyWkRVJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

 

Would you recommend one over the other?

 

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NoOneLikesADryTang

I think they’re both decent lights for the money. 
 

A couple things you should know :

 

The mars aqua requires two outlets for power. One for the white channel, and one for the blue channel. The viparspectra is just one cord, which both channels run off of. 
 

Mars Aqua Blue is more of the windex colored blue, while the Viparspectra is more of a royal blue. I prefer royal blue, but that’s personal preference. 
 

Neither one of them have tank mounts. So you’d have to figure out how you’re going to mount them, to hang above the tank.  
 

With all of that being said, I think those two pixies would be great on your tank. I really liked them, and the build quality on them was much better than I expected. For the price, I was pretty impressed with them. So much so, I’ve held on to them them just in case a future need arises. 

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3 hours ago, Samppson said:

Oh ok makes sense. Do you have any recommendations for the Chinese boxes? Would I just need one?

Oh its ok, I feared they wouldnt be enough but thank you. Do you have any recommendations for the 17g by chance?

I know the Mars Aqua and Viparspectra are commonly used/recommended.

You would only need 1 and if you ever upgrade, it will work on a larger tank.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/3/2019 at 10:57 AM, Samppson said:

I am currently looking to build a 17g Rimless. Here is the tank:

https://imgur.com/a/HB5pVHU


I am looking for budget options on a decent beginner/starter LED light for this.

No dimensions are listed....what size is this 17 gallon?  L x W x D

 

Seems like a black box would be overkill on a tank this small, but that somewhat depends on the depth of the tank.  If it's 24"/60 cm deep or more, then it could make sense.  Take a look at the Ocean Revive black box if you go this way....much better LED layout and fixture shape than the typical black box.

 

For fun, what could a 24" high 17 gallon tank look like?

 

17 gallons * 231 = 3,927 cu in / 24 in high = 163 / 12.6 in wide = 13.6 inches long.   

 

Or 14 x 13 x 24"D.   

 

Unless it's a column-shaped tank (doesn't seem like it in the pic), then I doubt a 17 gallon will be deep enough to justify a light that strong. 

 

More likely it is a shallow tank that can be lit by (e.g.) a Orbit Marine or Orbit Marine IC.   

 

We'll assume for the moment that it's 24" long and needs a 24" light.

 

The 24" long Marine Orbit IC is only $78 brand new for example, and gives a great easy fit on the tank, looks great, and gives you a fully automated light with sunrise/sunset capability. 

 

The plain orbit is even cheaper if the tank is close to 12" deep or less.

 

If you can come through with some actual dimensions we could make better specific recommendations too!  😎

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