Light recommendation

[Arun]

I do have 29 gallon tank. 30 x 20 x 10. Need a light recommendation for corals (sps and lps) but on budget.

[Andrew561]

I would get a pre owned Ai Prime Hd on eBay. Probably can find one for less than $175. I went cheap on a light but regret it. The convenience of my Ai Prime, the preset schedules, it’s priceless.

[ReefGoat]

Ai sol looks pretty cool (189). But you have to buy mounting option separate. Budget wise i also saw a light called micmol thor (159). Which comes with a mounting option for that price. Its Chinese stuff so read some reviews and proceed with caution. But from what I saw. It looked pretty freaking sweet. With a 30 inch footprint though and sps you'll likely need 2 of these fixtures. No matter which one you choose. Unless your scape is kind concentrated in the center of the tank right under the light. Just out of curiosity. Whats your budget?

[ReefGoat]

Andrew has a point. But I really don't ever trust used electronics. Unless its someone I trust. You just never know. Don't want to waste money especially when working on a budget. 

[Arun]

1 hour ago, ReefGoat said:

. Whats your budget?

Mine between 100 -200$

[ReefGoat]

You'll for sure be looking at black boxes or something like the micmol thor in that price range. Or used lighting of course. UNLESS you design your scape to be focused in the center of your tank. The AI sol blue is listed as a 24" max spread if I can remember correctly. So if you design your scape with that in mind. You'll be able to cover it leaving the outer edges of your tank with a little par. With just one AI... Micmol actually has a "thor x" which appears to boast a maximum spread of 36". If you google it premium aquatics has that light on sale right now for 239. However.......reviews and people actually using this light are hard to come by. So remember this when you're debating on which light.

[jack1978]

4 hours ago, Arun said:

I do have 29 gallon tank. 30 x 20 x 10. Need a light recommendation for corals (sps and lps) but on budget.

Check out the Arctic T 247 by Ocean Revive on eBay. 

 

Super basic, but has built in timer and comes with mounts.  I ran one on a 40B with BTAs, SPS and LPS.  Plenty of output and great color.  

 

 

[mcarroll]

On 10/27/2020 at 10:19 PM, jack1978 said:

Check out the Arctic T 247 by Ocean Revive on eBay. 

 

Super basic, but has built in timer and comes with mounts.  I ran one on a 40B with BTAs, SPS and LPS.  Plenty of output and great color.  

I like these too, for a black box.  My favorite, actually.  (I have three, but not in use at the moment.)   

 

The emitter layout is definitely superior to the regular layout the rest of the "black boxes" have....it kills the wicked hotspot the rest have, for the most part.

 

The downside in this situation is that the Ocean Revive is a bigger panel.  Will it fit on a 12" wide (skinny) tank like the 29 Gallon (30x12x18"H) though?  Seems like it would be spilling a lot of light over the front and back.

[jack1978]

6 hours ago, mcarroll said:

I like these too, for a black box.  My favorite, actually.  (I have three, but not in use at the moment.)   

 

The emitter layout is definitely superior to the regular layout the rest of the "black boxes" have....it kills the wicked hotspot the rest have, for the most part.

 

The downside in this situation is that the Ocean Revive is a bigger panel.  Will it fit on a 12" wide (skinny) tank like the 29 Gallon (30x12x18"H) though?  Seems like it would be spilling a lot of light over the front and back.

Didn't realize the tank was that narrow.  .....Personally,  I wouldn't mind the spill over.  

Good point though