Anyone have any experience using a Fluval Aquasky LED light?

[King_Acidic]

I just recently picked up the tank for my first saltwater aquarium after having a few freshwater setups running quite well for the past several years. I picked up an Aqueon 29 gal glass tank (thanks to Petco's $1 per gallon sale) for cheap and figured it would be a decent size to get into saltwater setups. This tank is still in the planning stages which is why I'm asking before buying something I'll end up regretting or hating. I'm having a hard time justifying the $200-$300 for some of the other lights as I feel that money could be better spent on other things such as filtration and such. The light that I was considering is the 18w version that is app controlled. Any insight on this light is greatly appreciated. 

[ajmckay]

At 18" deep the 29 gallon is a little bit tougher to light.    Really at that depth you probably should looking at a light with optics IMO.  Good news is that there are some $100 or less that would probably work.  

 

It would probably be easier and less costly, depending on the types of coral you want to keep, to exchange the 29g for a 20 long or a 30 breeder.  You can get 36" led strip light that have more power and won't need optics on a 12" deep tank. 

 

That's my thought anyways. 

[King_Acidic]

8 hours ago, ajmckay said:

At 18" deep the 29 gallon is a little bit tougher to light.    Really at that depth you probably should looking at a light with optics IMO.  Good news is that there are some $100 or less that would probably work.  

 

It would probably be easier and less costly, depending on the types of coral you want to keep, to exchange the 29g for a 20 long or a 30 breeder.  You can get 36" led strip light that have more power and won't need optics on a 12" deep tank. 

 

That's my thought anyways. 

I don't really have any set plan for any specific types of corals at this point as I'm still learning and researching what I like. The only things that have really been set as tank inhabitants go is a couple of clownfish (leaning towards a Black Ice and a Lightning Maroon) and my gf has mentioned that she'd like for me to put a Pajama Cardinal in there as well. The reason behind the taller tank choice was to make it so that my 2 small children have an easier time viewing the tank rather than struggling to see or needing a step stool to see better. 

[ajmckay]

2 hours ago, King_Acidic said:

I don't really have any set plan for any specific types of corals at this point as I'm still learning and researching what I like. The only things that have really been set as tank inhabitants go is a couple of clownfish (leaning towards a Black Ice and a Lightning Maroon) and my gf has mentioned that she'd like for me to put a Pajama Cardinal in there as well. The reason behind the taller tank choice was to make it so that my 2 small children have an easier time viewing the tank rather than struggling to see or needing a step stool to see better. 

Obviously personal choice is the primary factor!  It's not a bad idea - though they still might have trouble seeing the bottom part of the tank with the sand. I actually started out with a 29g as well that I converted from freshwater.  Lighting was definitely the toughest part.  At the time fluorescent was about the only option so I ended up with a 24" T5 HO fixture which is quite a bit of light but I could still barely keep soft corals and some lower light LPS if I put them up a bit.  They didn't really grow much though.  So it was barely adequate. 

 

It seems like most LED pendant lights are designed for 24" spread.  So if you did a pendant light with optics you would either have some lower light areaas at the edges, or you could get two.  The nice thing is you could just get 1 and try it out first.   Check around and maybe look at what others have done with this size tank - and what lighting options are most commonly used on budget builds.  I think I personally would try the dual pendant route.  

 

As for priority of lighting, for equipment expense I would put lighting as the highest, with flow a close second.  Filtration in a SW tank is primarily accomplished by the rock.  If you want to add mechanical filtration though, a HOB (hang on back) powerfilter works just fine, or a lot of people will get skimmers as well.  For a example if I had $300 for my equipment budget I would spend $150 on lighting, $75 on a nice DC powerhead for flow, and $25-$50 on a filter.  The other $50-$75 is smaller stuff like nets and algae scraper and Hydrometer. Just an example. 

[King_Acidic]

8 hours ago, ajmckay said:

Obviously personal choice is the primary factor!  It's not a bad idea - though they still might have trouble seeing the bottom part of the tank with the sand. I actually started out with a 29g as well that I converted from freshwater.  Lighting was definitely the toughest part.  At the time fluorescent was about the only option so I ended up with a 24" T5 HO fixture which is quite a bit of light but I could still barely keep soft corals and some lower light LPS if I put them up a bit.  They didn't really grow much though.  So it was barely adequate. 

 

It seems like most LED pendant lights are designed for 24" spread.  So if you did a pendant light with optics you would either have some lower light areaas at the edges, or you could get two.  The nice thing is you could just get 1 and try it out first.   Check around and maybe look at what others have done with this size tank - and what lighting options are most commonly used on budget builds.  I think I personally would try the dual pendant route.  

 

As for priority of lighting, for equipment expense I would put lighting as the highest, with flow a close second.  Filtration in a SW tank is primarily accomplished by the rock.  If you want to add mechanical filtration though, a HOB (hang on back) powerfilter works just fine, or a lot of people will get skimmers as well.  For a example if I had $300 for my equipment budget I would spend $150 on lighting, $75 on a nice DC powerhead for flow, and $25-$50 on a filter.  The other $50-$75 is smaller stuff like nets and algae scraper and Hydrometer. Just an example. 

After going out for the day window shopping with the girlfriend, I've discovered that the Aquasky isn't recommended for corals at all. Its only for freshwater planted tanks or fish only SW which isn't what I want. I started a spreadsheet the other night to keep track of what I had been seeing that I wanted to get. I had planned to put a a Fluval Aquaclear 70 HOB on with just some filter floss in to help with some mechanical filtration once everything is in. I figured I'd start the system with it as well so that its included when the tank gets cycled. After what I saw today, I think I will be going with a dual pendant setup for lights. Now its just a matter of finding the right ones.

 

[ajmckay]

On 1/23/2021 at 7:01 PM, King_Acidic said:

After going out for the day window shopping with the girlfriend, I've discovered that the Aquasky isn't recommended for corals at all. Its only for freshwater planted tanks or fish only SW which isn't what I want. I started a spreadsheet the other night to keep track of what I had been seeing that I wanted to get. I had planned to put a a Fluval Aquaclear 70 HOB on with just some filter floss in to help with some mechanical filtration once everything is in. I figured I'd start the system with it as well so that its included when the tank gets cycled. After what I saw today, I think I will be going with a dual pendant setup for lights. Now its just a matter of finding the right ones.

 

I think a dual pendant will look nice and give you the most flexibility with coral selection.  Also there are a lot of options! 

[rexdinero]

I'm looking at the Aquasky now for a 3g long tank which would have it sit right on top of the tank.. on its own website Fluval says ideal for FISH ONLY saltwater tanks, but I wonder if it's because it was assumed people would have it higher and through more water or if the wavelengths or wavelength ratio is insufficient for coral growth.