What light for a 60x35x35cm tank?

[Tanksy]

Hi all,

 

I'd like your advise on buying a decent light for my 60x35x35cm (24x14x14 inch) tank.

I'm going to keep a mixed reef of beginner friendly corals, but I'd like the light to be good enough for more demanding corals, if/when I decide to add some in the future.

Which light would you recommend?

 

Cheers!

[seabass]

Where are you located?  What's your budget?

 

Maybe something like this NICREW 150W: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HVJJLX3

[Tanksy]

2 hours ago, seabass said:

Where are you located?  What's your budget?

 

Maybe something like this NICREW 150W: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HVJJLX3

Hi,

 

I'm in the UK. I have a budget of around $250.

 

Cheers!

[seabass]

Here's that same light for £175.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08CXJ7KDJ

[Tanksy]

2 hours ago, seabass said:

Here's that same light for £175.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08CXJ7KDJ

That's an option!

You reckon an AI Prime 16HD could fit the bill? 

[seabass]

5 minutes ago, RookieRock said:

You reckon an AI Prime 16HD could fit the bill? 

For "more demanding corals", I'd probably get two (which are 55 watts each).

[Tanksy]

3 hours ago, seabass said:

For "more demanding corals", I'd probably get two (which are 55 watts each).

110W is too much consumption for a nano tank. 
What about the Maxspect Jump? It has decent PAR and the price is reasonable.

[seabass]

10 minutes ago, RookieRock said:

110W is too much consumption for a nano tank. 

Do you mean power consumption?  That's the maximum amount of power consumed; it will draw less power at lower intensities.  How much power are you limiting yourself to?

 

 

11 minutes ago, RookieRock said:

What about the Maxspect Jump?

65W each.

 

A lower powered light will provide less PAR.  You mentioned that you'd, "like the light to be good enough for more demanding corals, if/when I decide to add some in the future."  I'm a little unsure what you are looking for.

[Tanksy]

11 hours ago, seabass said:

Do you mean power consumption?  That's the maximum amount of power consumed; it will draw less power at lower intensities.  How much power are you limiting yourself to?

 

 

65W each.

 

A lower powered light will provide less PAR.  You mentioned that you'd, "like the light to be good enough for more demanding corals, if/when I decide to add some in the future."  I'm a little unsure what you are looking for.

I'm still learning, so please bear with me. I did some research, checking out the most popular LEDs out there.

AI Prime 16HD, Maxspect Jump, Reefbreeders Photon V2, Reef Flare Pro and Radion XR15.

I reckon that a Radion XR15 G5 Blue ticks all the boxes. Spread, PAR, controllability and has an almost natural shimmer. It is quite pricey though.
So, I've decided to save a bit more money for the next couple of months and pull the trigger.

[seabass]

3 hours ago, RookieRock said:

I reckon that a Radion XR15 G5 Blue ticks all the boxes. Spread, PAR, controllability and has an almost natural shimmer. It is quite pricey though.
So, I've decided to save a bit more money for the next couple of months and pull the trigger.

That's unquestionably a nice fixture.  You'd get good spread across 18" x 18".  That's similar to the Prime 16HD.  But your tank isn't very deep, so I wouldn't think you'd need a 100W fixture.

 

Personally, I'd get a Prime 16HD, or two if you want good (more even) coverage over the full 24 inches of your tank.  However, one is probably enough; you'd just need to put your more light demanding corals right below the fixture, and less demanding ones towards the sides (it'll spotlight the center a bit).

 

If you're on a budget you could get two 50W NICREW fixtures, or one of their 150W fixtures.  If you really want to conserve money, you could get their 100W fixture, which is probably a pretty good  fit; or even one of the 50W fixtures, and add another (or upgrade) down the road.

[Tanksy]

2 hours ago, seabass said:

That's unquestionably a nice fixture.  You'd get good spread across 18" x 18".  That's similar to the Prime 16HD.  But your tank isn't very deep, so I wouldn't think you'd need a 100W fixture.

 

Personally, I'd get a Prime 16HD, or two if you want good (more even) coverage over the full 24 inches of your tank.  However, one is probably enough; you'd just need to put your more light demanding corals right below the fixture, and less demanding ones towards the sides (it'll spotlight the center a bit).

 

If you're on a budget you could get two 50W NICREW fixtures, or one of their 150W fixtures.  If you really want to conserve money, you could get their 100W fixture, which is probably a pretty good  fit; or even one of the 50W fixtures, and add another (or upgrade) down the road.

You devil!😄

Whilst adding 2x AI Prime 16HD sounds tempting. The shimmer isn't as good as the Radion. You have to admit it.

AI Prime 16HD (go to 23':29'')

Radion XR15 G5 (go to 47':00'')