8 gallon biocube lighting help please :)

[shwthomas1975]

Good morning. We just downgraded or 65 to a 8 gallon biocube. We had lost everything prior. Went through a little cycle and all is well now. Added 2 clowns and was looking to add some softies. We gutted the lid and added the following

 

4.6 out of 5 stars4,515Reviews

NICREW ClassicLED Gen 2 Aquarium Light, Dimmable LED Fish Tank Light with 2-Channel Control, White and Blue LEDs, High Output, Size 12 to 18 Inch, 11 Watts

but after reading I really don’t think that’s enough light. 
really would like to keep the hood Sp wondering if anyone has any suggestions on a smaller led fixture that would work?  The space inside is sound 14”.

 Would prefer to purchase a fixture instead of dyi

thanks in advance

[Jaren45]

Steves led's has been making upgrade led kits for those tanks for forever, but the smallest he makes is for the 14g. Not sure the differences between that one and yours, but maybe it's worth looking in to. You could even email him for some advice he's great with customer support

[shwthomas1975]

Thank you so much. I’ll go find his site

[Reefkid88]

 Stevesleds.com is where you need to look. I would suggest using their retro.

 

 But if that won't work for you,you can always DIY a light or if you are interested I can make something for you for a decent price. 

 

 

[shwthomas1975]

Aquarium Lights –2nd Generation A029 Aquarium LED Light 30Watts Saltwater Lighting with Touch Control, 3W/5W LED Chips for Coral Reef Nano Fish Tank Marine Tanks with Timer https://a.co/d/49WYw4O
 

not sure if that link worked but this is for a clip on light for 61 bucks. I’d have to remove the lid. 
I’ll message you in here to discuss a retrofit tho 🙂 

[ajmckay]

14 hours ago, shwthomas1975 said:

Aquarium Lights –2nd Generation A029 Aquarium LED Light 30Watts Saltwater Lighting with Touch Control, 3W/5W LED Chips for Coral Reef Nano Fish Tank Marine Tanks with Timer https://a.co/d/49WYw4O
 

not sure if that link worked but this is for a clip on light for 61 bucks. I’d have to remove the lid. 
I’ll message you in here to discuss a retrofit tho 🙂 

Not sure why but I'm usually underwhelmed by the light quality of this style of light.  Also the cool while/royal blue/blue setup is pretty old.  Maybe that's how they get around bad quality LEDs - the blues and cool white aren't too bad, it's the warmer white colors that look horrible.  the SMD lights seem fine - it's more the higher power chips. 

 

Honestly for that price it's worth a roll of the dice.  Reviews can't always be trusted but at least they have an actual picture and video of the product!  So many similar products only show photoshopped images which is ridiculous. The only issue is you would have to take off the lid. 

StevesLED will probably give you more pleasing results and you can keep the original look of the tank (if that's important to you).   DIY is my preferred way to do it - but time and effort are high.

 

The retro light from Reefkid is also an interesting option and supports the community instead of someone drop shipping Chinese goods on Am@zon. Since that's basically what it is now - an Aliexpress marketplace in the United States. But that's another topic lol - and I'm by no means boycotting them or anything. 

[JBM]

Why are you so against going top less?

 

Is it animal related? Child? Or just personal preference?

 

With the lid, your going to run into heat issues in summer. It also severely limits your lighting options. Steve's led is 100% the way to go with a lid. Without a lid. A par38, amazon light, Chinese black box, or even a AI hd.

[ajmckay]

On 11/29/2022 at 11:06 AM, JBM said:

Why are you so against going top less?

 

Is it animal related? Child? Or just personal preference?

 

With the lid, your going to run into heat issues in summer. It also severely limits your lighting options. Steve's led is 100% the way to go with a lid. Without a lid. A par38, amazon light, Chinese black box, or even a AI hd.

I myself prefer the look of a topless tank - that being said I think that sometimes the lid does add to the tank and keeps the evaporation light spill, and noise down.  Also it prevents fish from jumping out.  Of course it's easy enough to buy/make a screen top - as I think our tanks should generally be covered by something to prevent that.