Good inexpensive light for 34 G. Red Sea cube? No hood or hood?

[duganderson]

I'm looking for a good inexpensive light for 34 G. Red Sea cube without hood?  I'm wanting to do softies and lps and a couple SPS in the top middle.  

 

One thing I'm a bit worried about is how much spillage into the room you get in a large living room at night with room lights off.  Is a light without a hood annoying?  I'd love to see some of your photos of this?

 

Are there any inexpensive options that would work with the hood still on? 

[ryans.salty.crew]

17 minutes ago, duganderson said:

I'm looking for a good inexpensive light for 34 G. Red Sea cube without hood?  I'm wanting to do softies and lps and a couple SPS in the top middle.  

 

One thing I'm a bit worried about is how much spillage into the room you get in a large living room at night with room lights off.  Is a light without a hood annoying?  I'd love to see some of your photos of this?

 

Are there any inexpensive options that would work with the hood still on? 

Some lights do have after market parts that reduce spillage into the room. For example I have RedSea 50 light  (Priced around $250 brand new. idk if you consider that cheap) and I bought a $25 cover that provides WAY less light spill. You could also lower the height and light intensity to get you the correct par and provide minimum light spillage 

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1219742228/light-shade-for-red-sea-reefled-50?gpla=1&gao=1&

[mcarroll]

45 minutes ago, duganderson said:

I'm looking for a good inexpensive light for 34 G. Red Sea cube without hood?  I'm wanting to do softies and lps and a couple SPS in the top middle.  

 

One thing I'm a bit worried about is how much spillage into the room you get in a large living room at night with room lights off.  Is a light without a hood annoying?  I'd love to see some of your photos of this?

 

Are there any inexpensive options that would work with the hood still on? 

If you are price sensitive, then it might be ideal for you to decide on your budget for lights and work from there.  (There are SOOOOO many reef lighting options these days, you have to start paring down the options somehow....price is one way to begin.)

 

All reef lights will work for whatever corals you want....all just have to be sized right for the tank AND adjusted with a light meter (eg per or lux).  (Copying settings off the internet is another way, but that seems to take the learning out of the process and makes customizable lighting rather pointless IMO....YMMV).

 

Spillage is a factor of your light's form-factor (inluding lenses) and the mounting height you choose.   Correct me if I'm going off the wrong stats, but I think the 34g Red Sea you mentioned has a display area with a 24" x 17" suface area (and footprint).  Assuming you ultimately select a "typical" light that's built with approximately 90º lenses, you should probably mount the light about (17" ÷ 2 = ) 8.5" from the water surface.  Customize to your exact preference from there – in general a little lower is better.  The calculation is different for lights (eg Kessil) with different lens angles.   That will prevent spillage, but it also won't light the ends 100% evenly since the tank is slightly rectangular.  IMO the tank isn't *that* rectangular, so the effect won't be pronounced enough to notice.  If this worries you anyway, then maybe consider using strip LED lights as they will provide more even end-to-end coverage, somewhat at the expense of the nice shimmer effects you get from a spot-type light.  (Using a combo is possible, but maybe not worth it on a limited budget.)

 

Can you post a pic of the hood you're talking about or a Red Sea link to the specific system you're talking about?

[TheKleinReef]

1 hour ago, duganderson said:

I'm looking for a good inexpensive light for 34 G. Red Sea cube without hood?  I'm wanting to do softies and lps and a couple SPS in the top middle.  

 

One thing I'm a bit worried about is how much spillage into the room you get in a large living room at night with room lights off.  Is a light without a hood annoying?  I'd love to see some of your photos of this?

 

Are there any inexpensive options that would work with the hood still on? 

 

define inexpensive.... what's your budget?

 

no a lighted tank without a hood isn't annoying. I have about 10' from my tv and i don't even notice it.

[duganderson]

2 hours ago, TheKleinReef said:

no a lighted tank without a hood isn't annoying. I have about 10' from my tv and i don't even notice it.

 

I appreciate these responses. Thank you!

 

TheKleinReef  Any chance you'd send a photo of the room with lights OFF in the room BUT TANK LIGHTS ON!  

 

I'd love to see other tanks in rooms with room lights OFF and tank lights ON

 

Regarding budget.....curious if any of the Amazon lights like the Smatfarm 60 W. OR Necrew 50 (which are around $100) are good?  Im happy to pay up to $200 if spending ore increases the quality of the light.

 

Also, my Red Sea 130 is 23" wide  X 15.5. front to back X 19 tall

 

Thank you!  Feel free to message me directly with photos too!  Thank you

 

 

[spectra]

Well..........if your not wanting a blue room with the room lights off good luck........  my better half hated the blue light..... I am just used to it and does not bother me at all....

 

And as for inexpensive....... there is not such a thing in this hobby.......  even gsp is over priced in some areas........ 

[TheKleinReef]

3 hours ago, duganderson said:

 

I appreciate these responses. Thank you!

 

TheKleinReef  Any chance you'd send a photo of the room with lights OFF in the room BUT TANK LIGHTS ON!  

 

I'd love to see other tanks in rooms with room lights OFF and tank lights ON

 

Regarding budget.....curious if any of the Amazon lights like the Smatfarm 60 W. OR Necrew 50 (which are around $100) are good?  Im happy to pay up to $200 if spending ore increases the quality of the light.

 

Also, my Red Sea 130 is 23" wide  X 15.5. front to back X 19 tall

 

Thank you!  Feel free to message me directly with photos too!  Thank you

 

 

 

[mcarroll]

 

11 hours ago, duganderson said:

Also, my Red Sea 130 is 23" wide  X 15.5. front to back X 19 tall

So you're talking about the old Red Sea Max with the permanent canopy!!  Not too much different than the example I made earlier, but the ends of your tank will "stick out" in the shadowy zone slightly more vs a 17" thick tank.   Did that tank originally have PC's or T5's?

[duganderson]

KleinReef  Beautiful tank.  Thank you for the photo.

 

Yes, this is the Red Sea 130 or 130 D with permanent canopy.  I know a bunch of folks that have torn off the cover with success.  I don't know what it had originally but I bought it used with a custom LED insert in the hood.

 

--Doug

[TheKleinReef]

28 minutes ago, duganderson said:

KleinReef  Beautiful tank.  Thank you for the photo.

 

Yes, this is the Red Sea 130 or 130 D with permanent canopy.  I know a bunch of folks that have torn off the cover with success.  I don't know what it had originally but I bought it used with a custom LED insert in the hood.

 

--Doug

 

I would look for something quality, but used. You might be able to get a good deal on an AI prime or something similar.

[Naekuh]

Your going to have light spillage on everything quality light.  

But having your room glow blue, instead of red is less embarrasing, because your not growing the other stuff, unless you have a refrigium uncovered. 

 

But your problem will be Cheap with the words SPS.  

 

Also Cheap tends to look ugly. 

Like you can probably get away with a chinese black box like Philzon (amazon) type light, but its ugly, and will cause rainbow effect, but it will grow SPS at the top.  

 

They sell a Kessil knock off called the A7 II on Aliexpress that i hear a lot of good things about.

Its suposed to be near identical to the Kessil 360X, but takes some paitence using the web app, and needs to be done in chinese.  

But im hearing a lot of good and bad things about it on reef2reef. But the bad tends to be mostly in regards to the App, and not the actual light.  

 

There is also a ecotech XR30 knockoff on aliexpress as well, which i am hearing good stuff about called the A8 make sure its not the se, as the regular A8 uses the Cree Led's+ meanwell psu. 

But thats about 300+ dollars for a knock off, so people tend to say pay a bit more and go Reef Fi if your going to pay that much.  

Noopsyche N7 which goes around 250ish... i also hear a lot of good things about that.  

Its actually on sale for less:

https://noopsychereeflight.com/products/k7-pro-iii-full-set-aquarium-led-coral-light

 

But those are probably the only cheap reef lights id play around with.

I would love to try out the aliexpress ones, but im not very patient in playing around with app's especially when my ecotech app already gives me a headache. 

 

Your safest bet is probably the noobpsyche. 

Your cheapest gamble is probably the A7 II from aliexpress.  

 

I would only buy a used light if the seller can prove its less then 1-2 yrs old.  

I would not touch a light older then 2 yrs unless it was mine to begin with, as LED's do degrade and things do not last when they are hung over a salt water enviorment for prolong periods of time.  

[mcarroll]

17 hours ago, duganderson said:

Yes, this is the Red Sea 130 or 130 D with permanent canopy.  I know a bunch of folks that have torn off the cover with success.  I don't know what it had originally but I bought it used with a custom LED insert in the hood.

Going backward into the story for the use-case....so, let me get the details straight: the tank HAS a hood with an LED upgrade....you are removing the hood to make it into an open top tank, and need a new lighting solution.  (Right?)

 

Seems like you're going to put some work and experimentation into it...are you sure you don't want to use the 130D as-is OR start with a tank that was built as an open-top?  Have you thought about how you'll mount another light to it?  That might eliminate some options and help you decide on a light.  

 

Some more thoughts...

 

If the "open top" concept is one of the main objectives, then a spot light would be better than LED strips since spots allow greater access to the top for viewing and maintenance.  (LED strips are usually easier to live with and sometimes cheaper, FWIW.).

 

For the open top concept, the smaller the lighting fixture the better since smaller means it blocks less of the water surface.  (ie Kessil 160's are VERY narrow....a pair would fit well)    

 

But also, the stronger the lenses (90º is typical but not universal), the higher up from the water the lights can be mounted.

 

The Kessil A160 may be a good compromise...even though it has a WIDE lens angle (140º) that necessitates low-mounting (around 3"), but is has an extremely NARROW housing, so it really doesn't block much when it's in position.  You'll want two instead of one though, almost for sure.

On the other hand, other lights have narrower lens angles – Kessil offers 35º and 55º reflectors for their larger pendants, for example.

With the 35º reflectors (doing a little triangle math) you could get your lights up to 24" off the surface while still keeping 100% of the light inside the tank.  Doesn't matter (too much) what shape the fixture is at this point, it won't be blocking anything.

 

Something like a Prime HD (90º lenses) will get mounted around 7" from the water and it has a somewhat large housing "footprint" (common to lots of other lights too).  It blocks a little more view and access since it's bigger, and since it's relatively closer to the tank than something with stronger lenses would be.

 

(I guess the 130D is just old...but I'm surprised I can't find more details online about the 130D's internal dimensions...it was/is a highly popular tank.  Hopefully our numbers are right.  🙂 )

 

If you have a LFS, there's something to be said for using whatever they stock.  (They are familiar with it and may carry parts for it if you ever have issues, for example.)  Is that possible?

[duganderson]

3 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Going backward into the story for the use-case....so, let me get the details straight: the tank HAS a hood with an LED upgrade....you are removing the hood to make it into an open top tank, and need a new lighting solution.  (Right?)

 

 Yes, the tank currently has a hood but custom LED light is not strong enough and it's very old.  The 130 looks great with the cover off AND I like the dimensions and curved front corners.

[TheKleinReef]

13 hours ago, Naekuh said:

Your going to have light spillage on everything quality light.  

 

I think maybe a lower mounted light bar/s would reduce spillage quite a bit, like 2 AI blades with the rim mounts. Unfortunately that's probably way out of budget.

[Naekuh]

8 hours ago, TheKleinReef said:

 

I think maybe a lower mounted light bar/s would reduce spillage quite a bit, like 2 AI blades with the rim mounts. Unfortunately that's probably way out of budget.

I think he's talking about spillage and not bleeding. 

 

Like light fixture bleeding, would be seeing the LED's leak out from the bottom when your viewing it, possibly blinding you.

Spillage is the act of dying your room blue because every last rock and sand and object inside the tank is reflecting the light out of the tank.  

 

Bleeding is doable, with hoods, and covers.

Spillage, not so much, other then using weak lights so the refraction of light inside the tank is low.  

 

Eitherway, his room will be dyed blue, and people will be able to see it a couple houses down.  lol.  

 

Also the noobpsyche n7 is a better light then the kessil A160 and Prime16.  IMO...  

 

I would do a bit more research into it before you decide to forgo it, and its about in the same price range as the two.  

[TheKleinReef]

14 hours ago, Naekuh said:

I think he's talking about spillage and not bleeding. 

 

Like light fixture bleeding, would be seeing the LED's leak out from the bottom when your viewing it, possibly blinding you.

Spillage is the act of dying your room blue because every last rock and sand and object inside the tank is reflecting the light out of the tank.  

 

Bleeding is doable, with hoods, and covers.

Spillage, not so much, other then using weak lights so the refraction of light inside the tank is low.  

 

Eitherway, his room will be dyed blue, and people will be able to see it a couple houses down.  lol.  

 

Also the noobpsyche n7 is a better light then the kessil A160 and Prime16.  IMO...  

 

I would do a bit more research into it before you decide to forgo it, and its about in the same price range as the two.  

yeah, I get what you mean, but I think lowering the light closer to the water surface would make it less irritating. 

[duganderson]

17 hours ago, Naekuh said:

Like light fixture bleeding, would be seeing the LED's leak out from the bottom when your viewing it, possibly blinding you.

Spillage is the act of dying your room blue because every last rock and sand and object inside the tank is reflecting the light out of the tank.  

 

Bleeding is doable, with hoods, and covers.

Spillage, not so much, other then using weak lights so the refraction of light inside the tank is low.  

 

 

This is super helpful clarification.  Thank you!

 

 I VERY much appreciate this site and the knowledge and willingness of the members to help others.

[mcarroll]

FYI, there will be a SMALL fraction of light that will be reflected back off the water surface (into the room), but that effect is usually insignificant.  Most of it is reflected straight back up into the light fixture...but not all of it.   Even that small amount of light will still be 100% brighter than a tank with a full hood like the 130D, though. 😉  (ie There's a reason folks go for full-hood tanks!  ...and why I asked "are you sure" earlier)  So it depends on how (hyper)sensitive you think you will be to a SMALL amount of light.

 

Also, as I think I mentioned earlier, you should have the system timers set so the lights don't interfere with "real life" AND so they maximize your potential tank viewing hours.  (ie Don't have the tank lights OFF while you're at work and ON while you're trying too sleep/watch movies in the room.  Customize when "daytime" happens!)