Cover for a Fluval Flex 13.5 Saltwater aquarium
- Thread starter Courtmich
- Start date
Hi!
Kraken Reef (~$100) and ClearView ($80) both make lids for your tank that aren't shocking... unlike Top Lids' offering for $175.
We do have some folks around here who can or have made lids, but I will let them out themselves if they've time and inclination
Kraken Reef (~$100) and ClearView ($80) both make lids for your tank that aren't shocking... unlike Top Lids' offering for $175.
We do have some folks around here who can or have made lids, but I will let them out themselves if they've time and inclination
That... depends on your budget, really, and what/how much you expect from it, like wifi or bluetooth options, how much control you want over sunrise and sunset options, etc., as well as whether you're looking to replace your lights, or just supplement them.
Depending on how old your current lights are, they may need complete replacement: when running at 100% for 8 hours a day, LEDs are really only good for a few years before their spectrum starts to shift, and even premium ones can start to show degradation after 3 - 5 years. They don’t just dim over time - phosphor degradation leads to spectrum drift, which can cause unwanted algae growth or impact coral coloration. Heat management plays a role too, since higher temperatures speed up wear on both the diodes and the power drivers. Even though manufacturers claim long lifespans, real-world conditions in a reef tank tend to shorten that considerably. Generally speaking, don't buy used LED's that are more than 2 years old unless you've got the skill and inclination to replace the diodes yourself.
As a supporting member of ARC, you're able to "rent" a PAR meter from the club, which might be worth doing both before and after buying a new light to understand your levels, and what you need. A lot depends on what you want to keep in your tank, and where. Keep in mind, you can scorch your existing corals, etc., by adding too much light, especially too fast. Heck, I just managed to nuke a green water culture with a 60w light too close to it: in that little tank, you don't really need a lot, but the less power you drive through it, the longer it will last.
With high-end, name-brand stuff, you can expect to pay about $4 - $7 per watt. You can spend less, for sure, but the quality of what you get may be variable. Get more total wattage than you need, if you can, that way you can dial it down.
For my planned refugium of about the same size as your 13.5, I picked up the Noo-Psyche K7 mini for ~$84 on sale from Aquarium Specialty - though it seems to be back up to full price there for $139 now. I figure 20 watts or so is probably about enough for a ~14 gallon tank, so as this is a 60w light, I'll start it off at about 30% on each of its 3 channels and see how it does. The app isn't the absolute worst, but it's not the best, either, and there's not as much granularity in setting times for lighting levels as I'd like.
Still, that's for my "display refugium", and not my main display tank itself. If you've the budget, you might want to look into a Kessil A360 Tuna Blue, as it seems to be the light to have, with a solid app that isn't janky, amazing color rendition, and a wealth of options. It is, however, regularly $449. There are plenty of options in between. If your current lights are still okay and you just want a supplemental boost, you can look into a light bar like the Orphek OR4 iCon, which would give you another 30w of whatever color range you feel like you're missing, or something similar.
Depending on how old your current lights are, they may need complete replacement: when running at 100% for 8 hours a day, LEDs are really only good for a few years before their spectrum starts to shift, and even premium ones can start to show degradation after 3 - 5 years. They don’t just dim over time - phosphor degradation leads to spectrum drift, which can cause unwanted algae growth or impact coral coloration. Heat management plays a role too, since higher temperatures speed up wear on both the diodes and the power drivers. Even though manufacturers claim long lifespans, real-world conditions in a reef tank tend to shorten that considerably. Generally speaking, don't buy used LED's that are more than 2 years old unless you've got the skill and inclination to replace the diodes yourself.
As a supporting member of ARC, you're able to "rent" a PAR meter from the club, which might be worth doing both before and after buying a new light to understand your levels, and what you need. A lot depends on what you want to keep in your tank, and where. Keep in mind, you can scorch your existing corals, etc., by adding too much light, especially too fast. Heck, I just managed to nuke a green water culture with a 60w light too close to it: in that little tank, you don't really need a lot, but the less power you drive through it, the longer it will last.
With high-end, name-brand stuff, you can expect to pay about $4 - $7 per watt. You can spend less, for sure, but the quality of what you get may be variable. Get more total wattage than you need, if you can, that way you can dial it down.
For my planned refugium of about the same size as your 13.5, I picked up the Noo-Psyche K7 mini for ~$84 on sale from Aquarium Specialty - though it seems to be back up to full price there for $139 now. I figure 20 watts or so is probably about enough for a ~14 gallon tank, so as this is a 60w light, I'll start it off at about 30% on each of its 3 channels and see how it does. The app isn't the absolute worst, but it's not the best, either, and there's not as much granularity in setting times for lighting levels as I'd like.
Still, that's for my "display refugium", and not my main display tank itself. If you've the budget, you might want to look into a Kessil A360 Tuna Blue, as it seems to be the light to have, with a solid app that isn't janky, amazing color rendition, and a wealth of options. It is, however, regularly $449. There are plenty of options in between. If your current lights are still okay and you just want a supplemental boost, you can look into a light bar like the Orphek OR4 iCon, which would give you another 30w of whatever color range you feel like you're missing, or something similar.
I purchase the tank from someone and I believe they had it for a short period time one or two years . I was looking for a light now more then $150. The Nooo-Psyche is in my price range.I would like a light that can controlled by an app. I checked out the Kessil before posting and said WOW that is to much for my first tank.
I like the light fine so far.
The app... works, but it can be a titch janky getting it into AP mode and having it show up on the list of wireless devices. And since it's WiFi and not bluetooth, that means either you need a 2.4GHz wifi network available, or you have to use the light's built in AP (Access Point). Many/most home wifi networks are 5GHz these days, and it can be a royal pain to reconfigure or add a new network that runs only 2.4GHz, depending on your wireless network hardware: mine runs dual band, 2.4 & 5GHz, but my phone refuses to downgrade to the 2.4GHz mode, and so the light won't connect that way unless I use a wireless hotspot on my laptop or something, which is a pain, and I'm not reconfiguring my main network to downgrade to 2.4GHz every time I want to tinker with the light.
SO, instead, I use the AP mode on the light, BUT, that means I have to disconnect my phone from the regular wifi, and connect it over to the light. Not a HUGE deal, particularly once I finally got it connecting that way, but it also means I have to remember to reconnect my phone to the standard wifi, or else it has no internet access until I do.
The timer... well, it's better than a lot of LED's on the market that give you like, 3 options for 6, 8, and 12 hour cycles and all of 4 or 5 lighting levels... but it's nowhere near as good as the setup for my CurrentUSA lights, much less, say, Kessil's app. Basically, it give you 24 discrete slots, one for each hour: within that hour, you can pick any minute, and choose a power level for each of the three lighting channels (white, blue, UV). But that means you can't do as detailed or smooth a transition between levels as I might like.
Still, for the price, it's hard to argue with too much... at least, at the $83 price I paid. If you shop around, you might still be able to find it on sale somewhere.
But for the full price? You might want to look into the DsunY Popbloom lights, which according to the reviews I saw on Reef2Reef, looks to be a pretty decent light for the money, though I have no direct experience with it or its app.
Still, for the extra $20 or so more, you'd get another 35 available watts over the Noo-Psyche K7 mini at 60, so might be a good buy, you could run it at something like 20% power and it should last positively ages, assuming the drivers in it are half decent.
For about the same price or a little less, depending on sales, you could get a 165w ViparSpectra light. I know nothing about the app or lighting/timing controls, but it IS 165 watts... which, admittedly is gross overkill for your little tank, but figured I should throw the option out there. It is though what I'm considering using as an upgrade/supplement to my existing 54w lights on my 50 gallon.
I actually used a piece of glass with rubber feet and then some expanded pvc foam board to cover the gaps
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