Recommended Light?

[apixel]

Hey everyone, I’m a new member and have been slowly reading and currently have a saltwater tank that I want to make it a Mixed Reef Tank. I was hoping to get some advice on the lighting I should get for my tank. My birthday is this Saturday and I am being asking by my girlfriend which one I want and am overwhelmed with the amount of options.

My tank dimensions are 30” Width, 18” Length, and 25” height, so around 60 gallons. I’ve been eyeing the AI’s based on my research.

My current tank has a Fluval 305 Filter and a Reef Octopus Octo Classic BH-100 HOB filter.

Thank you for any and all your expertise. Excited to be apart of the group!


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[joeyprice]

This is hard to answer without knowing a budget.

Consider a T5 fixture with a Prime HD or XR 15 or LED strips/bars with it. People seem to like Noophyche lights and the K7s run about half the cost of AIs but I don't know whats involved with mounting these in a hybrid fixture and there were some availability issues a while back. You could run 2 K7s wo the T5 fixture for the price of a single Hydra32HD.

If you're set on AI you're kind of right in the middle. I think you'd be OK with 2x Prime HDs, but not sure they'd produce enough light for SPS. 2 x 32HD would be overkill, but will allow for some wiggle room down the road if your plans change.

Don't forget a skimmer.

 

[apixel]

This is hard to answer without knowing a budget.

Consider a T5 fixture with a Prime HD or XR 15 or LED strips/bars with it. People seem to like Noophyche lights and the K7s run about half the cost of AIs but I don't know whats involved with mounting these in a hybrid fixture and there were some availability issues a while back. You could run 2 K7s wo the T5 fixture for the price of a single Hydra32HD.

If you're set on AI you're kind of right in the middle. I think you'd be OK with 2x Prime HDs, but not sure they'd produce enough light for SPS. 2 x 32HD would be overkill, but will allow for some wiggle room down the road if your plans change.

Don't forget a skimmer.

I messed up earlier but my skimmer is the Octo HOB.

My tank also has a bar on the top down the middle where the glass lid would go. Is it better to go with two lights vs one since it could possibly create a deadzone down the middle?


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[sharis100]

A strip T5 or led should work fine even with a bar down the middle - just measure par and place corals appropriately. Or you can go 2 lights. Knowing the budget will make a huge difference in choices.