29 gallon lighting options

fermentedhiker

fermentedhiker

New member
in the middle of putting together my first reef tank(Had freshwater for three decades). I'm starting with a sumpless 29 because that's what I currently had room for. Looking for some lighting suggestions. I'm going with an LED fixture to keep the power usage down.

corals/nem I'm thinking of keeping

(the following from Cultivated Reef)
Utter chaos Paly
Forest glow Zoa
Sun Burst Paly
A variety of Florida Ricordia
Orange Yuma Ricordia
Superman Mushroom
Dendros or Sun coral(preferably Dendros)

(the following from DD/LA
Lavender Rhodactis
Red Rock Flower Anemone

I think that will also leave me a mounting spot high up for something needing a bit more light and flow to be a kind of centerpiece coral. Was thinking a frogspawn possibly but not sure if I just wanted to stick with something easier like a Toadstool leather.

Now to my question :) At the moment I'm considering three options

1)BML 30" 12000k XB for 234$(32 Watts)

2)BML 30" 12000K original 194$(32 Watts)

3)Finnex 30" Ray2 10000k/actinic 94$(20 Watts) and a Finnex Fugeray Planted + 30" 84$(20Watts)

The finnex arrangement would have the highest par and best coverage and be the cheaper option but...........will the combination of 7k white, 10K white, Actinic, Reds, and blues(from the moonlights but left on with the rest) be what the corals need to thrive?

Thanks for the help.
Adam
 
Thanks for the reply. I've looked at reefbreeders before. Those are way overkill for my application, but of course they are dimmable. My biggest problem and why I didn't really consider them for this build is the lack of a canopy to hide them and the hanging kit from view. I'm not a fan of lights openly suspended over tanks. The light spill into the room is unpleasant(at least in my opinion) So I was looking at fixtures that sit on the rim of the tank. I suppose I could fabricate something.....but that might/might not end up looking good.
 
jamesamantha said:
I have read good things about bml. But there will be light reflecting out the top without a canopy...
Click to expand...

Not much to speak of. I use finnex rails on all my freshwater tanks(which have a similar construction and placement to BML) and light spill is minimal even without a canopy. They sit so close to the surface that the spread is mostly contained within the tank.
 
I have a Maxspect Razor over my 29 and I think it looks terrific. My only caveat would be if you want to grow Acropora, in which case you should stick with strip lighting like BML or non LED.

I have been a long time buyer of BML fixtures and they are great, so you won't go wrong there. The tank top brackets are nice and work well to tilt the fixture. I run a 72" BML Custom 18K (similar to their 20K but with more warm white) on the front of my 150, angled back, to help add shimmer to the main T5 lighting.

I would forget the Finnex, the color is wrong and things won't look good.

My filthy 29 under the 160W ($500) Razor to give an idea how it looks.
W9JdOB.jpg


Running 50% blue, 30% white.

Maine? You live near Cultivated Reef? I have bought a number of corals from them, good place to shop!
 
I'm a big fan of the kessils. Had a 150w over a derimmed biocube and loved it. I currently am running two a350w over my 75 gallon with great results, although if it were an sps dominant tank I'd run three.
 
Thanks for the reply.......and the picture. That razor does have nice color. Ouch on the price tag though :).

Yes I'm not too far from Cultivated Reef(around an hour and a half ride). I've never actually been there but came across the site when researching for this build and noticed they were local and had a good reputation online. So I figured I throw as much of my business to someone local as I could.
 
F4talreeefer said:
I'm a big fan of the kessils. Had a 150w over a derimmed biocube and loved it. I currently am running two a350w over my 75 gallon with great results, although if it were an sps dominant tank I'd run three.
Click to expand...

Yeah I've looked at them and may use them for my next build(a 93gallon cube with a canopy) but with no real good way to hang a fixture and contain the light spill I couldn't see using them on this project.
 
I like and use the BML Led light fixtures. If you decide to go to SPS you can always add a second fixture. I attached a couple picture from my 125 with one 12K fixture set at 80%
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1398.jpg
    IMG_1398.jpg
    94.2 KB · Views: 3
  • IMG_1411.jpg
    IMG_1411.jpg
    90.9 KB · Views: 2
  • IMG_1432.jpg
    IMG_1432.jpg
    98 KB · Views: 2
Last edited:
I would go with a BML 20k if only one strip. It is more blue but still a daylight look and the added violet will help all of those zoa's pop. You may have to dim it a bit though.
 
BML 20k for sure. much better spectrum for a reef than the finnex lights. I'd go with the XB since it will give you a little more light to work with (even if you only have it dimmed down initially it will have more room to slowly turn it up over the years to maintain consistent PAR as the LEDs age.
 
Thanks for the replies. I ended up getting a BML fixture as they had a 10% off with free shipping sale this weekend.

I went with a 12K fixture, I seriously considered the 20K but was afraid of getting the windex look.
 
Fermentedhiker I messed up on my post, the pictures I posted where from a 14K not 12K BML LED. (Sorry) I also ordered a 12K XB with Manual Dimmer for my wife's 20 gallon high on Friday.
 
I wouldn't go with either. Light and water quality is what makes your tank thrive. So with that being said I would definitely go with a kessil with the size of your tank it would be perfect.
 
Thanks for the replies. I had missed them until this morning. I did like the Kessil and after I get my "feet wet" with this tank my next project is a 93 cube full sump system in the kitchen and it will either be a kessil(maybe with a bml purple wave or pure UV supplement) or a reefbreeders type. For this tank the BML just seemed to make sense.

So far I'm pleased with it. Construction is solid and quality seems high. The rim mounting feet are a little more flimsy than I would like as they all just sort of snap together, which means if you mess with them you can just unclip them if your aren't paying attention.

The quality of the actual light seems good. My only complaint is that I think they should not have optics on the red and green leds. Surface shimmer does cause a small amount of concentration from the idividual leds, so there are a couple of rainbow spots on the dead rock. It will be less noticeable when it's covered in coralline and coral. Removing the optics on those would give better blending overall I think.

My build thread is http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2454933
 
fermentedhiker said:
Thanks for the replies. I had missed them until this morning. I did like the Kessil and after I get my "feet wet" with this tank my next project is a 93 cube full sump system in the kitchen and it will either be a kessil(maybe with a bml purple wave or pure UV supplement) or a reefbreeders type. For this tank the BML just seemed to make sense.

So far I'm pleased with it. Construction is solid and quality seems high. The rim mounting feet are a little more flimsy than I would like as they all just sort of snap together, which means if you mess with them you can just unclip them if your aren't paying attention.

The quality of the actual light seems good. My only complaint is that I think they should not have optics on the red and green leds. Surface shimmer does cause a small amount of concentration from the idividual leds, so there are a couple of rainbow spots on the dead rock. It will be less noticeable when it's covered in coralline and coral. Removing the optics on those would give better blending overall I think.

My build thread is http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2454933
Click to expand...

If you can raise the light just an inch or so further from the water (or lower the water level) that will make a huge difference in reducing the color separation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Can't find 60"VHO Actinics anymore... LED recommendations
2
Replies
23
Views
2K
griss
griss
V
Need advice please!
Replies
2
Views
523
vetteguy03
V
C
Another new big tank build
Replies
18
Views
2K
wvned
wvned
BigEZ77
Urgent Help Requested - Wrasses Won't Come Out - CB Blue Tang Arriving Today (NO QT)
Replies
7
Views
301
BigEZ77
BigEZ77
M
$0.94 Actinics
Replies
4
Views
650
Reefing102
Reefing102
Back
Top