I'd say either would be fine, just depends if you want control of the color or not.
display tank yes, frag tank - no. Mother colonies shall be in the display tank The frags will go in the 25 gallon tank I have, and I want them to grow as fast as possible for trading in for store credit at my lfs, selling locally / online. I'm tired of my tank looking all crowded with a frag rack, and plugs in the sand, etc... I'm running out of space in my 92 corner. A dedicated frag tank is def the next step. I'd go with a larger setup but i already have all the equipment for the 25 except for lights.
My only fear is bleaching corals with one of the 120 watt panels that can't be dimmed over 25 gallon a tank that's 16 inches high if these things are as powerful as everyone says they are, and the canopy i have right now will place the fixture about an inch above the waters surface so raising them higher is out of the question. I'm looking to frag mostly sps (birdsnest, montis, torts, and acros) so all intense light loving corals.
Also, now that I think of it, I'd have the same amount of LED watts over a 25 gallon tank as a 92 corner tank. Does that seem odd to anyone else besides me? :hmm3: And is there that big of a difference from bridgelux leds to cree leds that save 120 watts of bridgelux might not burn corals but 120 watts of cree might?
It makes me think either one 120 watt panel over a 25 gallon tank is overkill and will bleach everything. I mean look at tntneons tank, thats only 60 watts and it looks like quite a bit of led power to me and everything looks like its flourishing.
On the other hand, maybe 120 watts of dimmable cree leds on a 92 corner isn't enough and I should go with 3 units to keep a mixed reef of SPS, LPS, Clams, softies, etc, especially if I want to keep sps and clams in the bottom 1/3rd of the 92 corner. Any thoughts or comments before I pull the trigger and blow another paycheck on this hobby?
And thank you to everyone who has chimed in on this thread, its definitely very informative on a subject most people shun for apparently no good reason.