imitating $1,749 light fixture with only $180?

[jayjay5531]

someone told me that this is the best light fixture: http://www.coralvue.com/giesemann-aurora-hybrid-led-t5-fixture
but i can't spend $1,749 on lighting for a 36 gal nano tank

however, isn't it close to the same thing (for a lot less) if i buy 1 (or 2) of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YH0OO0G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2L94QV6P0R9ON and stick it between a pair of these: http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Aquarium-T-5-Fixture/I/Aqueon-Freshwater-T5-Dual-Fixtures.aspx
unlike the $1,749 fixture, it's not dimmable and there's no cooling fans, but how much of a problem would that be?

i'm not planning on getting corals for a longggg time since i'm still new to saltwater. just thinking ahead

 

[bundybear1981]

I'd personally look in to the reef breeders photon lights, they are a good quality budget fitting that will be suitable when you decide to jump in to corals. something like the photon v1 fittings. Starting at $320 for a 16" fitting, $330 for a 24".
These have a programmable controller with fans to keep the heat sinks cool, helping extend lifespan.

 

[MMacro]

I'd personally look in to the reef breeders photon lights, they are a good quality budget fitting that will be suitable when you decide to jump in to corals. something like the photon v1 fittings. Starting at $320 for a 16" fitting, $330 for a 24".
These have a programmable controller with fans to keep the heat sinks cool, helping extend lifespan.

+1
I have used reefbreeder lights in the past and they work great.

 

[Ron Reefman]

jayjay, what you have proposed would work fine for a tank with no coral. It probably would be OK even with coral.

But there are a lot of light fixtures between the extremely overpriced Coralvue and the cheap ebay & Aqueon fixtures.

I suspect lots of people here may give you recommendations and you should shop for them and see what you think. I'd never pay the kind of money Coralvue is asking for a light that won't grow coral any better than a $300 to $500 fixture.

You may not be planning on coral for a long time, and taking your time to learn is absolutely the right way to go. But a small upgrade to a better fixture is probably a good idea.

 

[Shawn O]

someone told me that this is the best light fixture: http://www.coralvue.com/giesemann-aurora-hybrid-led-t5-fixture
but i can't spend $1,749 on lighting for a 36 gal nano tank

I would imagine that coralvue would tell everybody that that fixture is the best. The best for THEM.

If you're lighting a nano, marsaqua has a programmable 165w fixture for about $1/watt. Worth looking into. Not the best but should work fine.

 

[ljosh]

It isn't close to the same thing but it certainly is a lot less

 

[jayjay5531]

thanks for the responses. in general, how does one know which fixtures are better than others? can't lighting just be reduced to color spectrum and wattage, or is there more to it than that?

 

[NS Mike D]

thanks for the responses. in general, how does one know which fixtures are better than others? can't lighting just be reduced to color spectrum and wattage, or is there more to it than that?

watts do not translate into amount of light in LEDs the way it does for traditional light fixtures. Watt is about how much energy they use - but unless you are certain of the efficiency, it's a useless number. This is changing as LEDs used for reef tanks are more widely high efficiency.

PAR is the important number and many manufacturers will provide a PAR mapping for the size tank for which they are designed. Par meters are expensive, so most hobbyist don't get one even though they are willing to spend thousands on corals. Some reef clubs have a PAR meter for members to share and BRS carries a $199 system that includes a PAR meter that tested nearly identical to the more common expensive PAR meters that can measure LEDS.


So long as spectrums are in the photosynthetic range, spectrum is more about eye preference. Lower spectrums will result in great growth but brown corals. So most hobbyist lean towards heavy use of actinic spectrums to bring out colors. The nice thing is that LED manufacturers will provide you the spectrum for their lights so there is no guessing in what you are getting.


Do a little more comparison shopping, a good number of companies publish their PAR mappings. Look up recommended PAR values for different types of corals (softies, LPS, SPS etc). There is debate on how much PAR you need, especially for SPS, but you'll get an good idea of how much PAR you may eventually need and the range of PAR if you decide to keep different types of corals.

I'd be hesitant to by an LED without a PAR mapping or testing it myself with a PAR meter so the I could adjust the strength to the desired levels.