LED Lighting for Reef

[Muchcunfooz]

So I have a friend who's starting a reef tank, and she went to a lfs to ask for guidance on led lights for the tank. She had the idea to use 3 Top Fin LED Bubble Walls on each side of the tank to light it up, and the guy told her it was definitely a good option and continued to say it was enough to sustain up to SPS corals. I don't know if there some crazy hidden power in those bubble walls but that just sounds absolutely insane to me. Can anyone verify this??

Here's the exact item he recommended for reference: https://www.petsmart.com/fish/filte...n-led-light-aquarium-bubble-wall-5174807.html

 

[PitViper]

Im new to the hobby as well. But. Those are really for decoration purposes.


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[thegrun]

I don't see them being practical at all for a saltwater tank. First the use of an air stone is going to create a lot of salt creep, a major maintenance issue. Secondly the lights are not nearly strong enough for coral growth. I would advise your friend to seek advice from another source.

 

[mcgyvr]

Yep.. lights not nearly strong enough.. very poor advice from LFS...

 

[billdogg]

That is such horrible advice that my first instinct was to LOL (really). Even the worst of the "chinese black box" LED's would be a MUCH better choice than those.

If you can give us a budget we can give you better suggestions.

And RUN AWAY FROM THAT LFS!!!! They either don't know anything at all about marine systems or just don't care.

 

[mcgyvr]

Any chance your friend is really pretty?
I'm going to assume verbal vomit from employee based on hot chick...

 

[Muchcunfooz]

That is such horrible advice that my first instinct was to LOL (really). Even the worst of the "chinese black box" LED's would be a MUCH better choice than those.

If you can give us a budget we can give you better suggestions.

And RUN AWAY FROM THAT LFS!!!! They either don't know anything at all about marine systems or just don't care.

I laughed too but I didn't want to completely shut her down without knowing for sure. Thanks everyone for your input!

 

[marinelife]

These are meant to be placed on the bottom of the aquarium. No way would they work for SPS corals.
The cheapest LEDs that will work would be $89 or so each.

 

[Fraq]

SPS lights are far more expensive and in reality a new person to the hobby should first start off with LPS as SPS corals are very sensitive and require more work.