Lighting Upgrade Recommendation

[TaZ976]

I have a 50g FOWLR tank but I want to start keeping some newbie corals.

The light fixture I currently have is a JBJ 65w 10K and blue.

First I want to know if this lighting will be sufficient to successfully keep basic corals healthy.

If not, I'd like some recommendations on an upgrade. I would like an LED fixture but my budget is around $200.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[TaZ976]

Bump.

 

[Its.Evannn]

Well first off tell us about how deep the tank is? What corals? Where would you want them to be placed?

 

[TaZ976]

I would place the corals on rocks as high as I could. The tank's depth is like 18" I believe.

I don't know much about the various corals but I hope to be able to keep things like beginner polyps, zoas, and mushrooms.

 

[TaZ976]

Can anyone tell me if the 36" version of this light will be enough lighting for my tank?

http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticL...xtures-AquaticLife-AK01284-FILTFILDTF-vi.html

 

[NJAB]

Technically yes if you plan on keeping low light requiring corals ex: mushrooms, zoa's probably even some medium light corals near the top, but i think this one according to there light distribution guide looks like a 10000K-12000k light however due to the depth of you tank about 30% of this light will not reach the bottom due to it having higher reds, orange and yellow values you could also consider getting a LED style flood light in a specific spectrum like a 30W 12000K I've seen some on bidding sites for around $60 bluer spectrum's allow there light to reach the bottom of the tank compared to yellowish light which is dispersed near the top try reading this article before purchasing a light http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/aquarium_lighting.html
it explains a lot as to what lights to choose and the LED part is really good as well. IMO for the money i would go with something else.

 

[shesacharmer]

Here is one you can explore. I am waiting for it to arrive as a supplement to my Ecoxotic Panorama fixtures.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AS4ANUK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[TaZ976]

The problem with that one is that you have to switch it manually from white to blue.

 

[Matthias7]

Have you looked into the reefbreeders. I have 2 over a 75 gallon and they work great.

 

[TaZ976]

Yeah but they're rather expensive. They have a "Value LED Fixture" for $199 but it's only 16" long. My tank is 36" long with a canopy so I would need 2 of those fixtures to get enough light everywhere.

 

[Owensue]

Check out ledzeal. There is a thread with many user reviews here... http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23104088#post23104088

I bought mine about 4 months ago, the next generation will have an app for control.
Well built, highly customizable.

 

[shesacharmer]

The problem with that one is that you have to switch it manually from white to blue.

Since I have my other lights on a controller to auto dim and this is a supplement light I plan to hook it to a timer for less time than the other lights. I will just turn it to white and blue at the same time and have it turn on after and off before the other lights.