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Help with lighting

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Reefboy4life View Drop Down
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    Posted: May 30 2014 at 1:10pm
I am setting up a little 8 gallon aqueon evolve and i was wondering if this light would work for soft coral?

Edited by Reefboy4life - May 31 2014 at 12:37am
90 gallon mixed reef
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Mark Peterson View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 30 2014 at 2:15pm
Notice how it is described as being for Cichlids or a fish only tank. I don't think it would work, unless the tank was placed close to a window where it got some bright indirect sunlight.
If the tank got direct sunlight, best in the morning, any coral could be grown. Smile
If looking to save money, a Home Depot $15 Special (what's that?) grows all coral in a small tank.
Aloha Hug
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 30 2014 at 2:59pm
Well, it's got a few problems. They are:
12 1 Watt LEDs, one Watt LEDs are way out of date. Better to have four 3 Watt, simplifies things a lot.
The color is reversed, there are 8 white at 10,0000K (most people prefer 4,500-5,000K and it has all the red in it that you need), and 4 "Actinic" whatever those are. They could be blue, Royal blue or into the violet range. Pretty standard is 2 Royal Blue LEDs to 1 neutral white LED, with a bit of violet mixed in.

Can you get a fixture for less money? I doubt it. Can you get a fixture for a bit more that meets your needs and those of your tank? Yes, they are out there and common anymore.

Just understand that I've seen a LOT of value LED fixtures around. A year or 18 months later they are not working and parts are hard (or impossible) to find. Spend a bit more, get a better VALUE overall. You'll be happier and so will the tank.

Fat
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Reefboy4life Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 30 2014 at 5:22pm
What about this light?, also whats the $15 special at home depot?



Edited by Reefboy4life - May 31 2014 at 12:35am
90 gallon mixed reef
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 30 2014 at 6:54pm
You're getting closer. Those blues are on the blue fring if royal blue. If you like it get it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 31 2014 at 8:49am
You are asking excellent questions.
We call it the HD Special because it's the cheapest light that can be bought and still grow coral and algae. It's a Daylight twist PC bulb in a clip-on cone reflector(see pic at the end). I mentioned it only because it's good to know about. To some people, the reflectors don't look good for a visible display but many of us use this light for our Refugiums. Several hobbyists I know do use those for their display, also adding those Blue twist PC bulbs to add more blue light. Coral must have blue because that is the only color that reaches them. I've posted a Jacques Cousteau picture series before. I will post it again here.

Sunlight above the narrow blue range of the spectrum is stopped by the water at depths below 15 feet. Blue light shines very deep. At 15-60 feet is where most photosynthetic coral grows in nature. When a tank is placed near a window, the indirect sunlight still has much of the blue spectrum which greatly benefits coral and all organisms in the tank.









I have sunburned and even killed coral by all day exposure to direct sunlight in 1 foot deep tanks.

Aloha Hug




Edited by Mark Peterson - May 31 2014 at 9:07am
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