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LED fixture for a 20 gallon rimless....

I'm about to get my new tank by tomorrow but I still need a light to go with it. I've decide to go LED route 'cause of the size, simplicity and longevity. Just wanted to see what others opinions about it and any recommendation would help. I would like to have the luxury of keeping any kind of corals, especially SPS :) . Oh yeah, a budget price would be nice....for the Miss.
 
Dimension 17"X17"X16" ?

AI Nano?

Or this guy I guess you could do 90W and keep it real low , contact Robert for pricing & or store credit :) The problem of this one is you can not alter the color temp like the AI, you gonna make sure you like the color temp.
 
^^^correct dims Ryan.

The nano looks good but a little bit more and you can get the new Sol Blue with 3 different color lenses.

I was checking that fixture too, and for the price, you can't beat it. To not have the controller is kinda a downer and you can't inter change the bulbs on the fly. Might just bite the bullet and go with the AI Sol Blue. I just need to sell more excess equipment from my old set up and it should help cover the expenses :) .

I'm also thinking of how to hang the light that would not stick out like a sore thumb. A low profile look would be nice. No drilling on the back of the stand so hanging it maybe the only option, or letting it sit on top of the tank would be alright but defeats the purpose of having a rimless tank.
 
Hi MItch, just want to keep the stand free of holes plus need it to look aesthetically matching with the whole set up. I won't rule it out tho ;)
 
The Nanocustoms hybrid that Jake Adams brought with him to the talk last year looks like a pretty good/sleek option. You would still have to find a way to hang it, and I believe that the T5HO bulbs that it uses are a little unique and don't come in the same range of colors as more standard 24/39W bulbs.

Another option is to use the standard PAR38 LED lights and run a track lighting setup on the wall or ceiling. Narrower lenses could help focus the light and you should be able to get enough coverage with 2 or 3 bulbs for your tank. With these standard bulbs that have the standard light sockets, you have more options in terms of fixtures.
 
The nanocustoms looks good but I really want to just use all LED this time around.

The Par38's are nice and easy to hang or find a bracket for it. I might need 3-4 to really light the entire tank tho. I've seen someone did the track lighting set up and it looked pretty cool. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
GreshamH said:
A 20g tank you could get away with only two PAR38


= Depends on what you want to keep. I would say at least 3...and maybe even 4 if you want to do a lot of SPS throughout the tank... Intensity/PAR/usable light dissipates very quickly with these bulbs. A little disappointing IME/IMO.

Sorry - (was thinking 20L, but for a 20g with 17x17x16 - I'd undoubtedly say 3 if you want SPS)
 
iCon said:
GreshamH said:
A 20g tank you could get away with only two PAR38


= Depends on what you want to keep. I would say at least 3...and maybe even 4 if you want to do a lot of SPS throughout the tank... Intensity/PAR/usable light dissipates very quickly with these bulbs. A little disappointing IME/IMO.

Sorry - (was thinking 20L, but for a 20g with 17x17x16 - I'd undoubtedly say 3 if you want SPS)

You'll notice there was zero mention of what the coral limits would be with that lighting ;)

I have seen a 20g lit by (2) Nanocustoms PAR38 bulbs that kicks ass in the LPS growth dept. but there are no SPS in the tank. FWIW tank is over a year old now.
 
eldiablosrt8 said:
imo 3 par 38 bulbs arent as clean as a AI super sol fixture

Might want to clarify that statement..

What is not clean? The over all look once installed OVER the tank? The look of the LED's in the tank?

A single SOL fixture won't give you the coverage you need from the units I have seen in the wild. They pretty much aim straight down with little bleed outside of that area.
 
:lol:

That is what I figured and I agree... the mounting depth of a PAR38 is rather large and obtrusive. I have seen some people do some slick installs with them though :D
 
GreshamH said:
iCon said:
GreshamH said:
A 20g tank you could get away with only two PAR38


= Depends on what you want to keep. I would say at least 3...and maybe even 4 if you want to do a lot of SPS throughout the tank... Intensity/PAR/usable light dissipates very quickly with these bulbs. A little disappointing IME/IMO.

Sorry - (was thinking 20L, but for a 20g with 17x17x16 - I'd undoubtedly say 3 if you want SPS)

You'll notice there was zero mention of what the coral limits would be with that lighting ;)

I have seen a 20g lit by (2) Nanocustoms PAR38 bulbs that kicks ass in the LPS growth dept. but there are no SPS in the tank. FWIW tank is over a year old now.


Not to be rude, Gresh ;)
But from the OP:

"I would like to have the luxury of keeping any kind of corals, especially SPS Smile . Oh yeah, a budget price would be nice....for the Miss."

Yes, I agree that 2 would work well for an LPS/Softy tank :)
 
iCon said:
GreshamH said:
iCon said:
GreshamH said:
A 20g tank you could get away with only two PAR38


= Depends on what you want to keep. I would say at least 3...and maybe even 4 if you want to do a lot of SPS throughout the tank... Intensity/PAR/usable light dissipates very quickly with these bulbs. A little disappointing IME/IMO.

Sorry - (was thinking 20L, but for a 20g with 17x17x16 - I'd undoubtedly say 3 if you want SPS)

You'll notice there was zero mention of what the coral limits would be with that lighting ;)

I have seen a 20g lit by (2) Nanocustoms PAR38 bulbs that kicks ass in the LPS growth dept. but there are no SPS in the tank. FWIW tank is over a year old now.


Not to be rude, Gresh ;)
But from the OP:

"I would like to have the luxury of keeping any kind of corals, especially SPS Smile . Oh yeah, a budget price would be nice....for the Miss."

Yes, I agree that 2 would work well for an LPS/Softy tank :)

Given post #10 informed me of that, was there a need for that?
 
GreshamH said:
eldiablosrt8 said:
imo 3 par 38 bulbs arent as clean as a AI super sol fixture

Might want to clarify that statement..

What is not clean? The over all look once installed OVER the tank? The look of the LED's in the tank?

A single SOL fixture won't give you the coverage you need from the units I have seen in the wild. They pretty much aim straight down with little bleed outside of that area.

It is prob. fine for 17" X 17" tank, he will not grow acro in the whole area I guess.

Good thing about AI is it penetrate very well, you can hang it high at 12" and still have strong enough PAR to grow acro on bottom of tank.

I was thinking of using AI for my tank upgrade, then I estimate I need 6 units for my application (tank will be 48" x 30", thinking to enable 36" X 24" surface area for acros). That is TOO expensive and I prefer the look of single MH/T5 fixture than 6 AI units on a rack. To me AI is sort of industial or scientific looking, should hide in a canopy which I will not have for the tank.
 
ryanjiang said:
GreshamH said:
eldiablosrt8 said:
imo 3 par 38 bulbs arent as clean as a AI super sol fixture

Might want to clarify that statement..

What is not clean? The over all look once installed OVER the tank? The look of the LED's in the tank?

A single SOL fixture won't give you the coverage you need from the units I have seen in the wild. They pretty much aim straight down with little bleed outside of that area.

It is prob. fine for 17" X 17" tank, he will not grow acro in the whole area I guess.

Good thing about AI is it penetrate very well, you can hang it high at 12" and still have strong enough PAR to grow acro on bottom of tank.

I was thinking of using AI for my tank upgrade, then I estimate I need 6 units for my application (tank will be 48" x 30", thinking to enable 36" X 24" surface area for acros). That is TOO expensive and I prefer the look of single MH/T5 fixture than 6 AI units on a rack. To me AI is sort of industial or scientific looking, should hide in a canopy which I will not have for the tank.

How are yo arriving at "it's probably fine"? From reading about it, or seeing it in action? I've seen it in action, it's does not have much of a bleed at all. In fact, lemme see if I can scare up the plot for it that Sanjay did. It's rather good as illustrating what I have seen in person.
 
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