First Reef Tank Lighting

[graucow]

Hey, I'm starting up my first reef tank and was looking for advice on lights to use, I am very interested in LEDs but am open to any options as I've never done a reef tank before. I am looking to spend about 200-400 dollars on the light.

My tank is 18 inches wide and 18 inches long while being 30 inches tall.

I have looked at kessil lights but have been reading they break after 2 years and I would like something that last long. Please give me any suggestions/ light experiences you have.

 

[Sniperhank]

There are the LED black box units you can get pretty cheap off of amazon and eBay. They used to be sold under Taotronics and have always been highly recommended due to price and reliability.
I have run both radions and ai over my tanks and haven't had any major issues outside of one radion power supply dying, but it was under warranty and they sent me an entire new generation radion.

EDIT: I should also add these type of units will cover roughly 2 ft of tank length.

 

[graucow]

There are the LED black box units you can get pretty cheap off of amazon and eBay. They used to be sold under Taotronics and have always been highly recommended due to price and reliability.
I have run both radions and ai over my tanks and haven't had any major issues outside of one radion power supply dying, but it was under warranty and they sent me an entire new generation radion.

EDIT: I should also add these type of units will cover roughly 2 ft of tank length.

Do you think these lights will be strong enough to reach down to the bottom of my tank since it is 30 inches.

 

[graucow]

Do you think these lights will be strong enough to reach down to the bottom of my tank since it is 30 inches.

I want to make sure whatever light I purchase is gonna do a great job with my corals and I thought the 30 inch depth may cause issues although I've seen successful reef tanks that are much deeper

 

[Sniperhank]

Those leds will be able to burn coral if kept at 100% intensity at the bottom if you aren’t careful. LEDs penetrates water much better than bulb powered units.

 

[graucow]

Great sounds good, I'm gonna start looking for lights! Thanks for the help