will i need more lighting for 55g reef?

[LeGabri]

while waiting on my tank to cycle, was wandering if my 48" "BeamsWork Reef Bright LED" was going to be enough to host some soft corals & inverts. i can't get a straight answer, anywhere

here's the description:
Fixture Size: 48.00" x 5.00" x 1.00" (Add 0.65" in height with bracket installed)
LEDs Count: 54
3340 Lumens
Super energy efficient 1 watt HQ LEDs
46x 10,000K LEDs
8x Actinic 460nm LEDs
Use 54 watts

 

[Mrc8858]

1 watt LEDs are not reef capable.. you will want the 3 watt LEDs.. this may be enough to pull of very low light corals but for reef lighting this would be at the bottom of the spectrum.

 

[LeGabri]

Thanks, Mrc! Finally! a straight answer but are you saying that even the 3 watt LEDs are only enough for very-low-light corals? and/so is my fixture good for anything... fo? fowlf?

 

[Mrc8858]

3 watts are fully reef capable for low light up to high light including sps

 

[Sniperhank]

Any lighting will work for a fowlr setup. Fish don't care, it is all about what you like at that point.

 

[LeGabri]

okay, hmmm... does anyone care to suggest... should i ditch the BeamsWork (described in my original post) or look into supplemental lighting and if so, recommend what & where to get added lighting?

 

[LaWoWee]

Ive had had those lights before. Theyre only good for fowlr tanks and freshwater planted tanks. The most affordable and popular LEDs among reefers these days are the 120w panels usually made in China. You can find them on ebay or your local city reef forum. Theyll have a seperate plug and switch for blues and whites. Ive had good coral growth with them. For 48" of coverage you'd be looking at two of them bad boys. They run anywhere from 130-280 per fixture.

 

[daney90]

Ive had had those lights before. Theyre only good for fowlr tanks and freshwater planted tanks. The most affordable and popular LEDs among reefers these days are the 120w panels usually made in China. You can find them on ebay or your local city reef forum. Theyll have a seperate plug and switch for blues and whites. Ive had good coral growth with them. For 48" of coverage you'd be looking at two of them bad boys. They run anywhere from 130-280 per fixture.

Can you post some pictures on your tank? I'm interested into buying that 120w too

 

[LaWoWee]

Can you post some pictures on your tank? I'm interested into buying that 120w too

Some pics of my tank. Keep in mind that this tank just finished cycling in july and i installed the leds 2 months ago so its still young. In that time my frogspawns quadrupled in size, and torch doubled. My anemone is as happy as can be and i have high end expensive palys growing a few heads in a couple weeks. My birdsnest started from a few small branches and my xenias are thriving on the sand (which some reefers have trouble keeping in general). Ive had em on my nano tanks too. I actually bought one from a fellow reefer for $50 the other day. Not trying to sell you guys. Just sharing my experience with em. =)

 

[daney90]

Thanks for the pics! It's very nice did you get this

1. http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=200819038173

2. http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=280979711139&index=0&nav=SEARCH&nid=97475147310

 

[LaWoWee]

I dont have those particular ones but very similar to it. Dimmables are the most expensive because you can cater to corals that need to acclimate to brighter lights. Also consider the blue/white ratio. i personally prefer a 50:50 white/blue but some prefer more blue than white. Whether blue helps growth is an ongoing argument. dont think you can go wrong with either. The taotronics does have a warranty on theirs. But as ive mentioned, if you have a local reef forum, people sell theirs off all the time to upgrade.

 

[LeGabri]

how beautiful, LaWoWee! i found the same panels, daney... are they the same as you have, LaWoWee? i just can't afford them, right now my tank is probably bout a week from end-of-cycle & looks like i'll be starting with a fowlr if that's all the BeamsWorks-54-1watts will support... is that whatcha call a "dim-watt"...? lol if y'all find a really good deal on those 3w led panels, please let me know.

 

[LaWoWee]

Thanks! Yes i have some similar to those. Just seen one today on the local forum going for $70 but someone bought them immediately. If you check out the other threads, youll see others saying good things about the taotronics. Ill let you all know if i see a good deal on them.