lighting

[peterj]

Hey I'm going to try and start a reef tank soon. I already have a true lumin pro led lighting one 24 in 12k daylight 18 watt and 2 24 in marine fusion 18 watt mounted in my canopy. Want to use them on my new tank 75 gallon . Will that be enough to start or will I need more lighting. What type of corals would this be good for.

[Ingy]

First, let me predicate this with the statement that "not all LEDs are created equal". Which is to say 10 watts of one type of bulb is not the same as 10 watts of another type of bulb. Less expensive LEDs will be lucky to provide 70lumen of light per watt consumed, while CREE can exceed 120 lumen per watt.
So, keeping that in mind, a 4 ft 75 gal tank would require 2 fixtures with 120 watts of CREE leds, or 240 Watts of LEDs, but might only be run at 60% intensity, or a total of 144watts. That could mean, in excess of 17,000 lumen of light.
You lights will be a total of 54 watts. Assuming they are not high quality LEDs, you could be even lower on your light. As such, I suspect those LEDs would only be good for polyps and 'shrooms.

[peterj]

Ok I finally found some info for the lights.they recommend 2 48 in lighting for soft corals only. So for this build I can budget around $800 for led lighting for a 48 in tank 75 gallons. I'm looking and it seems like you can't get much for that. I'm only looking to start out with the"easier" corals but want to buy in case that changes down the road any suggestions. Or do I only go fowlr. For now and wait till my budget increases. I'm doing everything new and I'm up too 3grand with tank stand sump rock etc.

[bribo12]

For $800 there are plenty of fixtures you could do! Some lights that would work off the top of my head are the maxspect razor series, kessil leds, reefbreeders leds, ai sols, the taotronic brand off ebay. Look into those you should be able to afford any of those with that budget.

[peterj]

I looked at ecotech , AI vega, hydra. But looking at their sites they recommend 2 or 3 for a 48 in tank at 500 (ai vega) a piece to 600 to 900 each for ecotech.

[bribo12]

Well I know the reefbreeders you can get for like $200 a piece that are 120 watt, the kessil 150 are $225 each, taotronics are like $150 a piece as well. Also you could look into a bunch of par38 bulbs from ecoxotic for $120 each.

[peterj]

Just so many choices don't want to have to buy twice. Not in a rush right now.have a while till my sump comes in. Just doing my research. First timer here at saltwater. Looking for a light also that would fit under canopy. Already spent 3 hundred on truelumen pro strips. Beautiful lights for my cichlid tank but not enough for corals.

[Mebbid]

I would highly recommend taotronics. You can get 2 of them for $240 and that will be plenty to support anything you could want.