Will the Coralife LED Clip-on Marine light work for any corals or anemones?

[ReyK]

I'm extremely new to saltwater, and I'm having trouble figuring out my lighting situation. I bought a Coralife LED Clip-On Marine light today because it was literally the only marine light my local store had, got it home, set it up, and surprise, surprise, it's not all that bright.

According to the owner's manual, the peak PAR is 47, average PAR is 26, peak lux 2612, average lux 1512, and CCT 25,000k. I'm honestly not sure what any of these numbers mean in the context of reef tanks, but I get the feeling this light will not support any corals or anemones, even in the nano-tank I'm starting (15-gallon column 14"x14"x25").

Will this light work? If so, which types of corals or anemones would be okay with it? If not, what are some budget-friendly lights I could look into? It seems every light I've seen recommended in my research is either $250+, way too big for my tiny tank, or both.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

[BigRedsReefs10]

The tank is 2 feet tall?

[ReyK]

Originally Posted by BigRedsReefs10

The tank is 2 feet tall?

Including the plastic rim, yes. I don’t have a measuring tape handy, but I think the actual tank itself is more like 20”-22”. Here’s a photo for reference

[BigRedsReefs10]

Wow those or rough dimensions to work with, as far as the lighting question no that will not support corals, maybe some mushrooms but with how deep your tank is your rock would have to be much closer to the top tank to even do those. Tbh a standard 10 would be better for you in the long run and you could get a decent black box light offline for $100-150 that would allow you to keep anything photosynthetic

[Sniperhank]

I am not familiar with this unit. What I can say, is I thought I knew better when I first set up my first tank and put a coralife unit on my first tank. It 'did the job'. Barely. I wouldn't ever put anything that needed intense lighting under it like an anemone.

[melosu58]

Im wondering aiso if that would work let alone for anemone's.

[bribo12]

If max par is 40 something I highly doubt it is putting out anywhere close to that 24” down. Even 10” down it is probably half that. I’d say no maybe some mushrooms but that’s really it. Definitely no anemones. A 2 foot deep nano is a rough tank to light.

You could probably get a used kessil or ai prime for $100-120 which would work for medium light lps corals and softies.