Help! Lighting for 30 Gallon reef

[Bigalwoo]

Hey guys, at the moment my tank is going to be running FOWLR but i want to in future upgrade to reef, what is suitable lighting for easy to keep corals (mostly soft).


Im deciding between LED and t5HO. Is this enough LED lighting for my 30 gallon, its 16 inch deep btw. Specifications:
- Luminous Intensity: Blue 300mcd, White 1400mcd.
- Color temperature: Blue 12000K, White 8000K.
- LEDs: Blue 12pcs, White 84pcs.
- Power Consumption: 56mW
-Output Power: DC 12V


Or i was looking at getting a t5HO 3x24w with built in reflectors (apparently increasing effective output by 50%.

Thanks a lot, help me I'm new to this.

 

[Bigalwoo]

Can no one help me please? I'm upgrading in about a week as I'm buying them online. I don't want to be wasting money, please help me ?

 

[CleverBs]

give us a link to the LED we arnt going to be able to tell you if that LED will enough based on that info

 

[Bigalwoo]

give us a link to the LED we arnt going to be able to tell you if that LED will enough based on that info

heres the LED: eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d

and below is the t5ho i was looking at: eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d

 

[CleverBs]

that LED just scares the hell out of me theres now way it can grow corals. you need to look around a bit more because both those lights are questionable for quality.

Do you have a budget you are trying to stick to? if so how much will you spend on the light?

 

[Bigalwoo]

that LED just scares the hell out of me theres now way it can grow corals. you need to look around a bit more because both those lights are questionable for quality.

Do you have a budget you are trying to stick to? if so how much will you spend on the light?

Haha it scares me too, but I thought it may be alright, yes as you can probably guess I only have about $160 to spend and unfortunately that includes postage. Do you have any suggestions as to this price range and my tank size. Thanks again, bigalwoo. I would like to stay away from mh as it will create too much heat in my room.

 

[CleverBs]

find a 4 bulb t5ho fixture and you should be fine. I have a hard time finding stuff for AU. at 150$ either build your own LED or stay away from them.

 

[Bigalwoo]

Ohkay thanks a lot, I will most likely go with the t5ho style lighting as it seems a lot more safe to invest in, and a lot of people have a lot more knowledge of their effectiveness within reef aquariums. Thanks again, you have been an awesome help!!