Hey guys I need some help, I'm going to set up my 80 gallon 48x24x16 reef tank and I'm not sure what led lights to go with and how many I'd need to properly light up my system. The tank will be mostly soft corals and my main concern is I want something that will make my coral pop. I have a budget of about $700. Any suggestions? Thanks.
What LED should I get?????
- Thread starter Villaeddie19
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2 AI prime HDs will be really weak over a 48" tank but you can start with that and add more as needed. 24x24 spread is more for light coverage vs sufficient PAR to grow corals within that space. BRS did some pretty good videos on the AI Prime HD and found great results using multiples. I'd get as many as your budget would allow.
When people say leds are cheaper 4 ai primes hd already around 200w as for 24 8bulb t5 around the same. T5 in my opinion produces nice coral colors without tinkering. Leds gotta tinker to find right color ect. Plus t5 u gotta change after a lil over a year cause the bulbs degrade and cause algae. At least what I was told. Tbh I ran t5 for a year and a few months had no algae I did have a fuge tho. So u have plenty of routes
Personally I'd go with 2x of the AI Hydra 26HDs over 2 primes. I like my Hydras a lot, and my tank is 48x18x18.
Other lights to look at would be Current USA Orbit IC Pro or loop system with IC Pro, T5s only (doesn't need to be ATI fixture), 2 primes and T5 hybrid fixture from aquatic life, Amazon cheapo black box haha. Just depends on your goals/wants.
Other lights to look at would be Current USA Orbit IC Pro or loop system with IC Pro, T5s only (doesn't need to be ATI fixture), 2 primes and T5 hybrid fixture from aquatic life, Amazon cheapo black box haha. Just depends on your goals/wants.
I was in the exact same boat you are in right now. I had the same budget in mind and almost went crazy trying to pick a good led for my tank. After doing an extensive amount of research I decided to try T5 lighting. I had led lights before although they are very nice and easy to work with. The T5s are much more crisp I'm glad I made this purchase. I have never owned any of the new LED lights on the Market, but based strictly off of research I'm going to say Kessil because Kessil has a team of scientist that work for them that manufacture their own LEDs; what better company to buy from then the ones that know exactly what your corals need. That is why Kessil lights are a bit more pricey. I would go with Kessil 700 over the AI 52 HD and Ecotech and if the Kessil 700 is too much I would go for AI 52HD over Ecotech, because AI and Ecotech are made by the same people so essentially you are getting the same product at a reduced price because of the name.
You also have to consider if this is in a canopy or free hanging. If its in a canopy I would go with Chinese knockoffs with 4 retrofit t5 lights. This is only a softy tank and the t5's will hide the shadow and give the corals more pop. Also you can at night just do the t5 and really get that glow with the softies. Why spend the money on AI or radions when you can achieve your goals without the cost. Now if this was sps tank..... well then Ecotechs radions all the way.
