lighting help

Hello, I would really love some advice or opinions on lighting. I've just entered into the marine keeping world and am wanting to give it my best go. I am wanting to get a Waterbox AIO 50.3. I am wanting to do a mixed reef but mostly only softies and lps and then maybe a couple of sps later...

Hey fellow reef junkies! I've decided to chase the dragon when it comes to eliminating shadowing on my sps for growth... and selfish viewing purposes. I currently run (3) Hydra 32HD's with diffusers over my 48x24x16 (depth) and have great growth and coloration coming in. However, the shadowing...

I just added a 24" 2 bulb T5 light over my IM20 tank. It's an SPS dominant tank thats been running for a few months. I was previously using two 30 watt Nicrew LEDs. Now that I've set up the T5s, everything seems...not as bright. At least not as bright as the T5s I have running over my other tank...

I bought a deep blue 80 gallon frag tank (my first non-nano tank). It’s 4 foot long and 16 inches deep. I have 2 Kessil A160we lights at 7 inches above the water level. Does anyone have recommendations on a lighting schedule that I can use for mainly Zoa's to start. I also have the Kessil...

So i have mapped out my PAR in my values are good. But i think my ramp up and ramp down periods are messed up and i cant figure out if I'm giving my corals too much light or too little light. i never used a light controller before so im just used to having the light turn on and off at a set time...

Just bought a UNS 60s (23.62x14.17x7.09), aiming for a nano sps system. What LEDs would be best to light it without getting too expensive?

I recently added some new corals to my 20g peninsula tank and now I'm questioning my lighting schedule. I moved all of my Zoa plugs to a Zoa rock at the bottom, and they're not opening up, so I'm concerned that my lights might be too intense. I've also noticed a Hammer that I moved has one...

getting a new tank this week 36x24x16(inches) will have a 2 inch or more sand bed and soft corals with at best a few torch/hammers eventually. I cannot hang from ceiling and would prefer as much coverage as possible to avoid dark spots. Very interested in LEDs (been away from hobby for 10+ years...

Hello, Everyone! I'm starting a 20 gallon long aquarium (dimensions 30"x12"x12") and will be using T5 with supplemental LED (most likely Orphek OR3) for lighting. Most T5 fixtures are either 2', 3', or 4'. Would it be better to go the smaller or 2' fixture and raise/lower as needed or a larger...

I have a 32 gallon Biocube with a Kessil A160WE about 4in above the waterline. Things have been going pretty well but wanted to see if anyone had suggestions or tweaks for my schedule. 0900: B100/C0 INT 1 1000: B90/C10 INT 20 1130: B80/C20 INT 40 1230: B60/C40 INT 70 1730: Ramp down B= Blue...

Hi. I currently have a 5.5 gallon with 2 clownfish and 1 turbo snail. The tank has an oversized canister filter filled with bio media and a HOB filter too. I am wanting to get into corals, starting with easy ones such as star polyps. I have a budget of 25 ~ 30 USD for lights. I found these on...

Pardon the unfamiliarity, my grandma gifted me some smallish (2-3 inch) pismo clams that she had bred in her tank, in hopes that I could raise a few of them on my own. She recommended quite a bit of heavy duty lighting equipment, but I'm tight on money and was wondering if there is a way I can...

I received the Fluval Flex 15 as a gift, everything in setup went good, cycled perfectly except realized it was a freshwater kit. I did research and realized the lighting is inadequate and not meant to grow corals, which could explain why every coral and maybe now a anemone has died on me. :(...

Hi, I am new to saltwater tanks, and am working on getting my lighting set up. I have a 36 gallon curved front saltwater tank. I attached a picture of the light settings I downloaded form the AI website, but I was hoping for some recommendations if this a good setting or if I should make...

Hello, I’m new to the forums and am looking fir suggestions for my 125 gallon mixed reef tank. It’s 6 feet long 18 inches wide and about 22-23 tall. I have had the the tank set up for about 4 years. There 3 hydra 26 lights 12 inches from top of tank. I am to the point where I have added some...

Hello again. 2nd post yay! I'm getting my Ai Prime 16HD on Monday and I've got a few questions. Since my aquarium is in its VERY early stages of even cycling I do not know if it is wise to stick it on there and set up a schedule immediately. Like I said in my previous post that I have about...

Does anyone have experience with lighting one of these types of tanks? Got this to start my budget nano reef. The top sucks, but I like the tank. I am in-market to upgrade my lighting and have heard amazing reviews on AI Prime 16 from both forums and my LFS. Tank dimensions are 24 x 13 x 16...

I am very new to reefing and I was wondering about the abilities of the Ai Hydra 32? I have been looking at the C-vue Cobalt 26g, 40g, or 45g and I was wondering if the Hydra would be a good suited light for any of these tanks. The 26g and 40g tanks are shallow rectangular tanks and are each 13"...

I have a 135g mixed reef been set up for going on 2 years now. The tank has always had great water parameters and filtration but my corals have never really seemed to be thriving. They are always open and look good but growth is very very slow for everything. My question is the tank has two...

There’s probably a post out there like this, but I wanted to create a thread to get specific answers for this question and hopefully help some others out along the way. I have been trying to tune in my AI Prime 16 HD over my Fluval Evo 13.5 for some time now. I’m slowly sorting out all of my...

I just purchased a 190 gallon rimless aquarium from top shelf aquatics in Orlando, FL. The dimensions are 60L X 30W X 24H. I wanted to do Orphek for lighting and was thinking about two fullsize Atlantic v4 gen2. Will this be enough for an sps dominant reef? They will be running from left to...

I am working on getting all the equipment I need for a 4' x 2' x 2' 120g that I will be setting up in a few months. I am trying to figure out what lighting option is the best for my budget. I plan to keep mostly lps/softies, with a few beginner sps corals down the road. I currently own an AI...

Just curious if there's any benefit of negative effect to switching spectrums during the day? For example, I run my Hydra 52 at 16k for about 7 hours of the day and then for an hour ramp down to 20k and keep that for the last 3 hours. I was just curious if others do this or if this would...

Hey friends. Happy Sunday! I just set up my new light. I have a 20 gal with the following: 1 zoanthid 1 GSP 1 mushroom 1bubble coral 1 montipora plate 1 anenome 1 finger leather what should I set my lights at? I’m so scared of frying everything. But I’m SO new to this. Help!

Hi all! I just recently upgraded my light to the FluvalSmart Sea Nano for my 5 gallon pico reef, I’ve got some LPS guys and one SPS, And I’m excited about the new possibilities with the light, I’m just seeing some new algae growth and some of the corals are shrinking back, and I’m pretty sure...