I am currently planning out a 20g long lps reef tank to replace my 10g. I want to take it a step up and get better equipment. First off, I don't know whether a pair of Kessil a80's or an AI prime hd would be a better fit. I haven't been able to find any other lights in that price range that gives great performance but doesn't break the bank. I am also thinking of using a small canister filter as I want to have plenty of filtration. Also, any advice on where to start with a budget DC powerhead would be great. If you have any experience with 20g reef tanks, I'd love to hear from you and your thoughts on anything regarding equipment. And if you don't have any experience, well I'd still like to read what you know! Thanks!
20G Long Setup
- Thread starter Michael Price
- Start date
I have a 20 long all a budget build. I went with a AI prime. It is awesome.and way more then enough for a 20 long it lights up my whole room at 40% lol. But I have a hang on back filter a tidal series one. And for a.power head I went cheap on Amazon the hyyger power head. Isn't the best but it's cheap in price and reliable I haven't had any problems yet and it comes with a touch screen remote. Only con is you can't tilt it so it can only face straight forward. But i can't speak on the kessil as I've never had one but my corals are already loving the new light and it's so easy to use with the app. Hope this helps.
I appreciate your info, super helpful. What kind of tank do you have? Is it sps, mixed, fowlr or something else? That power head seems to fit all my needs at a decent price.
you would most likely be better off with 2x led bars like quanta reef or orphek over a singular ai prime or kessil a80.
The a80s are underpowered even for lps, while 1 ai prime is made for 18" with 24" being the absolute max, anymore and it will have to be raised up making light spill and reducing par drastically in the tank.
For budget powerheads jebao is always a go too but they can go out in a couple of years and do need frequent cleaning, never clean with vinegar, citric acid is great to use though and cheap
The a80s are underpowered even for lps, while 1 ai prime is made for 18" with 24" being the absolute max, anymore and it will have to be raised up making light spill and reducing par drastically in the tank.
For budget powerheads jebao is always a go too but they can go out in a couple of years and do need frequent cleaning, never clean with vinegar, citric acid is great to use though and cheap
I have softies as of right now since it's my first tank. Still learning. And I would also look into a decent HOB skimmer I have one as well and it takes out alot of dark skimmate
And yea the 20long is 30 inches but most of my corals are in the center of tank so that 18-24 is perfect for me right now as i dont see myself putting corals at the edge of the tank
more about shadowing, light spill, and dim ends of tank i personally dont like but to each their own, and the ai primes definitely work well. I used to run my t5s as close to the tank as possible to eliminate light spill altogether, now running orphek icons at 16 inch, no light spill though (i have a 24" wide tank so light spill is easier to overcome)
I have a 15 gallon, its an RFA/Softie tank with 3 small fish.
I have the AI16, I use 2 cheap sunsun powerheads and a small HOB filter to run carbon. I do weekly water changes, the tank is 6 months old now doing very well.
I have the AI16, I use 2 cheap sunsun powerheads and a small HOB filter to run carbon. I do weekly water changes, the tank is 6 months old now doing very well.
I. sent up a budget 20 for a class room donation - have a Loop bar from amazon and it works just fine for LPS - makes whole tank look good as well
Wow you went with a current? I wanted to get that so bad because of it's price and I wasn't doing any special corals but I went with prime as I can upgrade with it to a bigger tank.
this is why i went orphek as well, full power is much more visible white than most other leds while still having a good spectrum for corals. I find most people prefer blue though as it makes corals pop more
I just went with prime because it's a good solid brand it has the app and easy to maneuver and like I said I can use it in a bigger tank in the future and it will have the compatibility of growing things like lps and sps if I want in the future
if i was to go with the kessil, i would get 2 of them and put them at either side of the tank. I looked at the orpheks bars and unless you see something I don't, they are only supplemental, not primary use.
Any chance you could share a picture?
Do you know the brand name of that loop bar?
I would recommend a Seachem Tidal filter (probably the 55, since it'll give you more room for media and more flow than the 35) over a canister for a tank that size. Quicker and easier to clean, which means you'll probably do it more often.
As far as the lights go, the Current USA light bars are great if you can find a good deal on a used set, but I would NOT pay full price for them. They simply aren't powerful enough for SPS should you ever want to experiment with them, so they limit your coral choices in the future.
Yeah I found what you're talking about. Those lights look fantastic. I think you changed my mind. Gonna go with one of those that hooks to bluetooth and a powerhead that connects to it as well.
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