Replace light or skimmer first?

[Peach02]

Okay so I got the aqua one mini reef 160 marine set a few months ago and its running great however I know I need to upgrade the light to support my corals better (particularly my two SPS and LPS) and my skimmer because, well its needed.
They are both currently functional however the light (Aqua One Mariglow) doesn't have red and green light and my mate at LFS told me its needed for coral growth. The skimmer requires occasional tinkering and cleaning out the cup is a pain in the ***
I'm thinking of upgrading to a $300 AUD light and skimmer but I can only do one at a time, which do you guys think I should upgrade first
skimmer = https://www.aquaone.co.uk/marine_skimmers.php
light = https://www.aquaone.co.uk/documents/2013061_A1_LED_MariGlo_01102013.pdf
tank = https://aquaone.com.au/2015-04-16-0...-00-17/aquariums/minireef-2/item/3493-53435bk
build thread = https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/peach02’s-33g-reef.572548/

 

[Mariette]

DISCLAIMER: This isn’t specific to your tank because, well, I’m just not knowledgeable enough to comment about that. It’s more a general opinion about the importance of light and skimmers.

Skimmers remove waste. You can manually remove waste by increasing water changes.
You can’t do anything to provide adequate light other than providing an adequate light source.

 

[Peach02]

DISCLAIMER: This isn’t specific to your tank because, well, I’m just not knowledgeable enough to comment about that. It’s more a general opinion about the importance of light and skimmers.

Skimmers remove waste. You can manually remove waste by increasing water changes.
You can’t do anything to provide adequate light other than providing an adequate light source.

ok cool, thank you mate do you have any light suggestions?

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

light. What are your coral goals?

 

[Peace River]

DISCLAIMER: This isn’t specific to your tank because, well, I’m just not knowledgeable enough to comment about that. It’s more a general opinion about the importance of light and skimmers.

Skimmers remove waste. You can manually remove waste by increasing water changes.
You can’t do anything to provide adequate light other than providing an adequate light source.

+1

Tinker with the skimmer and do extra water changes until you can get the skimmer. Invest in your lighting first. Good luck!

 

[Peach02]

light. What are your coral goals?

basically to have them grow and survive

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

What kind do you want to grow

 

[Jekyl]

1 marsaqua would be enough for any coral you want and still won't break the bank. Skimmer isn't needed only helpful.

 

[Peach02]

What kind do you want to grow

SPS and LPS, zoas and my clam. the rest of them I'm happy with their size

 

[Mariette]

ok cool, thank you mate do you have any light suggestions?

No problemo.
I’m in the process of upgrading from FOWLR to softies. Never had corals before so i speak not from experience but from research. I’m leaning towards Aqua Illumination. You should be good w the AI primes for a 160 L. But they don’t come cheep. You’d probably need 2.

 

[Peach02]

No problemo.
I’m in the process of upgrading from FOWLR to softies. Never had corals before so i speak not from experience but from research. I’m leaning towards Aqua Illumination. You should be good w the AI primes for a 160 L. But they don’t come cheep. You’d probably need 2.

ok cool thank you

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I agree with all. Sps need light

 

[Peach02]

I agree with all. Sps need light

View attachment 1073333

any light recommendations

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I would say depends on you price point. The red and green channels are less important then the blues and uv. Most leds run red and green on the low side. I believe you tank is about 36 inches. I would say an AI prime or Radion x15 but both of those you would need 2. ATI makes a 36 inch ho t5 which is nice but also around 500$ I think.

There are black box leds which are cheaper but I have no experience with them. Lighting comes down to price and features. With sps you will need adequate par as well as control.

 

[Peach02]

I would say depends on you price point. The red and green channels are less important then the blues and uv. Most leds run red and green on the low side. I believe you tank is about 36 inches. I would say an AI prime or Radion x15 but both of those you would need 2. ATI makes a 36 inch ho t5 which is nice but also around 500$ I think.

There are black box leds which are cheaper but I have no experience with them. Lighting comes down to price and features. With sps you will need adequate par as well as control.

what par control in the light?
and cool thank you for the suggestions

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Lighting can get really complicated. PAR to keep it really basic is how bright the light is at any given point in the tank. The higher up, or close the coral is to the light the par goes up. Put the coral far away, on the bottom par goes down. Most all leds lights are adjustable from 0 which is off to 100% or more. That is brightest. There are also several different led colors used to mix into 1 color of light.

Read thru this article. For lights it is really helpful, and you can post a light question in there about lighting basics. You will still need to decide what price point you are at and type of light

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/things-to-consider-when-choosing-a-lighting-system.315433/page-3

Hope that helped a bit, let me know if any other questions after reading

 

[Peach02]

Lighting can get really complicated. PAR to keep it really basic is how bright the light is at any given point in the tank. The higher up, or close the coral is to the light the par goes up. Put the coral far away, on the bottom par goes down. Most all leds lights are adjustable from 0 which is off to 100% or more. That is brightest. There are also several different led colors used to mix into 1 color of light.

Read thru this article. For lights it is really helpful, and you can post a light question in there about lighting basics. You will still need to decide what price point you are at and type of light

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/things-to-consider-when-choosing-a-lighting-system.315433/page-3

Hope that helped a bit, let me know if any other questions after reading

thanks heaps, will do

 

[Jekyl]

any light recommendations

1 marsaqua 300w will be enough to grow what ever you want. I use 2 165w on my 48" long 90 gallon. I run my whites at 30% and my blues at 80%.

 

[ajmidget]

I run 2 AI Primes on my Minireef 160. Have a variety of LPS coral in the tank currently, once my phosphate comes down I'll be adding some SPS. The lights are fantastic and were the first thing I changed on the tank