Marineland Reef LEDs Vs. Finnex FugeRay Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights

Hey,

So I was shopping around on amazon trying to find some new lights for my 26 gallon bow front tank. I plan on getting corals for it once I get it all set up, which of these lights would you go with or might might be an affordable brand that is good/better?

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Capable-Aquarium-Lighting-System/dp/B00494NBEA/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1373922078&sr=1-1&keywords=marineland+led+reef+capable]Amazon.com: Marineland Reef Capable LED Aquarium Lighting System 24-36": Pet Supplies[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-FugeRay-Aquarium-Moonlights-36-Inch/dp/B009IRJHZK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=11PVIIZUY8L0R&coliid=I1AEBDN3RP2FYH]Amazon.com: Finnex FugeRay Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, 36-Inch: Pet Supplies[/ame]

Thanks
-Tom

 

Hi!

I can tell you that I bought the Marineland Reef Capable LED's with timer and I love them. I'm not sure if they are the best for coral growth, but I bought them because they're suppose to be good for it. So far I can tell you that they look really cool on top of my tank, I also like the the fact that you can choose when you want the whites or the blue lights on or off.

I have no corals at the moment only two clowns and the ones that I have are the 36"-48" my tank is a 46 Bow Front. I bought them not in amazon but on Petmountain because they were cheaper than Amazon and with free shipping too, here is the link: Marineland Reef Capable LED Lighting System - WITH TIMER Aquarium LED Light Fixtures.

 

I would look down a different route if you are planning on growing more than softies. I see them on freshwater tanks, "reef capable". Good luck

 

Any suggestions as to what I should consider? So far everywhere I have looked it seems that there as many different opinions as there are days in a year.

 

And thats my opinion. You will have a very small option of what you are going to keep. Do you honestly think that everyone would switch to these instead of spending a 1000+ on leds? By all means, if that is what you wanna run, do it.

 

Ok, you are saying that LED lights are crappy for a reef tank, what would you suggest instead of getting LED lights? I am not trying to disagree or argue with you. I am just looking for advice on what kind of lights I should get.

 

Rapid led has a nice set for a good price. Leds are great for reefs just some are better. Research radion, kessils, reefbreeders, rapid led are trusted for growing coral. The most expensive thing in reef tanks are the lighting. In the long run, you will be able to frag the corals you buy and sell them back or trade them in for more "free" coral. The better the corals presents itself, the more money youll get back. If you are looking for a nem in time, the marineland only offers 10k worth of lighting that will not grow sps or inverts. I hope this helps you in your decisions. If someone says they use them, ask what corals they are "growing"

 

I never had the marineland unit but by my estimation it will only support soft corals and LPS corals but won't provide a lot of growth. It may not be much of an upgrade from what you already have. I had a quick look at the specs - the unit is primarily 1W 6500K LED's with a few 10K blue's. 6500K isn't good for coloration of corals and the intensity isn't strong enough. I think its a 42W output total.

As a comparison - the AI (Aqua Illumination) Sol has 8 triple LED arrays and provides lighting in the 12K-20K spectrum (75W of output). The Kessil A360 has a 90W output.

LED lights are not crappy for reef tank by any stretch. However, a good true reef LED will cost $300-$500.

You should think about what type of corals and type of tank you want to end up with. Are you running a SPS dominated tank, mixed SPS reef, LPS/soft corals mixed or even an NPS tank. Check reefcentral if you want some ideas; there are some fantastic tanks posted there.

If you want to keep sps corals, the marineland light will not suffice and you will end up upgrading soon enough - so you may as well spend the money upfront.

 

Do some research on the reef breeder LEDs. I was told to check them out so I did And spent all last night reading reviews on them. I read nothing but positive things about them. Also the prices are affordable.

 

Ok follow up question, when looking at light specs what is important to know if the light is a good one or not? Should I pay more attention to the lumen or the Kelvin range or what? For example is a light that has a 12,000-14,000K rating good?

 

Its a combination of intensity and the spectrum. Again it all goes back to what type of tank you want to run.

For example, the marineland unit would be perfectly fine for someone running a NPS (non-photo-synthetic) tank where the corals are already very brightly coloured and don't require light for growth or even a soft coral tank. There is nothing with having a soft coral tank - there are some spectacular examples out there.

Intensity is best measured looking at the wattage of the unit (keep in mind you can't compare watts between T5's and LED's) and the lux rating if available (not the lumens). Lumens is misleading as there is no standard on what the number really means (is it a calculated number based on wattage, actually measured from 0' etc...). The more intense the light - the more penetration and growth.

Spectrum is the wavelength of the light that is generated. Most corals thrive better under lighting in the blue spectrum (higher Kelvin rating). But it isn't just buying the highest K rating - having a broad spectrum is also important as it will help different corals colour up. A lot of the newer units will actually allow you to adjust the spectrum array you are putting out. Having some red for example will assist some corals (often the red ones) and really bring some pop and contrast to the display aesthetics. I find the little spectrum charts useful to see what light is actually put out in the system (vs. just a K rating).

Also, some units have wide lens optics that project the light over a greater area (less penetration) while other are more focused. This is another consideration based on the dimensions of your tank.

 

Thanks for the post, so if I wanted to be able to have most types of corals in my tank what stats should I look for in a light? The tank I have is a 26 gallon bow front with the dimensions 24.2" x 14.8" x 20.9"

 

Ok Mario, you're starting to drive me a bit nuts here. Is there a reason why you have to put growing in quotations? You have no experience with this light and have no reason to be condescending. I had the marineland reef capable for a year and a half and I "grew" blue mushrooms, yellow polyps, zoas, gsp, duncans, and hammers. I am sorry if these corals are "just softies" to you. Everything really exploded under this light, tripled if not quadrupled in size. It's a beautiful, very bright light, great moonlight feature that really makes the corals pop. A week or two ago I added the Kessil 350W in addition to the marineland, I wanted my tank to be a bit bluer and wanted to get a clam. But, there is no reason to hop on every marineland led thread and bash them. You have no idea what someone wants to keep. Unless you want complicated sps, clams, or a nem, the marineland reef capable light is a very nice plug and play option. Many, many reef tanks don't have any of these 3 things. Let's keep the advice to something you have actual experience with please.

 

You spent 400 Bucks to grow a clam? Exactly our point. You first bought those marineland lights and then went out and bought a kessil to make your tank a bit bluer? Might as well now buy something twice. Congrats on the kessil, a lower model but will see vast improvements in growth. I get what you are saying for gowth in under 6 months. I hope the op sees the information and makes the right decision.

 

20" is not real deep so you can probably get away with something 40W or more (although its a deeper small tank - I was thinking about your 55g tank). Shoot for something in the 10K-15K spectrum. With a 24" width - shoot for something with a wide-angle lens - you can use 1 unit. You may even be able to make a 32W (theres a few unit out there with at intensity) work via placement of corals. For example I have 30" deep tank but I put all my SPS corals in the top 1/3 portion of the tank.

I posted a link to the kessil range can you can see 4 spectrum charts. With 1 unit you want something with a broader spectrum - with a little yellow/reds - like the Sky Blue and Ocean Blue. (I'm not sure a A150 will cut it for your tank though - close). I find these spectrum charts more useful than just a K rating. I find a light in the strict blue (like the deep ocean blue) - 20K spectrum is not particularly good as the main display light from both an aesthetic and growth perspective.

http://www.kessil.com/aquarium/A150.php

I think Sarah mentioned she got a marineland unit and then latter supplemented it with a Kessil A350w. I really don't think there is anything wrong with that approach because often we start out and don't know where we want to go with our tanks. My first light was a T5-2x54W (came with the tank) - I outgrew it in about 4 months and sold it on kijiji. I now have a T5-6x54W and 3 Kessil A150's.

Just to add - some of the most expensive units have more bell's and whistles on them but don't put out any more/better lighting. For example, I don't see the A350 as a particularly lesser light to the A360 - both are 90W units and have the same broad spectrum. The A360 has a knob that you can adjust the spectrum - by dimming certain colours. The A350 I believe has 2 channels with 2 set spectrums. The A360 is spectrum and intensity controllable by an external controller. You have to ask yourself whether those features are useful for you.

 

They are important in reef growth. That 0-10v little thingy does amazing things to reef. A350's can be turned on/off as anything with an apex, but that a360 can do full spectrum changes through out the day. The best thing is that it is consistant with the width that gives the coral the growth. For example i left the intensity and the color the same( kessil rep. said blue to white means nothing, just to make the owner happy) and had less color out of my staghorn, i staged the spectrum to come on early and the color to change an hour later and seen vast color increase from a brown to an amzing green base color. So the bells a whistles are made for something and the exact consistancy is important too.
Most reefers have started out with hailides and switched to t5's to leds. This is a common practice as the hobbies improvements are available.