I need a 36" LED fixture. HELP

so like usual my LRS had no idea what they are talking about and made me invest in an LED fixture that can't even support simple soft corals. Thank god I did my research first before I put all my pieces back into my new build.

anyways now with all this new added stress I'm going to need to take this fixture back and probably have to double my money on a sufficient one. Does anyone know of a good fixture for a 36" 38 gallon tank.
I'm trying to keep a mixed reef, once the tank is more established probably add a few easy sps, but mostly softies and lps will be in here.


by the way, this is what they sold me: AquaticLife 36 Inch 15 Watt 10k / 460nm Expandable LED Light Fixture ,AquaticLife LED Fixture,Aquatic Life LED Lighting,Aquarium Lighting,Reef LED's

the LRS said 2 strips would be sufficient, and when I plugged them in on the tank I knew there was no way, this isn't my first reef tank. So I did some research and the first link that popped up said 2 is no were near capable. ughhh so much stress, if anyone knows of a good LED fixture please let me know.

 

LOL. My friend just got into the hobby and I helped him set up his 40gallon breeder last weekend. He got that same one, the .5 watt.

Why don't you check these ones out. Aquatic Life they're the upgraded version. There should be a chart that says how many you'll need for which corals. I actually saw these in person at MAX this year and they looked pretty awesome. If not than you can always go with 2 Radeons or AI Sol but that will cost you more than double of what that other fixture cost you.

*edit* Oh sorry, the website doesn't say. But I got a pamphlet for it at MAX and it says 2 of the 36W fixtures is sufficient for LPS at 18" depth.

 

those do look better, I did a few link clicks and I found that there is the fixture with 2 rows of lights, and then there is the same fixture with 3 rows(obviously a little bit more $) but do you think if I got the bigger fixture one would be sufficient for the lps?

http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticL...xtures-AquaticLife-AK01263-FILTFILDLK-vi.html

 

I'm looking at the pamphlet right now and it says x1 54w(3 rows) can support LPS at 12" depth. What size is your tank? The depth?

 

If you have a 40 gallon breeder and have 18" depth than you'll need at least x2 36w(2 row) fixtures or x1 36w(2 row) & x1 54w(3 row) to support LPS at an 18" depth.

 

the height of my tank is 19 inches. and I have multiple brains that I would be having on the sand bed so I would definitely need something to penetrate far enough!

 

hmm, that seems like an option, if I'm going to be spending that much though, is there any fixtures that you know of that are better quality? or are these actually very nice?

 

I actually don't know too much about these ones. I believe they are fairly new. A lot of members on here use the Ecotech Radeon($750) or the Ai Sol($400) but you may need more than one fixture to cover a 36" length.

 

the Sol is in the price range if I only needed one, definitely couldn't afford multiple fixtures though. maybe I should just get rid of the LED idea for right now, I'm not having to much luck with it, haha. do you think it would be easier just to go with a t5 set up?

 

Yeah a T5 set up will be much more affordable. I've only been in this hobby for about 3 years and I've used nothing but LED lighting, so I have no real experience with anything but LEDs(i.e. T5 etc). I only have a 20 gallon so LED lighting options for me have always been pretty affordable. At the moment I use x2 BoostLED par30 bulbs. You can see them in my picture thread in my sig.