Getting used AGA stand? 29G

[Slammed01]

Was going to do 40B but I don't need heavily stocked and I started with a 29 in the SW world. Lol So I may just get this 29 for $40 tomorrow, resell the tank and buy a new 29 at the next petco sale. What's a good light for 29 for polyps? Prob do a simple nemo/shrimp tank for kiddos.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DaveK]

I'd only replace the tank if there is something wrong with the one your getting. If there is no damage to the frame and glass and no major scratches, you might as well use it.

As for lighting, I'd go with either a 4 bulb T5 fixture or a pair of LED pendants, such as two AI Prime fixtures. This is an example only. There are plenty of other fixtures that will also work just fine.

A lot of this comes down to what you want out of the lighting. T5 gives you a low entry level cost, but costs more to run. LED lighting has a higher initial investment but long term saves you money.

 

[Uncle99]

Look up on the net, VISPARSPECTRA 165W LED, comes with timer and remote, is more light than you ever need, but even enough to do SPS, lasts 10 years and runs 125-150 bucks.
I gave this light and I am super happy. Great construction. My corals love it
Can't beat the Chinese for making lights, others where 2-3 times the price and Amazon shipped right to my door

 

[DaveK]

Look up on the net, VISPARSPECTRA 165W LED, comes with timer and remote, is more light than you ever need, but even enough to do SPS, lasts 10 years and runs 125-150 bucks.
I gave this light and I am super happy. Great construction. My corals love it
Can't beat the Chinese for making lights, others where 2-3 times the price and Amazon shipped right to my door

This is one of the paradoxes of LED lighting. While a single fixture could, in theory, provide enough total light, LED lighting wants to point more or less straight down. On a 29 gal tank, this gives you bright light right under the fixture but dim ends of the tank, and dark areas near the surface that isn't under the light.

I would recommend two fixtures to cover the length of the tank. You would run them at about 1/3 max. Yea, I know two fixtures means twice as much money, but you'll get much more even light with no dard or dim areas.

 

[Uncle99]

VISPARSPECTRA is one of few manufactures which does not house it's LED in 1 or 2, 3"-4" circles which causes the light to focus more or less straight down. VISPARSPECTRA houses each of its 55, 3watt LED spaced equally apart within its 16" by 8.5" lighting area. Each light is lensed to defuse light. This reduces the focus effect in my tank to undetectable and I am only running at 30% and have high light clams. Note, if you by 2, you need at least 32 inches of tank width or you will be lighting the floor. By the picture, this looks tight. I have seen two on 48" widths.

 

[Uncle99]

Keep in mind while this is certainly a good light for the price, price has its draw backs. Many of the higher priced lights will also do the following:
Can be linked with your smart phone and there is a really cool app that allows for customization in individual colour intensity, you can run multiple lights off one program, have the light pass over your aquarium mimicking the movement of the sun, and have special effects like a lighting storm. Some manufactures include this and some you have to buy as a option.
In Canada, these range from $350 - 500 per light fixture.

VISPARSPECTRA does not do these things.
It has a blue channel and a white containing yellow, green, and reddish.
You can adjust the intensity, upwards and downwards for each channel. You can automatically control on/off period. If you need more than 1, each light is a separate unit and each must be set, you can't link them. No, app for other changes, but comes with a remote and a hanging kit. In Canadian dollars mine was $170, likely $140 in those great US bucks.

For me, double the price for the special effects and linkage I did nit need.

So my point, along with Daves, is that their are dozens of choices for lighting so it depends on your indivual needs and wants. Some work better for different applications.

Sooooo, do your homework on the you tube, review at the LFS, but buy on-line, always cheaper the LSF.

A pic of this light.

 

[Squatch XXL]

I cannot recommend "black box LED" units. I had a few of them, and was less than pleased with the results. Have gone back to T5, and have had no issues since.

I'd go with either a 4 bulb T5 fixture

This is perfect advice. A quad bulb unit can grow most every coral.

The issue with lighting at that size is upgrades. A 29g tank uses 30" fixtures (most use 24" bulbs). Id almost suggest getting a cheap quad bulb unit and upgrading to something better in a year when the bulbs wear out. I used a cheapo quad unit for 2 years without issue until I was able to find the exact unit I needed.

 

[Uncle99]

It is true, florescant, metal halide, or LED in the correct colour spectrum and with sufficient intensity will grow corals. I like LED's for the following reasons.

Most important:
My corals, anenome and clams, love these lights. Growth has surpassed my old florescants big time and equal my old Metal Halide except no colour bleaching as sometimes can occur with the MH. All this and I only am running at 50% intensity.

Second important:
Cost to run. LED's are making their way into everything we see these days. WHY?. This is because they out live, and out shine all others by far. You have to replace florescants annually because their ability to make light decreases with time. Same with metal halide. Good LED can run at the same intensity for 10 years. My current LED now running 4 years and cost me 170 Canadian. So do the math. They are also much cheaper to run daily.

Thirdly:
Start up costs low. I have chosen not to by the fancy $400-$600 Canadian Radeon or Prime LED's because I need good light not good light and software controls. My second light was $170 dollars Canadian and appears to be the same as the Radeon minus the software.

Fourth:
Zero heat transfer. These lights operate at a very low temp and do not transfer heat to your tank like floresants and especially MH.

So, each of us will have an opinion on which is best. Different people, different tanks in different regions with different inhabitants. Do your home on the net....read read read...

 

[Squatch XXL]

Growth has surpassed my old florescants big time and equal my old Metal Halide except no colour bleaching as sometimes can occur with the MH. All this and I only am running at 50% intensity.

I had the exact opposite issue running a pair of black box leds over my tank. Growth was on par, but the colors were rotten. A cheap LED unit will always put out the same spectrum of light. Sure you can claim cost, but with LEDs if you aren't paying top dollar, you will not be getting a great product. A cheapo quad t5-ho hood with quality bulbs is cheaper than a pair of black-box leds, and in my experience has given much better results. Color control is what I am paying for. I can swap in a myriad of various colors, and I am ok with this. I did not care for the color of my black-box leds. It was too cold. Nothing I could do fixed it. I and the coral prefer more 6700k bulbs.

I have a 40 that I ignore except for bulb and water changes. It has a mix of geissman bulbs. 2x actinic, a lagoon bulb and a purple enhancer. Never had an issue. Prefer them over ati. I used similar bulbs and I just like the color better.

Just my preference. I wish I could have better results with the black-box leds. They are certainly cost effective.