Hello from PA

Hey everyone. Just joined and wanted to introduce myself. I'm from Lancaster pa. Looking to start a new setup sometime in the near future. Haven't bought any equipment yet and am just doing lots of research.

Im wanting to do a marineland cornerflow 75G with a custom overflow box. Beyond that, I'll probably use a custom 30G sump. I definitely want to have different types of corals and inverts but I'm not sure what yet.

Anyway I have loads of things to learn and usually read more than I post.

-Andrew

 

Welcome to 3reef Andrew! That is a perfect size tank to start with

 

welcome to 3reef and agree with the above ^^^

 

Hi Andrew and welcome to 3reef.

 

Welcome to 3Reef! There is a lot of knowledge in the heads of the people on this forum, so never hesitate to ask questions.

 

welcome to the forum and the hobby!

 

Thanks everyone. Years ago I had a tropical 55 gallon and everything I learned was from books. It's amazing what a difference 15-17 years makes.

I think one of the most difficult things I'm having trouble with is a light. I want LED but I don't want to spend 2 weeks pay to get it. I think I've narrowed it down to one ofthe following 3 choices:

1: 2x DM-55e lights from reef radiance
2: Photon 48″ from reef breeders
3: 2x Dimmable Onyx by Rapid LED

Any opinions on these choices?

 

These are just my opinions, so don't go just off of what I say. But my thoughts are below:

1: 2x DM-55e lights from reef radiance - Too many reds/orange; too many whites, not enough blues, not enough "UV".

I prefer the units that have the ratio Reef Breeders uses in their value fixture, or very close to it.

2: Photon 48″ from reef breeders - Would be a good choice, and my pick out of these 3.

3: 2x Dimmable Onyx by Rapid LED - These would work too, but then you would still need a controller and two would be more expensive then just one Photon 48.

 

So if I wasn't worried about the difference in price from the photon to the onyx, would that be your choice? I like that the onyx has hookups for an apex or other external controller and until I were to get one there is a manual controller for 30$

 

Tough one. Photon is one unit, so one power cord, only one light to hang. But bulky compared to two Onyx. Moonlights on the Photon is a nice feature, though not necessary. Being able to dim the red/"UV"/green on the Onyx is a better feature IMO, as you could easily add moonlights. I give the Onyx a little more as far as aesthetics, though the Photon doesn't look bad either. Being able to change settings on the unit itself vs. having to reprogram a controller is nice and preferred IMO.

So basically, I am no help at all.