New Aquarium Co-Op Light

[Alec]

I know this is a long shot as I assume there was little to no testing done on this aspect of the light (understandably so), but is the co-op light strong enough to grow corals in saltwater? 

@Zenzo @Cory

[Cory]

I’d say no, as it’s not the right spectrum. 

[Alec]

On 10/19/2022 at 12:01 PM, Cory said:

I’d say no, as it’s not the right spectrum. 

I thought that would be the case.  Thank you. 

[Cory]

It's the light I've been developing. It will hopefully release by the end of the year. We keep experiencing covid delays. Currently our lights are manufactured, but stuck at the factory the last 2 weeks due to covid lockdown mandate in china.

[Chris]

FWIW, I've got a 48" finnex stingray over my 55 gallon green spotted puffer tank and am growing some Caulerpa and some "pest" corals with it - Yellow button polyps, mainly.

Spectrum does matter, but corals will grow with daylight (6500K) spectrums too. They'll probably be brown and not super colorful, but I think you could get away with using that light for some soft corals and polyps.

There are way better budget reef options out there, though, so unless you already had a light on hand (which you don't, Co-op light isn't out yet) I'd spend that money on a LED black box or maybe even something as simple as a T5 fixture retrofitted with LEDs.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Chris

[Alec]

@Chris

Yeah, right now I just have an Aqueon planted light. When I set up my tank I was just going to focus on fish and didn't want to mess with coral. Now I want to get into coral, but two fish stores have told me id need a reef light to grow the corals. I would hate to spend the money on corals and have them die, so I think I'm eventually just going to spend the money and get a reef light. 

I too have some macro algae in my tank that grow just fine with the Aqueon light, just not sure about the actual corals. 

[Chris]

On 10/21/2022 at 2:47 PM, Alec said:

@Chris

Yeah, right now I just have an Aqueon planted light. When I set up my tank I was just going to focus on fish and didn't want to mess with coral. Now I want to get into coral, but two fish stores have told me id need a reef light to grow the corals. I would hate to spend the money on corals and have them die, so I think I'm eventually just going to spend the money and get a reef light. 

I too have some macro algae in my tank that grow just fine with the Aqueon light, just not sure about the actual corals. 

How big is your tank?

I had great luck out of the 165W LED Black Box lights off Amazon for larger tanks, and for nanos (10 gallons) I used the Hipargero Aquaknight. Both were cheap and worked well for softies and LPS.

[Alec]

@Chris

Its a 29 gallon

 

[Chris]

I thiink a Black Box hung above your tank would do well. You'd have to turn it down quite a bit, but you'll get a massive bang for your buck. 

Alternatively a couple AI Primes should do that tank, I'd imagine. More $$$, though.

[Alec]

@Chris

Im not sure I know what LED black box you're talking about. Do you have a link?

[Chris]

This one is similar to one I used over a 20 gallon long years back:

https://www.amazon.com/Wattshine-Aquarium-Spectrum-Dimmable-Channels/dp/B097R62YH2/ref=sr_1_31?keywords=165w+led+aquarium+light&qid=1666379436&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjIwIiwicXNhIjoiMi40MiIsInFzcCI6IjEuMzgifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=165w+led+%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-31

This one is the same brand as I had, but slightly lower wattage. Still plenty for a 29. You'll likely have to hang it at least 18" above your tank, and you'll probably still have to turn it down a little, too. 

I removed the lenses off of mine to get a cleaner look to the light, and preferred that - but that was my preference.