Fluval Marine 3.0

[PurpleCarpet]

Anyone have experience with these lights, especially the 46 watt version? The tank depth is 18" and I'd like to know if anyone knows the kind of par this light throws off. Thanks!

[mcgyvr]

Its not sufficient for anything but fish only or very low light corals

[PurpleCarpet]

So the par readings fluval have provided are false? No offense but I was trying to see if anyone has actual hands on knowledge with these lights other than just stating "It's not sufficient" when the par readings from Fluval seem pretty impressive, though I do have a hard time believing they are that good, especially in the 3"-12" zone. Would be going over a tank with no SPS and things such as GSP, Mushrooms, Rhodactis, Ricordea, and things of that nature.

[bshow24]

The par numbers they are saying they achieved are pretty awful. Not even 400 3 inches under, and then at 12 inches it's 90?

To answer your question, yes, you can keep those soft corals. You'd want to place them around the 6-10 inch under mark, which doesn't leave you a ton of space but it's something.

For the cost, it'd be much better to find a used T5 Fixture, or maybe even look at some of the other black box LED options out there.

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by PurpleCarpet

So the par readings fluval have provided are false? No offense but I was trying to see if anyone has actual hands on knowledge with these lights other than just stating "It's not sufficient" when the par readings from Fluval seem pretty impressive, though I do have a hard time believing they are that good, especially in the 3"-12" zone. Would be going over a tank with no SPS and things such as GSP, Mushrooms, Rhodactis, Ricordea, and things of that nature.

As stated above the PAR numbers really aren't impressive and shouldn't be expected to be with the low wattage of the fixture.

You will have no corals in the 3" range and with an 18" tank depth most of your corals will be beyond the 12" range too..
Don't forget the fixture itself will likely be 3" or so above the water anyways so your distance from light to tank bottom is nearing 20" (sand added,etc...) so expect most corals to see par ratings in the sub 75 range directly under the fixture.. Also don't forget its a narrow fixture so you have to add distance front/back as the corals are off at an angle from direct center..
Lastly people rarely run all channels at 100% to get the color of light they enjoy so par rating drops even more. Unless you like a very white tank which most won't and certainly not a shroom/GSP tank..

For the price 2 x $99 black box LEDs or a $200 Viparspectra (300W) unit will be a much better investment if you actually intend to have decent coral growth and room to put more than very low light demanding corals into the tank.. They will also allow you to adjust to the color you want while still providing good PAR levels suitable for anything in your tank..

Those Fluval fixtures really aren't suitable for more than fish only tanks or ultra shallow frag tanks..

And I have near first hand knowledge based on trying multiple similarly powered/configured units (Current Orbits,etc...) in the past for fun (gotta love Amazon return policy).. Corals need decent wattage.. These types of fixtures cannot really provide anything but the very low end of the scale and really aren't a good purchasing decision in the long run

[PurpleCarpet]

Thank you for the detailed response. The application in which I'm using these lights a Viparspectra simply won't work as the dimensions are not there, nor any Chinese black box. Was reading an article by Dana Riddle who said the optimum PAR levels for corals in our tanks are that between 100-200 for most corals. Since I'm not planning on having any SPS but rather simple softies, I'll see how one fixture works for now and if need be I could always add an extra fixture for added PAR.

[bshow24]

If you have to add another fixture down the line, at that point you might as well have spent the money on radions or some higher end LED.

One thing I've learned with Reef aquariums, never settle for something low, because in the end, it'll just be money wasted. If you do a search, you'll see these lights aren't too popular among reefers, mainly because they don't provide the proper PAR.

I'd take into consideration what mcgyvr is saying. You have to use these lights at 100%, which will make the tank look very white - something algae absolutely loves and who wants to see softies in white light...plus you'll have to place softies pretty high up in the tank.

As far as the 100-200 mark, nobody knows a perfect number, and every single tank is different. Don't fall in line with what other people "say" works. It's about figuring out what works for your tank.

Overall it's up to you, but that's a decent amount of cash for something that doesn't provide a ton of benefit, especially when there are better options out there.