Lighting for soft corals.

PitViper · 03/31/2018, 09:38 AM

I am getting into the soft corals area. Bought my first softie last night. Little blue mushroom coral. But I have some crappy lighting hood with the coralife 50/50 10 watt bulbs. My question is this.
Does anyone have the Current USA Marine Orbit LED lighting fixture. And if so are they any good?

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RXCoral · 03/31/2018, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PitViper

I am getting into the soft corals area. Bought my first softie last night. Little blue mushroom coral. But I have some crappy lighting hood with the coralife 50/50 10 watt bulbs. My question is this.
Does anyone have the Current USA Marine Orbit LED lighting fixture. And if so are they any good?

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The Marine Orbit would be fine as a starter light. It has mediocre par values at best, but it would suffice if all you wanted to have were softies.

I’ve had two of the fixtures myself, and my mushrooms did great at about 15 inches. I loved the ramp up and down and moon lighting, but I didn’t use the weather effects that much. Since then, I have upgraded my lighting and have moved over to hard coral. If you love reef keeping, you’ll end up upgrading pretty much everything you have anyways.

If you haven’t looked at it already, here’s a link to the Current website with the specs for their fixtures.

https://current-usa.com/updated-orbit-led-specs/

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PitViper · 03/31/2018, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pHARMLIFE

The Marine Orbit would be fine as a starter light. It has mediocre par values at best, but it would suffice if all you wanted to have were softies.

I’ve had two of the fixtures myself, and my mushrooms did great at about 15 inches. I loved the ramp up and down and moon lighting, but I didn’t use the weather effects that much. Since then, I have upgraded my lighting and have moved over to hard coral. If you love reef keeping, you’ll end up upgrading pretty much everything you have anyways.

If you haven’t looked at it already, here’s a link to the Current website with the specs for their fixtures.

https://current-usa.com/updated-orbit-led-specs/

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Well this is my first SW set up. It’s only a 10 gallon. And from what your saying about the Current USA this would be a perfect fit for me. Since it’s not that deep and sounds like par levels would be perfect.

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RXCoral · 03/31/2018, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PitViper

Well this is my first SW set up. It’s only a 10 gallon. And from what your saying about the Current USA this would be a perfect fit for me. Since it’s not that deep and sounds like par levels would be perfect.

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Sounds like a great fit for you then! Good luck

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PitViper · 03/31/2018, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pHARMLIFE

Sounds like a great fit for you then! Good luck

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Ok so I changed my mind about the light I’m going to use. Instead of using the Current USA. I’m going to buying a kessel A80. That way I can transfer it to my 40 gallon when the time comes.

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RXCoral · 03/31/2018, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PitViper

Ok so I changed my mind about the light I’m going to use. Instead of using the Current USA. I’m going to buying a kessel A80. That way I can transfer it to my 40 gallon when the time comes.

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Great choice for that tank. It should cover the 10g nicely for soft coral. One might not be adequate if you move up to a 40g breeder though.

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PitViper · 03/31/2018, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pHARMLIFE

Great choice for that tank. It should cover the 10g nicely for soft coral. One might not be adequate if you move up to a 40g breeder though.

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One would be adequate enough if it was towards the center of tank and closer to water BUT I won’t take that risk. Like you said it would be a better idea for two lights. And the par levels towards the bottom of the ten gallon would be at around 50-70 towards bottom and obviously higher at middle and top of tank.

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RXCoral · 03/31/2018, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PitViper

One would be adequate enough if it was towards the center of tank and closer to water BUT I won’t take that risk. Like you said it would be a better idea for two lights. And the par levels towards the bottom of the ten gallon would be at around 50-70 towards bottom and obviously higher at middle and top of tank.

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Good point. But a good light to start with a 10g for soft coral

. Put some pics up as soon as you get it stabilized.

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PitViper · 03/31/2018, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pHARMLIFE

Good point. But a good light to start with a 10g for soft coral

. Put some pics up as soon as you get it stabilized.

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This is just the mushroom. That’s all. With the coralife 50/50 6 inch 10 watt bulbs

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RXCoral · 03/31/2018, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PitViper

This is just the mushroom. That’s all. With the coralife 50/50 6 inch 10 watt bulbs

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Looks great! Before you know it you’ll have a whole rock full

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PitViper · 03/31/2018, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pHARMLIFE

Looks great! Before you know it you’ll have a whole rock full

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That’s the problem lmao. From what I read and heard they can take over your tank pretty quickly

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RXCoral · 03/31/2018, 09:03 PM

Yep haha. That can be a problem with shrooms. They tend to stay put and only overgrow the rock they’re on if you keep them isolated on a rock island per say.

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER · 04/18/2018, 01:35 PM

I have that light and I love it. I have one GSP, a cabbage leather coral and a mushroom of some sort and they are loving it. I have them about mid-way up in a 20h tank. I have the daylight set at 100% blue 70% white and red green at 25%. I don't plan on keeping sps or anything like that yet cause I've only had a saltwater tank for almost 2 months and wanna see how everything goes with it.

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03/31/2018, 09:38 AM	#1
PitViper Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 169	Lighting for soft corals. I am getting into the soft corals area. Bought my first softie last night. Little blue mushroom coral. But I have some crappy lighting hood with the coralife 50/50 10 watt bulbs. My question is this. Does anyone have the Current USA Marine Orbit LED lighting fixture. And if so are they any good? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

03/31/2018, 09:03 PM	#12
RXCoral RXCoral Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Grand Rapid, Mi Posts: 105	Yep haha. That can be a problem with shrooms. They tend to stay put and only overgrow the rock they’re on if you keep them isolated on a rock island per say. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ PHARMLIFE There's worse things to spend money on, but I'd rather just stick to fish😂

04/18/2018, 01:35 PM	#13
DSFIRSTSLTWATER Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: ct Posts: 42	I have that light and I love it. I have one GSP, a cabbage leather coral and a mushroom of some sort and they are loving it. I have them about mid-way up in a 20h tank. I have the daylight set at 100% blue 70% white and red green at 25%. I don't plan on keeping sps or anything like that yet cause I've only had a saltwater tank for almost 2 months and wanna see how everything goes with it. Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk