is this suffencient to grow SPS ?

[Trigger 180]

my wife and I purchased a 180 gallon tank back in FEB, and we have 2 (side by side) of these LED strips on it:

http://companion-caterers.shop.rakuten.com/p/current-usa-orbit-marine-aquarium-led-light-adjustable-from-36-48/262485942.html

the quick stats from one of the boxes are:
36-445nm/36-460nm @ 54-12000K/18-18000K 36 watt

I understand that various corals have different lighting needs, and we have nothing TOO light needy (Kenya tree, Duncan, Green Toadstool, Neon Green Palua Neptha and 2 Montipora Capricornis).

I am not entirely sure what to make of the all the numbers and watts on the side of the lighting box, and how to translate it to the needs of the corals we have. I am not too terribly concerned if they are not bright enough, as this is actually a FOWLER tank, but I am curious to know weather the corals we have will survive (if let unmolested by any future live stock). attached is a pic of our setup. thanks for any help!

[EllisJuan]

I would say definitely not. I am pretty sure those are only .25w LEDs. Most fixtures geared towards reef aquariums use 3w LEDs. I am really surprised the corals you do have are making it.

[jlongwell]

I would say definitely not. I am pretty sure those are only .25w LEDs. Most fixtures geared towards reef aquariums use 3w LEDs. I am really surprised the corals you do have are making it.

Yep, they're .25watt LEDs - completely agree, not sufficient.

Current USA has a rudimentary chart (http://current-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Orbit_Marine_Light_Specifications.jpg) that shows rough PAR values at various levels in a standard 24" aquarium, like a 180. Looks pretty low...

If you're on a budget, maybe check out the cheap chinese LEDs you can find on eBay (Taotronics, et al.). They're obviously not the best, but Most people that purchase them (myself included) tend to be happy and I haven't heard any real horror stories. You could probably get away with three over a 180, and at $130-$160 each you wouldn't end up spending much more than you would on two of the CurrentUSA fixtures.

I use a no-name Chinese knock-off of the older ReefBreeders fixture over my frag tank and couldn't be happier with it for the price I paid.

[Trigger 180]

hmm. stuff to think about. it seems that the corals we DO have are mostly pretty happy. the exception being our green toadstool leather. it has been pretty grumpy since we set up the tank. but the other corals are doing great. especially our montipora cap., it is blooming out quite nicely every day, and is eating rather well. our Kenya tree is likely to drop daughter colonies soon (go figure), and the cabbage coral is not only out, but is producing little daughter colonies under the larger ones. and our greatest success so far is our Duncan colony. it we can see smaller polyps growing under the larger ones as well, and the Duncans are at the bottom of the tank. I am not entirely sure about the math that goes into calculating how much light you should have, and how to calculate how much light is acutally REACHING the bottom of my tank, but it would seem, so far, that despite the odds, my corals are still thriving. $ is an issue for my family right now, but I will investigate those "knock offs", but for now, i'll have to stick with what I've got I guess. thanks to all for the advice!

[Trigger 180]

what I forgot to ask, is exactly how many watts per gallon AM I getting? I hear that I am supposed to have 2-3 watts per gallon at the least to keep leather corals alive, but 3-4 watts per gallon is optimal. I am not sure how to inturpit what the side of the box is telling me into what is being distributed into my tank, let alone what the watts per gallon are the deeper you get into the tank. can somebody explain how to figure this out? i'd have most of my corals toward the top (which may explain why my corals are still living), but I would like to know how much light is getting to the bottom as well. thank for the help!

[ShallowPlanet]

I think the watts per gallon rule is outdated. I still hear people at some Pet stores use it but its really a useless rule of measurement. If you are going LED I would look more into what coverage you need and how many LEDs you should have. Most of the fixtures will tell you how big of a spread they recommend and what corals you can keep. Such as the Reef Breeders value fixture is recommended for a 2'x2' area for SPS and I think up to 3' for less demanding corals.

[Trigger 180]

here is a few pics of the corals described, and how they are doing as of today! I am no expert for sure, but it appears to me that they are happy and in full bloom. so maybe I can get away with the lighting I have? thoughts?

[john08007]

side note, looks like you have a redsea wave maker sitting on a basket on top of the center brace, personally I would relocate that so that it doesn't get bumped. I have never used a redsea but I am not sure how it will hold up with the moisture it may be in contact with up there

[Trigger 180]

thanks john! you are right, it's a red sea wave maker. I did not think about the moisture\evaporation. it will relocate it just in case!

[john08007]

I wasn't thinking as much about moisture as it getting bumped and falling in the tank, I try to make everything as idiot proof as possible. Would stink to lose a nice piece of equipment like that when it could've been safely located someplace else

[Trigger 180]

true, true. if moisture wasn't so much of an issue, at least we have the wave maker well secured in the back!