2 x 36" 36 Watt Marineland Reef LED Enough ???

[ryanmoorman]

I purchased a 2nd Marineland 36in 36 watt LED for my 66 gallon odysea bow front. Has anyone had any experience with these lights.

I have 50+ corals in here with zoa's poyps LPS SPS clam etc.... I am moving the leathers to my biocube since they are messing with my sps ( I believe). I have yet to connect my RO filter (long story but have tried) so am still using dechlorinated water with high end seachem aquavitro salt. Have enough Filtration and 9w uv , skimmer and everything but a working chiller basically.

I have been having issues with the temp fluctuating 77-82.5 possibly in a day . I have been trying to figure the culprite but still not sure. I also am running a 750gph powerhead and a 1250 on opposite ends. Recently switched the 1250 on a timmer and switches on and off ever 5 min. (Is that too much movement a 1250 in a 36in tank?)

Everything test wise appears to be ideal. 8.2-8.3 ph, .026 salt, 0 nitrite, .05 nitrate, 0 ammoniam, calcium 400, alk 6 (dont have mag test but am dosing with aquavitro mag every 3rd day.


1. Do you believe this is sufficient light to care for any and all my corals???

2. Are these fluctuations keeping my sps to fully open?
Temp, Moving them around, light changes

3. Is a 1250gph powerhead too much for a 36in tank? Where would be the best location?

[Big_Pun]

i used to run 2x koralia evo 1400 in a 36inch tank and it was perfect, had them run all day and one shut off at night. are you running any other lights besides LED on tank??? if lighting is not source of heat issue may check heater or maybe your AC system ambient air temp makes a big diff on how stable tank temps are. vid of my tank and 2x1400 k evo:

YouTube Video

[Goofball310]

1. Which light did you purchase? Double bright or Reef Capable?

2. The SPS not having PE could be due to a lot of things. To reduce the temp fluctuation you can raise you tank temp up to 80-82 degrees.

3. Flow really comes down to the type of corals you have and placement. I have a 2000gph PH in a 2' cube.

[Big_Pun]

in my experience SPS like cooler temps, since going to T5 and a good fan sytem in my canopy my tank stays 76-78 degress all day and coral look so much better. also yes i believe to reef ready lights should be good, i know some people that didnt like them due to lack of spread of light

[alton]

You have to make sure you place your SPS right under one of the LEDs. The problem I have is not enough of the LEDs themselves. I have one on my 40 which is only 12" in depth and it covers about 8". It replaced a 156 watt T5HO fixture so that part was nice and I don't have to clean the front glass because the light does not hit it.

[ErikH]

Corals come from all over the world. Some like it much cooler than what we keep our temps at, some like it hotter. I recently read an article which quoted Ron Shimek as stating that 79 was the sweet spot.

[ryanmoorman]

Where did you place the power heads?The front corners , back going forward at top. One at top going across and one on bottom?

[Big_Pun]

Where did you place the power heads?The front corners , back going forward at top. One at top going across and one on bottom?

all depends on your tank and coral placement, and others factors. you will have to place them and tweak them over time till you figure what works for your tank. start off by putting them on back glass in each corner point one to center high, other mid tank to opposite corner.