Most corals are photosynthetic organism and they need a reef tank LED light to thrive. Although lighting is very important for the life of coral, not all aquarium LED light can grow corals. According to the invertebrates kept in your aquarium (LPS corals, SPS corals, anemones, or clams), you will need a particular light to meet their needs. In this guide, I will cover some of the best LED lights for reef tank that come in various sizes and are intended for different coral types for you to choose. LEDs: 8,000K/12,000K white and 445nm/460nm actinic blue LEDs provide eye-popping colors with vibrant shimmer LED lens: 120 degree lenses for uniform and perfect color blend Programmable: Ramp Timer Pro with wireless IR remote help to automatically turn on/off the light follow a preset cycle that includes 24 hour gradual sunrise, sunset and moonlighting. Current USA Orbit Marine LED light Lighting modes: very flexible color adjustment, adjustable moon light color, brightness and duration, slow sunrise and sunset

Dimmable: Minimum and maximum intensity (0-100%). Ideal for acclimating your corals to the new bright LED Ideal for: marine fish, inverts, live rock and corals (soft and LPS corals). Lighting modes: very flexible color adjustment and four dynamic preset effects. Programmable: 24 hour on and off ramping simulates sunrise, sunset and moonlight.fish tank glass is green Dimmable: intensity can be adjustable.big marine fish tanks for sale High PAR ideal for: marine fish, inverts, live rock, corals (soft, LPS, SPS corals) and clams.3 feet aquarium price Available sizes: 18-24″, 24-36″, 48-60″, 72″.cheap fish tank stand for sale

Adjustable docking mounts to perfectly fit your aquarium size. The Current USA Orbit Marine Pro has many features same to the Current USA Orbit Marine; however, it is specially designed to provide higher PAR and can be applied for almost photosynthetic corals (soft, LPS, SPS corals) and clams. If you have high-light corals in your reef tank, the Current USA Orbit Marine Pro will provide enough light to make these photosynthetic creatures thrive.fish tank light hanger LEDs: full spectrum (8,000K to 20,000K) with white, blue, violet/indigo, green, and red LEDs for the stunning view and coral growth.fish tank stand australia LED lens: 90 degree optic lens for maximizing coverage and optimizing PAR output. Lighting modes: color temperature is adjustable from 8,000K to 20,000K helping you achieve your corals’ needs, full spectrum for your viewing pleasure.

Dimmable: digital intensity control offers the ability to fully adjust the light intensity (0-100%). It is very helpful for you to upgrade from your current light and acclimate the corals. Euphotica programmable LED light Programmable: LCD panel with capacitive (touch) control offers to set your own light schedule and the Euphotica LED light will automatically switch between sunrise and sunset effect follow the cycle. Heat dissipation: fan system for the longer lifetime of the LEDs Available sizes: 16″, 24″, 32″ Hanging kit includes two carabiner hooks and two hanging cables Instruction manual is included for easy access. LEDs: 55 x 3W LEDs include 45mil bridgelux white chips and 45mil Epistar blue chips, LED lens: made of famous brand acrylic for higher PAR output, high transmittance, perfect color uniformity, anti-aging. Galaxyhydro 55x3w LEDs for coral and fish Lighting modes: two dimmers with two power cords and two on/off switches for blue, white or full color effect simulating natural environment of corals, such as sun-set, sun-rise, day and night…

Dimmer 1 (28 LEDs): cool white, warm white, red 660nm, green 520nm, Dimmer 2 (27 LEDs): blue 460nm, purple 410nm, royal blue, Turn on both 2 dimmers for full color effect, Dimmable: the brightness is fully manual dimmable from 0% to 100% by a revolving button, Heat dissipation: mute fans for lower noise than others, Dimension: 15.8 x 8.4 x 2.4 inches, Using: one light fixture for a 20, 25, 29, 30, 40 to 50 gallon aquarium. For larger tank sizes, use more than one fixture for better performance, Choosing an appropriate lighting for the photosynthetic organisms in your reef tank requires answering three questions: Without getting too much into the science of it all, light is a wave which is blue at the shorter wavelength (more energy) and red at the longer wavelength (less energy). We see this in a rainbow as the light spectrum is split up in the rain or by a prism. Visible light spectrum (source: wikimedia) As sunlight travels through water the longer wavelengths (longest is red light – wavelength from 650nm to 700nm) are removed.

From 15 feet the red spectrum has been removed and by 50 feet of water only the blue remains. Coral which exists naturally at around 30-40 feet below the surface of the sea then you will need a lighting system which can supplement blue light (8000 – 20000 K) rather than white light (6500 – 7000 K) used for freshwater plants. Specific types of corals use different light spectrum (or color temperature) for their photosynthesis that will vary according to their natural habitat (depends on the depth below the sea level where they live). Using the right light will help to boost the health of your corals, so it is best to consider the light available to these creatures in their natural habitat. You should consider a LED light that can provide a right color temperature to meet the needs of all corals in your reef tank. The primary difference between a reef tank and a fish only marine tank is the presence of live corals and the inverts that help maintain a coral-suitable environment.

The vast majority of corals maintained in home aquariums are photosynthetic. They convert light to nutrients and therefore essentially feed off the lighting available. This is accomplished through a symbiotic relationship between the corals and algae species called Zooxanthellae, which live inside the coral tissue and convert light into glucose through photosynthesis. While many corals may also actively feed on plankton to supplement photosynthetic nutrient production, to varying degrees most require some minimal light output to survive. As a result, maintaining a reef tank requires the aquarist to pay particular attention to meet the needs of corals and other light dependent invertebrates (like clams and anemones) by assuring availability of light. The Zooxanthellae live within the corals system and live off the waste of the coral, such as carbon dioxide and forms of nitrogen as a food source. In turn, the coral lives off the waste of them. If the coral’s environment is not kept as it should and becomes stressed, then it will expel the Zooxanthellae.

This phenomenon is called coral bleaching and the bleached corals will probably die. Coral bleaching happens when the corals are stressed that can be caused by a multitude of factors, including over lighting. Over lighting usually happens when switching from fluorescent light to LED light. That is the reason why you need a dimmer to acclimate your corals to the new LED light (some LED lights today include dimmable feature). To answer this question you need a unit to measure the light quantity. Lumen (symbol: lm) is a measure of the total quantity of visible light emitted by a source. Lumen precisely refers to how much light a particular light source gives off rather than how much energy it consumes to provide the light measured by watts. Different types of aquarium lights, as well as brands, will need different energy (watts) to provide same lumens for an aquarium. LED light is new technology light that saves energy by consuming less energy (watts) than other lights but providing the same quantity of light (lumens).

So, there is no specific rule “watts per gallon” for LED light like other aquarium lights. As a baseline consider the minimum lumen output suitable for any reef tank to be 1000 lumens per square foot of surface area for a shallow tank (no more than 18 inches deep at the location of corals). To calculate square footage of your tank, multiply length times width in inches and divide by 144. The lumen parameter is normally not provided; however, the manufacturer will provide you which aquarium types and sizes the product is intended for. Just read what are claimed by the manufacturers and the reviews of other customers to make your right decision. Since coral requires blue light to survive you will need to have a blue light in your aquarium lighting. The problem with this is that an aquarium doesn’t look very nice when showered in blue light. To make your coral grow but still have a nice looking aquarium it is often best to combine a specifically blue LEDs with some other colorful ones.

This gives the coral the required blue light while also bathing the aquarium in enough of the other color spectrum to look good. So, give your attention to the visual effects provided by the light and make sure you love it before making your buying. As you probably have already found out when it comes to aquarium lighting you have a huge amount of choices and just as large difference in pricing. This includes not only the initial cost of the light system but also the cost of bulb-replacement and operating (electrical) cost. Some lighting systems may cost less initially but may require frequent bulb changes in order to maintain the intensity and spectrum of light being produced. When selecting a lighting system for your aquarium, do a little research and carefully consider these questions to help you make your decision. Consider these things include the initiating as well as operating costs, heat dissipation, power consumption and the lifetime of the light before making your decision.