recommendations on what led light to use for a reef tank.

[Lacutis]

could I please get recommendations on which led reef light is considered the best. I am setting up a 65gal reef tank and overwhelmed on all the choices. I have bought a Marineland reef led but am looking for something better. I am looking a Maxspect 27 Inch Razor R420R 16,000K LED. Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[phillrodrigo]

There are so many options and you will never get a universal answer. If you have no budget I would go with Radion or the hydra 52. Alot of people do love the max spect also. If your on a budget a reef breeders photon 32 is about 450 with is fully controllable. Could also do 2 value fixtures which are 179 each. There are others out there these are the few I have played with. I have a photon 48 on my 75. The owner of reef breeders is probably the best customer service you can possibly get

 

[ReefLEDLights]

Marineland Reef is OK for a FOWLR.

You Need at least 100 PAR on the sand bed according to Sanjay. I like to see over 200 for carpet anemones and clams.

In this hobby you more often than not pay for what you get up to a point.

Value Fixtures have 30,000 hour LEDs but often their drivers fail after a year or two. Not to mention their spectrum.

Better Importers upgrade the drivers so they do not go broke with a one year warranty. Spectrum is an issue whenever using 3 watt BridgeLux Knockoffs.

Maxspect and similar are fine for Softies and some LPS but if you want SPS and clams on the sand bed a 400 watt MH equivalent is best.

Bill

 

[Jimbo662]

Check out this article. It helped me go with the Kessil A360s and I love them. Had the Vega Colors and just couldn't get them dialed in correctly.

My LED Journey and Experiences - Reef Keeping - Austin Reef Club

 

[ReefLEDLights]

Check out this article. It helped me go with the Kessil A360s and I love them. Had the Vega Colors and just couldn't get them dialed in correctly.

My LED Journey and Experiences - Reef Keeping - Austin Reef Club

Gotta agree with the quality review but as far as intensity none of the lights mentioned are a 400 watt MH equivalent. Just a 250 MH at best...

Why not acclimate the corals to a full High Noon (100%) like they receive in a natural shallow reef.

I'm running 600+ PAR at the top and 200+ on the sand bed and my corals are thriving with LEDs. This is for 4-6 hours a day depending on the tank.

This chart for the Modern Coral Reef Aquarium by Fossa and Nilsen is about what a 400 watt MH Produces between 1000 and 1400


Bill

 

[uppermost]

I personally think your crazy if you think the maxspect razor is only good for LPS and softies. I have the 160W razor and that this is crazy powerful. At 75% power on A and B channel the lights almost hurt your eyes. At 100% percent power it's a holy sh** that's bright response

 

[mainereefer]

Gotta agree with the quality review but as far as intensity none of the lights mentioned are a 400 watt MH equivalent. Just a 250 MH at best...

Why not acclimate the corals to a full High Noon (100%) like they receive in a natural shallow reef.

I'm running 600+ PAR at the top and 200+ on the sand bed and my corals are thriving with LEDs. This is for 4-6 hours a day depending on the tank.

This chart for the Modern Coral Reef Aquarium by Fossa and Nilsen is about what a 400 watt MH Produces between 1000 and 1400


Bill

my argument is high noon at the equator the kelvin rating is only around 6500k now if you blast coral with 10x the usable light (blue light) in an aquarium how is this natural?


but I totally agree about maxpect razor! everyone i know with a maxspect razor sold it to buy it2040 or it2060. i t series are great lights, I have still never herd a complaint!

 

[ReefLEDLights]

Salt Water blocks the warmer Red Spectrum really quick. Almost all red is gone after 30 feet.

Also corals naturally receive more light than they need. When they do they develop desirable pigments to reflect the extra light.

This is why hardcore SPS reefers still stick with the 400 watt MH. Most fixtures including maxspect, and radion only put out PAR equivalent to a 250 watt MH.

Bill

 

[phillrodrigo]

I'm kinda lost hear since I have never ran halides but you are a led seller and pretty much telling them to go halides. Now saying any led light is no were near a 400 watt but closer to a 250 isn't that fine for the tanks were talking about here. Pretty sure If I ran a 400 on my 75 it would cook the entire tank. Does anyone tun 400 watt halides on a 75 or for the op, s tank a 65 gallon

 

[ReefLEDLights]

I'm kinda lost hear since I have never ran halides but you are a led seller and pretty much telling them to go halides. Now saying any led light is no were near a 400 watt but closer to a 250 isn't that fine for the tanks were talking about here. Pretty sure If I ran a 400 on my 75 it would cook the entire tank. Does anyone tun 400 watt halides on a 75 or for the op, s tank a 65 gallon

Yes we offer LED Kits and Finished Fixtures.

I first started with MH back in the day before LEDs were cost effective. About 7 years ago LEDs became cost effective and been using them since.

On a 30" deep tank a 400 watt MH will give you about 200 PAR on the sand bed which is needed for clams and carpet anemones. Most of the quality 250 watt DE MH fixtures back in the day also had two or four T5 Bulbs as well, so a 400 watt halide will not cook your tank provided you acclimate.

You will be fine with 100 PAR on the sand bed as long as your clams are placed further up.

Its not uncommon to find a single 400 watt MH over a 30" Rimless. That said it is unnecessary to provide that intensity for 12-14 hours. This is why LEDs are better as they can dim up and down to provide a natural lighting schedule.

Bill

 

[hart24601]

Back to the OP, if you are still thinking about it anymore, it gets really tricky to define "best" with LED. Most power, best spread, most features, best bang for the buck? I have come to the point where I want LEDs over the entire tank, not clusters. IMO too much spotlighting and shading when corals get big. There are also people who were raised, so to speak, with MH lights and the look of MH is what they want and are not happy with any LED although fixtures having lime in them might give them the visual brightness they like without the added PAR.

IMO the best LEDs right now are the evergrow/reefbreeders/reefRad/OceanRevive. I think the colors are pretty good, plenty of power and they are affordable enough to use multiple fixtures covering the entire surface of the tank. Here is a link to my acro growout so you can see growth, imo it's pretty good.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/sp...cros/176670-harts-acropora-coral-growout.html

 

[mainereefer]

Yes we offer LED Kits and Finished Fixtures.
Its not uncommon to find a single 400 watt MH over a 30" Rimless. That said it is unnecessary to provide that intensity for 12-14 hours. This is why LEDs are better as they can dim up and down to provide a natural lighting schedule.

Bill

really?
for the past 8 years my lights run is 6 hrs total! thats even back when I had 3 diy led fixtures over my 180g they only had 40x3w blue/white cheep led on each fixture. acros browned in the sandbed but thrived 1/2 way up in the tank birdsnest, pavona, and tyree red dragon acro did great in the sand next to my lps...

for a 65g, depending on features you want the light to have look into a couple evergrow d2120 or if you want programmable a couple evergrow it2040 there are a few sponsors here that sell these lights (reefbreeders,oceanrevive....) whoever you buy from check their warranty the lights come with 2year warranty from manufacturer but companies like reefbreeders take care of you, then handle the warranty issues with the manufacturer so you dont have to deal with someone in china!

 

[jvu61]

I have a vertex 360 5 feet long on my 6 foot 300 gal. I have found it to be a great light in every way. loaded with features ... the only problem with this light is that it cost a ton of money but anyone that has one will most likely say that are the best led lights on the market

 

[Reefer-Madness]

you want the look of MH and the magical shimmer then get some kessils. They are the best at reproducing the MG style. But they are not as power maxing out at around 250watt mh equivilant or 90w led power. I have three and they look awesome!!! and i mean awesome. BUT and this is a huge ***, the spotlighting from a single pendant light creates a lot of dead light areas and shadows over any over hang, corals edge or beyond the centers and back down. I was pondering this for over a year and after limited coral growth but great health and visual appeal i decided to change to a more covered layout insted of pendant.

I run mine 100, 100% 1pm to 12am everyday. sometimes doing just actinics hour before and after turn on. 30 inch tall tank and lights 6 inch from water. Im hesitant to sell because it looks soo gooood. But i need more punch with my lights. SO i might try adding 4 strip t5 along the 6'

 

[Feathers&Frags]

I have three tanks: a 180, a 170, and an 80 shallow. I run LED fixtures on all three with great success. I'm using the Evergrow IT2060 fixtures from Barrier Reef Aquariums in Renton, Washington. Fully programmable for around $340 plus tax. They do repairs in house and offer a 2-year warranty. Great customer service and very friendly people.