Are high dollar lights worth it?

[MorReefs]

so spectrum for coloration is a thing, outside of that you just need to hit those PAR numbers. Even when hitting your PAR numbers those numbers can very. I personally run between 80-300 in my 300 but a friend runs 400-800 in his 450 gallon. I can say though light penetration was a huge factor when I was buying lights. I did T5s first and those wouldnt penetrate to the sand bed, then I tried reef breeder led and those didnt penetrate. I then bought radions and they didnt penetrate enough either so I went with Orpheks and these worked. So I would have preferred the T5 hybrid fixture I ended up having to buy expensive lights.

 

[Mckreef]

Definitely going to be interested in this thread. Have had Kessil A360x over my 45G JBJ for 3 years and at about 2.5 years the light is already failing. Wanted to stick with Kessil but having a hard time justifying $400-$600 on a new light if it’s going to last 3 years. I could get a new black box light every year and still save $. Any recommendations on one?

 

[TX_REEF]

I must be missing something and I am hopeful someone will point out my flawed logic. It seems, that as long as I achieve the needed PAR level in the spectrum used to "feed" the zooxanthellae", which I believe is between 450-470nm range, then anything else is just for visual preference of the human observer. If this is so, then black box LEDs using CREE XT-E and XP-E2 or Bridgelux will grow the corals the same as Radion G6. I realize they may have some electrical and safety considerations, but it seems that the light wars are over hyped. Am I missing something?

Aside from growth, coloration is also a factor. This video provides some excellent practical evidence of how Kessil LEDs produce more color development than black box (nicrew), and in fact, radion. For growth only, I agree, no need to break the bank with brand name lights.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

I frag a lot of the same corals and move them between different tanks with different lights( Kessil, EcoTech, Vivarspectra, AI, etc.) There might be some subtle coloration differences between LED lights, but I don't notice much growth difference. People have some functionality preferences. I really only care to run the blue channel morning and night, and full spectrum all day. I don't get bogged down in the channel customisation. A lot of it is personal preference. Modern LEDs will grow coral.

 

[CHSUB]

It is a good discussion. I’m getting very “acceptable” growth with these budget lights I purchased a few months ago. They function great and have a pleasing look. However without considering anything I would run what I did more than a decade ago: 400 watt MH with t5 and LEDs for pop. Note the power of the 400 watt MH….

 

[IntrinsicReef]

Also, in almost 25 years in the industry, I've noticed that people want to splurge on lights. It's something in our psyche. Lights are flashy and cool. People don't want to spend money on hidden, boring, redundant equipment that will make their system bulletproof. But they will drop coin on the newest light. I've seen it countless times.

 

[Lionfish hunter]

I must be missing something and I am hopeful someone will point out my flawed logic. It seems, that as long as I achieve the needed PAR level in the spectrum used to "feed" the zooxanthellae", which I believe is between 450-470nm range, then anything else is just for visual preference of the human observer. If this is so, then black box LEDs using CREE XT-E and XP-E2 or Bridgelux will grow the corals the same as Radion G6. I realize they may have some electrical and safety considerations, but it seems that the light wars are over hyped. Am I missing something?

So many high dollar items in this hobby are just not worth it at all. Like a return pump for instance. I have never had one fail, what’s the difference.

But high dollar lighting can be worth it. I went from Amazon leds to radions and it is just so much better. You can customize every led to make it have the exact spectrum you want. Going from blue in the morning to more white at midday to more blue before dark is really nice to have. They also have more power 200 watts, better coverage, and I’m sure are less of a fire hazard. You can grow awesome corals with cheaper lights. But I would never go back. I paid 400$ for each xr30 used, paying a grand per light would be hard to swallow.

 

[Borat]

As soon as your lights are at least twice as expensive as Bob's-the-neighbour, you should be fine! Even better - make sure you also have twice as many as he has - that will make him look like a poor Borat's chicken!

 

[FishTruck]

Lots of it comes down to the quality of the wiring, heat management, durability above salt water and LEDs used. Unfortunately, paying more does not always correlate with the quality in this direction any more than the PAR or spectrum. I have used four "high end" brands. Two seem bullet proof, one of the brands can't seem to be run much past 60% power without blowing out LED boards, the other one just corrodes and becomes useless after two years.

Circa 2007 or so when LEDs were just getting started - I made three fixtures with simple parts and they lasted years. They key seemed to be good water shielding and oversized heat sinks and fans. No dimming or timing or adjusting colors, on the home made ones, though. PLus, they were big and ugly. I think trying to make pretty and sleek looking lights can come at a reliability cost.

That's my experience.

 

[MoshJosh]

I just want a mass produced LED in a coral spectrum with just a dimmer switch/dial (sure throw an on off switch in their if you must)! If we could get one of those mass produced think of how cheap it could be!!!

Just this with some different diodes (I did grow corals (and lots of algae) with this exact light vvv)

https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/lamps/products/hlg-65
EDIT: But I guess more on topic, cheap lights work just fine! That said you may miss out on some features (you may not have wanted) on more expensive alternatives.

And anecdotally, your high end lights seem to produce more aesthetically pleasing looks, or at least such a look is easier to dial in. For example my Amazon lights "probably" grow corals just as well as my LFS's AI Blades. . . but (to my eyes) their corals look better. . . not enough better for me to spend thousands on lighting. . . but better.

That said, Glowrium Reef lights (very cheap on Amazon) are amazing so far and are what I plan on putting over my next tanks!

 

[sfin52]

Aside from growth, coloration is also a factor. This video provides some excellent practical evidence of how Kessil LEDs produce more color development than black box (nicrew), and in fact, radion. For growth only, I agree, no need to break the bank with brand name lights.

I would take the growth over color. Color doesn't always mean the best.

 

[jermzisurmom]

I have had great success with a viparspectra (black box). I now am trying a Nycrew hyperreef and I gotta say they are basically cheaper version radions

I love my hyper reef

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

I love my hyper reef

They are very powerful

 

[skiergd011013]

I have a wills blackbox from amazon. Tank looks great. $90.

 

[Dragen Fiend]

I've used Fluval nano, noop k7 mini, K7 pro III, Kessil A80, Kessil 360xe, Glowrium, Hygger 50w and NICRWEW 50w Gen 1.

Let me tell you what I learned.

They all performed the same based on their recommended tank sizes. The biggest difference was controllability and color spectrum.

By far Kessil has the best color and shimmer that I personally like. With the wifi dongle, it has the controllability I wanted.

Some of them when turned up all the way to blue spectrum, had too much purple tint to it. Which I don't like.
Some of them lacked control features or an app.

I've come to the conclusion that the only way you will ever truly know what light you want. Is to actually see it in person.

 

[TX_REEF]

I would take the growth over color. Color doesn't always mean the best.

of course, each reefkeeper has their own preference there!

 

[LPS Bum]

I have a majority LPS reef. Some softies, some SPS but only the "easy" ones (montis, pocillopora, etc), and a few Maxima clams. No acros.

I run 3 RedSea Reef LED 90s because they came with my Gen 2 system, but only at 64%. If you're not keeping light demanding acros, any LED, T5 or halide light that gives you decent spectrum and PAR will suffice. The higher end stuff typically comes with more features and possibly better reliability, but for the most part, it's not necessary.

 

[saltienewb]

I have an AP9X. I’m sure others grow coral as well or better, but seeing other local hobbyists setup, I prefer the “glitter” of my light. Was worth it for me

 

[Spare time]

The only light I will pay premium for are kessil lights. Anything else is just not worth the price to me.

 

[PharmrJohn]

ReefBreeder Photon v2s and Nicrew Gen 2s have been the best lights I have owned. Great value. Better coverage, PAR, and ability to program over other brands I have owned, such as AI Prime HD, MicMol, and NooPsyche.

Yep. I settled on either two 48" Photon V2s for my upcoming tank. I already got one V2 for basically half price used.