Best Reef light Under $200

[Fish man]

I started my 55g with this. They are American made, dimmable and have sunrise/sunset modes. I grew soft, lps and some beginner sps with this light. When I upgraded to a 90g I bought/added 1 of their full spectrum. I still use them. Good light, good quality and good price. Copy and paste this description into the amazon search window.​

​

Aquarium LED Light Bar 48" ReefBar Pro 50/50 Blue/12k 42x 3W Bridgelux 55 75 90 110 140 Gallon​

 

[reefer168]

I use this one (older version that uses mobile app controls): Relassy Updated Aquarium Light with Remote Control, 300W Dimmable LED Coral Reef Light for Saltwater Freshwater Fish Tanks with Timer 6/12/18 Function .

My bubblegum digitata grows very well under it. It’s light weight and strong brightness. I hang it above 15” over my 65gal tank

 

[kados]

I run a 187g FOWLR - (3x) 50w RedSea ReefLEDS fon a 64" x 24" x 28" tank. It can grow softies no problem. Here was a pic at setup cranked down like 35% white and blue.

2nd pic is a 30" deep cylinder tank with (2x) RedSea ReefLED50 at 50% for reference. Not as cheap as Blackbox but I'm very happy with the set up.

 

[outhouse]

My current lights I am using are Ocean Revive (discontinued), they're a step above the basic black box but not much.
I do like the spread of these OR lights and I'm getting really good growth on SPS and LPS and all and awesome colours (once I swapped the UV and deep blue LEDs so that UV can run on the blue channel at higher %). If you can find the Ocean Revive LEDs for a decent price (I picked up 4 used units for $75) they're great lights.

Here's a small vid of my holding tank running with 1 ocean revive. LED. When I finish setting up my 90g however it will probably be with the smatfarm or the popbloom rs90 that I'll go with.

this is from my ocean revive lights below set at 8% Blue and 1% white. If you need parts they run the same electronics as viparspectra. Not enough UV or purple spectrum, but they grow coral like weeds when turned down.

I originally said viparspectra as my choice, but I will change that to the smatfarm lights

 

[jphilip813]

this is from my ocean revive lights below set at 8% Blue and 1% white. If you need parts they run the same electronics as viparspectra. Not enough UV or purple spectrum, but they grow coral like weeds when turned down.

I originally said viparspectra as my choice, but I will change that to the smatfarm lights

Another SMATFarm alumni...lol

 

[outhouse]

Both the best reef store in the Sacramento valley use Ocean revive black boxs lol

 

[R33f]

Is this what you are talking about ?
PopBloom S16Pro 60W Reef LED Aquarium Light for Marine Mini Nano Fish Tank Saltwater Aquarium LED Lamp Coral with Arm Kit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RHRLFQ6/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_a_6BDK2F4YQHFRC8V

PopBloom S16Pro 60W Reef LED Aquarium Light for Marine Mini Nano Fish Tank Saltwater Aquarium LED Lamp Coral with Arm Kit


I asked LFS guy for help about
Lights and he he got all bent out of shape when I asked about the cheaper off brand boxes. How do I get par readings or estimate the strength? They supposedly are rated but is that accurate ?

Sorry I didn’t see the post have been busy with stuff

Search Popbloom on ALIEXPRESS app.

PopBloom Official Store - Amazing products with exclusive discounts on AliExpress

Discover the wide range of products from AliExpress Top Seller PopBloom Official Store. Enjoy ✓Free Shipping Worldwide! ✓Limited Time Sale ✓Easy Return.

m.aliexpress.com

there are different versions.

 

[R33f]

Is this what you are talking about ?
PopBloom S16Pro 60W Reef LED Aquarium Light for Marine Mini Nano Fish Tank Saltwater Aquarium LED Lamp Coral with Arm Kit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RHRLFQ6/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_a_6BDK2F4YQHFRC8V

PopBloom S16Pro 60W Reef LED Aquarium Light for Marine Mini Nano Fish Tank Saltwater Aquarium LED Lamp Coral with Arm Kit


I asked LFS guy for help about
Lights and he he got all bent out of shape when I asked about the cheaper off brand boxes. How do I get par readings or estimate the strength? They supposedly are rated but is that accurate ?

I can get 250 Par on the bottom of the tank if i ramp up a little bit. Top of tank 5 to 6 inches on top it gives plus 450 par.
And best is that since now the hobby is evolving you can customise the things according to your demands.
But for the price I chooses them over Maxpect razors and Evergrow because they were half the cost and i even managed to get a custom led which made things more juicy for my tank.

 

[jphilip813]

Sorry I didn’t see the post have been busy with stuff

Search Popbloom on ALIEXPRESS app.

PopBloom Official Store - Amazing products with exclusive discounts on AliExpress

Discover the wide range of products from AliExpress Top Seller PopBloom Official Store. Enjoy ✓Free Shipping Worldwide! ✓Limited Time Sale ✓Easy Return.

m.aliexpress.com

there are different versions.

They look like RedSea 90s' from the pics on Amazon...I switched from the Red Sea and AI's to the SMATFArms

 

[workhz]

btw, i had a power outage this morning (thankfully I plugged in one powerhead to my backup power supply and it only lasted a couple of hours). Anyway, when everything came back on one of my viparspectra seemed to have forgotten its power setting and had everything at 5 while the other one retained memory at 55/3. Not sure I understand how that happens.

 

[dhnguyen]

The popbloom Turing rs90 is indeed a lot like the red sea reef 90. Except the popbloom has 4 channels while you only have 2 (blue and white) on the red sea. I also find the spectrum a lot better on the popbloom. Not to mention popbloom is less than half the price of the red sea led.

They look like RedSea 90s' from the pics on Amazon...I switched from the Red Sea and AI's to the SMATFArms

 

[Uncle99]

just started up my tank it is a 55gallon. I would like to turn into reef eventually. my old light fixture was an T8 but is no longer working looking for a new lighting maybe LED. What do you guys thing is a good lighting system for this budget ?. as far was type of coral I want to grow I am still on the fence for budget wise will say medium- low light. thank you for your input. just getting back into the hobby and it is a little over whelming with everything available.

I did this for $600, a hybrid LED T5.
I ran a 65g with two $100 Visparspectra 165w for 5 years, grew everything.

 

[dhnguyen]

They look like RedSea 90s' from the pics on Amazon...I switched from the Red Sea and AI's to the SMATFArms

And btw. Popbloom have several types of LEDs.

There's this





And then there's this one which looks like the red sea reef 90

1PC-4PCS PopBloom RS90 Led Aquarium Light Reef Coral Grow Marine Saltwater Tank | eBay

PopBloom Led Aquarium Light Program Reef Coral Grow Saltwater Marine Turing RS90. For 24’’ Marine Reef Tank. For 36’’ Marine Reef Tank. For 48’’ Marine Reef Tank. For 60’’ Marine Reef Tank. For 72’’ Marine Reef Tank.

www.googleadservices.com

 

[jphilip813]

I did this for $600, a hybrid LED T5.
I ran a 65g with two $100 Visparspectra 165w for 5 years, grew everything.

NICE!!!!!

 

[Marine430]

For whatever reason the hobby makes awesome t5 bulbs but the fixtures are gone. You can find some t5 fixtures well over 500 dollars. Not ideal for a budget friendly light. 4 to 6 bulbs start adding up every 9+ months when you need to replace the bulbs. A while back you could get current USA nova extreme, coralife t5, aquaticlife t5, wavepoint t5. Everything is extinct now. If you are able to make a hybrid t5 led you might be able to find stuff under 200 dollars. Maybe try some of the current orbits led fixtures?
Jbj Orion led fixtures? You also don't want to get a cheap fixture and not support coral. That will cost more in the long run.
This hobby is far from cheap anymore. Lots of technology has come out, fish ,coral, water, salt, testing, it's all gone up. I have actually considered giving it all up. I used to get stuff from Dr fosters, pet solutions, and marine depot. Only brs or local shops now Hopefully find a deal on some things. Good luck!!

 

[dhnguyen]

this is from my ocean revive lights below set at 8% Blue and 1% white. If you need parts they run the same electronics as viparspectra. Not enough UV or purple spectrum, but they grow coral like weeds when turned down.

I originally said viparspectra as my choice, but I will change that to the smatfarm lights

Actually there's plenty of UV and purple there. Only problem is they put the UV LEDs on the white channel. No idea on the rationale behind that design choice. In fact I swapped my UV LEDs with some of the blue LEDs from the blue channel so now I can run UV at much higher percentage. I also swapped out the lens for the UV with 120 degree lens and it make a noticeable difference. My SPS have responded favorably to the changes. The blues are much bluer and so are the reds. My German blue and forest fire digis have never looked so good.

 

[Zach B]

I've been running viparspectras for a while now on a couple different tanks. As stated they are a good, cheap light that does grow coral pretty well. I will however be upgrading our main display to @noopsyche soon. Best of luck

 

[outhouse]

They do have some, and yes on white channel. But not enough compared to viparspectra and no real uv only near uv. I just bought supplemental uv

 

[dhnguyen]

you can add alot to that price for "reef" bulbs ...so I would NOT choose that option.

They do have some, and yes on white channel. But not enough compared to viparspectra and no real uv only near uv. I just bought supplemental uv

Actually the viparspectra has even less uv and purples than the ocean revives. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/change-viparspectra-led-layout-any-advice-welcome.589190/

That's 4 compared to 6 on the OR.

 

[outhouse]

Actually the viparspectra has even less uv and purples than the ocean revives. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/change-viparspectra-led-layout-any-advice-welcome.589190/

That's 4 compared to 6 on the OR.

Nope. Each light only has 6 420 violets. Nothing lower or different. Just 6 violets