Does anyone actually make decent lights?

[painter1982]

I'll second the Nicrew recommendation, especially for a mixed reef. I chose their HyperReef gen 2 for the DT because it has more white channels and lets me run a daylight aesthetic. The NavaReef (running on my frag tank) is heavier on blues if you prefer that look.

I ordered those during black Friday sale. Seemed really purple so I returned them. Do they look purple over a tank, I didn’t have mine up yet?

 

[trmiv]

Biggest issue with the Nicrew right now is the blue channel is combined and the violet channel is combined. So you can’t like tweak the blue and royal blue separately. For some that’s not an issue but I didn’t like not being able to get those deep evening royal blues. Supposedly a dongle offering 8 channel control is coming though.

 

[Michael Hughes]

I ordered those during black Friday sale. Seemed really purple so I returned them. Do they look purple over a tank, I didn’t have mine up yet?

This is the HyperReef 100W gen 2 on whites.

NavaReef 65 on blues.

 

[Freenow54]

I was looking at Orphek if you want watts. and have bought Aqua Illumination 12 inch grow and glow to try and boost and fill a dead area . I don't expect a higher Par from them but might do what I need to allow me to " focus " the AI primes on specific areas . I have no desire to spend 1-2 grand on lights at the moment either . I am starting a new build and have just finished drilling a tank to add a Marin Marine true low profile overflow . Also a sump and just finished installing baffles in a 40 breeder for fun . I am now working to fit the sump under my origional Fresh water Stand Add better support , and try to close the sump up a bit to prevent salt creep. Then I will finally make the light stands for the bar lights out of purchased 25 mm aluminiumm extruded bar . I hope I made a good decsicion as I used Ai to narrow it down .

 

[Freenow54]

I Kind of Like the Blue . At a High end LFs here a Whole Tank at least 2 feet deep is Deep Blue . The Coral are Thriving and takes Your breath away . I have a real issue believing what I am seeing

 

[John Neuzil]

Aqua illumination

 

[BoonieMoe]

No complaints on orphek natura , except that it may be too strong for my small tank lol

I second the orphek naturas, I have one between 2 noopsyphe k7s but heavily considering doing away with the hoops and adding a second natura

 

[TheFishTankUtah]

I have tried many different lights and combinations of lights. I keep coming back to Kessil for their reliability, color, and shimmer. Aquariums don't look right without shimmer in my opinion. Which Kessil light would depend on your tank dimensions. I prefer the AP9x as they come with the Wi-Fi capability built in and cleaner look rather than daisy chaining multiple a360xe or a500x together with the Wi-Fi dongle. However, on smaller tanks the a360xe is my go-to. FWIW you can also connect AP9x to either the a360xe or a500x by cable as well to help with any dead zones if needed.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Reefi do not give off a pinkish spectrum. They are powerful enough that you can tune them to whatever look you want.

Was coming here to say this. Am a Reefi fanboy but they are not at all pink and I run most channels at the same levels. Could do with a bit more lime/cyan IMO, but I am little biased to that spectrum doing a lot for LED mixes.

I also don’t mind chinese black boxes or strips from Alibaba like Populargrow - so long as you tune the mix of colors they give you. Those boards are usually really easy to get to and it’s a snap to solder in some colors like neutral whites, cyan, and near UV spectrum (395 - 420ish) to get really good colors out of them.

 

[rtparty]

AI Blades are fantastic

Nicrew Gen 2 are great for the price

The Maxspect Ethereal Infinite or whatever it’s called is nice as well

 

[Science/G]

Reefbreeder Meridians get my vote.

 

[dloberry]

Im in the research phase for my next build and struggling bad with lighting.

It seems like there just aren't any decent options out there. Everything i look at i find a legitimate reason that I don't want to buy them.

I've had cheap black boxes, t5's, ai primes, ai hydras, radion g4's, radion g5's, led/t5 hybrid. I just cannot seem to find what I am looking for.

Tank will be a 6ft mixed reef but heavy on the sps. T5's give my wife headaches, so they are out. I dont want to deal with the difficulty of getting metal halides, or the heat, so they are out. I didnt like the look of my tank under radions, nor did I like the mobius app and its unreliability. I liked my hydras ok, but then there is lense burn and some disco affect that I don't like. Black boxes never gave me the coral color I was after.

I want leds that blend color very well, which has me leaning towards kessil, but I know I will need a bunch of them, or some strip lighting, which isn't ideal either. Considering how much money lights cost, there really should be better options.

Ive looking into dalua x4's, but they are really pricey and it seems customer service is lacking.

Ive looking into reefi, but a lot of people say they give off a pinkish spectrum and I absolutely do not want that.

The Stratton x looks somewhat promising but people say the app is difficult and ati doesnt have a great record of customer service in the USA.

What am I m

 

[dloberry]

I have the Dalua X4’s.

 

[BriDroid]

My new setup is only 36”, but I’ve decided on 3 Kessil A160WE. Mounted at 7” over the top I’m getting pretty even PAR of 120-150 all along the bottom with them running at 80%. The shimmer reminds me of metal halides I used to run years ago.

 

[VintageReefer]

Hands down. Reefbreeders Meridian 63
If your going sps you eventually will need bars for shadowing from colonies. The matching bars have articulating mounts that attach right to the light

You can spend less money upfront and get just the light for now and add bars later

Or you can get a combo on their site with the bars and save a few hundred bucks

Here is the meridian 63 over a friends tank

 

[cba191]

I have an xr30 g6 and a kessil a500x. I'm upgrading tanks and wanted another light. I chose another kessil. I love the color and the shimmer.

 

[PitzBen]

I know you said radions are out but hear me out for one second. The G6 optics are incredible for spectrum blending, no disco ball and the color blend is incredible, so much so that a diffuser is not needed at all. I don’t use Mobius but instead use the MXM module on apex. So much nicer. I run 4 G6 pro’s currently. I too have had previous generation models and the difference with the G6 is incredible.

Last year, I stopped using the XMX module because it froze a few times, and my lights stayed on all night. The thought of using it again gives me the creeps. It's true that the Fusion app isn't reliable. I regularly have issues with time synchronization.

 

[oreo54]

There sure seems to be an awful lot of photos and videos specifically talking about that issue for it to not be true. I would have to see some in person, or get a money back guarantee before I would risk it. Its just too much money to roll the dice when there is evidence out there suggesting otherwise.

How to avoid " pink" or violet tones ..

When exposed to pure blue light, red cones can be activated alongside blue cones, with the brain interpreting this combined signaling.

Weak Sensitivity: While red cones peak at 560-580nm
(yellow/red), they have a small sensitivity tail in the short-wavelength range ( 420-440nm), allowing them to detect blue light.

Color Perception: Stimulating both red and blue cones (with little to no green cone activation) allows the brain to perceive purple or violet colors.
[/quote

 

[exnisstech]

3 reefbreeders photons and a single meridian here and I have no complains. The app works well and the share feature is really nice if you want to copy someone elses settings. I'm sick of Mobius and feel radions are over hyped and over priced. I have g4 XR15s and don't even run them any longer because Mobius can not keep track of the correct time and date. I'm pretty much over ecotech and their great marketing Dept.

 

[Chessmanmark]

Lights are over rated. There are lots of options to choose from that will get the job done, as you have already listed quite a few.

Pick one and if you don’t like it add some Reef Brite XHOs.