Light suggestions

[Qbmafia444]

I’m interested in a 90galln reef. Can anyone recommend good low cost led lights ? Or med range as well?

 

[sbash]

I have always like the Chinese black box LED fixtures, two 165 watt fixtures would work fine on a 90 gallon. There are lots of options these days, do some research to find the right spectrum for what you are going to keep in your reef!

 

[Jesterrace]

Good, Low Cost and Reef seldom go hand in hand. You could go with one of the Amazon Black Boxes from China which are available under many different labels, but long term reliability and warranties on them are hit and miss and they don't have anywhere near the custom options on them that many higher end lights do (ie setting sunrise/sunset and tweaking which colors stand out most without giving up power). A lot of it depends on what kind of corals you want to do. If you are willing to take the gamble these might work:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...=165w++Reef+Light&rh=i:aps,k:165w++Reef+Light

Keep in mind that you will need two of them.

You could also go with one of these, but only the least demanding of corals will work with them:

https://www.amazon.com/Current-USA-...sr=8-1&keywords=Current+USA+Marine+Orbit&th=1

If you want to start approaching a higher end reef light you will need to open up your wallet a fair bit and look into Kessil or AI (Aquatic Illumination) and if you really want to go off the deep end you can go for the Ecotech Marine lights (will cost you about $1K to get into their entry level lights plus the control system).

Some will disagree, but I would say if you are looking for a good all around compromise that a pair of AI Prime HDs will get the job done unless you are looking at some really difficult to grow corals. They run about $400 for the pair.

The Kessil A160 or A360 in pairs would work or the AI Hydra 26 or 52s are very nice lights as well but you are going to spend $450-$800 to get any of these set up.

 

[Qbmafia444]

Good, Low Cost and Reef seldom go hand in hand. You could go with one of the Amazon Black Boxes from China which are available under many different labels, but long term reliability and warranties on them are hit and miss and they don't have anywhere near the custom options on them that many higher end lights do (ie setting sunrise/sunset and tweaking which colors stand out most without giving up power). A lot of it depends on what kind of corals you want to do. If you are willing to take the gamble these might work:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=165w++Reef+Light&rh=i:aps,k:165w++Reef+Light

Keep in mind that you will need two of them.

You could also go with one of these, but only the least demanding of corals will work with them:

https://www.amazon.com/Current-USA-Marine-Aquarium-36-Inch/dp/B00GFTSV24/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519191887&sr=8-1&keywords=Current+USA+Marine+Orbit&th=1

If you want to start approaching a higher end reef light you will need to open up your wallet a fair bit and look into Kessil or AI (Aquatic Illumination) and if you really want to go off the deep end you can go for the Ecotech Marine lights (will cost you about $1K to get into their entry level lights plus the control system).

Some will disagree, but I would say if you are looking for a good all around compromise that a pair of AI Prime HDs will get the job done unless you are looking at some really difficult to grow corals. They run about $400 for the pair.

The Kessil A160 or A360 in pairs would work or the AI Hydra 26 or 52s are very nice lights as well but you are going to spend $450-$800 to get any of these set up.

Yea I was just lookin into the AI prime HD’s but will 2 be sufficient? Or 3

 

[Finhead]

Yea I was just lookin into the AI prime HD’s but will 2 be sufficient? Or 3

Depends what you want to keep, they are pretty weak at anything more than 12" depth. If you only going to keep Softies or some LPS you might be fine with 3 PRime. I would suggest a Photon V2 for a mid grade light with most of the features the higher $$ lights come with.
https://www.reefbreeders.com/new-photon-v2/

 

[mjlash22]

Yea I was just lookin into the AI prime HD’s but will 2 be sufficient? Or 3

Do you have a long or short 90?

Long I would go with 3, short you could probably get away with 2.

 

[Jesterrace]

If you have the standard rectangle 90 like I do, 2 AI Prime HDs should work. I'm not sure I buy that AI Prime HDs are pretty weak at anything beyond 12 inches. I agree that your most demanding corals should be higher up, but the AI Prime should handle anything in the Easy to Moderate range regardless.

 

[Susan Edwards]

I just went thru this on my 125. The lights like SB's were just too expensive for starting up and I didn't want chinese black boxes as I wanted to ramp up and down and have moonlights. Plus we didn't really want to hang from ceiling--we have high, sloping ceilings in livingroom. I went with these
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NPM68X/ref=twister_B071F2XHZ1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Picture below is their light/par info.

I think a lot of opinion out there is for their older lights. I got the 72", the pro comes with 2 lights. I used 3 brackets that can adjust from 3, 5, 7" above water. They also have extendable feet to sit on the tank. Nothing in my tank yet as it is cycling but sure seems bright. Other good thing is there is a controller and it can control up to 3 of the eflux wavemakers. They are powerful (2100 I think) and I have them at 40%. Also can control a DC pump (theirs) but I went with a jebao for cost and fit. We'll see how they do but I just could not spend over 1000 on lighting and figure if needed I can upgrade down the road.

 

[Jesterrace]

Not bad for a setup like that, but still spending $500 on a "cheap light" to upgrade later seems like throwing away an awful lot of money in the long run.

 

[MSOEME2009]

I'd honestly scour the forums for sale, eBay, and Craigslist. Since reef keeping is such a time consuming hobby (and expensive) a lot of people come in/out of it. I got a great setup used. I have 2x A160WE Kessil lights + Controller that I was able to snag for around $300. BRS did something like this on Youtube for cheapest light you can do. Honestly depends on the PAR you need for what you plan on keeping.

 

[Finhead]

If you have the standard rectangle 90 like I do, 2 AI Prime HDs should work. I'm not sure I buy that AI Prime HDs are pretty weak at anything beyond 12 inches. I agree that your most demanding corals should be higher up, but the AI Prime should handle anything in the Easy to Moderate range regardless.

Well my Par meter would disagree with that, but YMMV . When I had one it was about 1/4 the par of my Hydra 26 at the same light settings.

 

[Jesterrace]

Well my Par meter would disagree with that, but YMMV . When I had one it was about 1/4 the par of my Hydra 26 at the same light settings.

Did you have the regular AI Prime or the Prime HD? As I understand it the HD version is a significant upgrade and employs the same tech as the 26 has.

 

[Susan Edwards]

@Jesterrace I'm hoping I won't need to upgrade. Might even be able to add a 3rd light if I really find it is needed. For me, I wanted sunrise and sunset and moonlight and while the black boxes let you dim and adjust either the blues and or whites, they are either on or off. I'd have had to have bought at least 3 if not 4 for a 6' tank so the current was not that much more at just under 500. No matter how you look at it, lighting is crazily costly.

Best you can do if you don't have deep pockets is make a list of what is important and see what is out there.