Looking for a good LED for 150g

[wesman42]

This has got to be one of the most helpful messages on lights I’ve seen. Thx!

This had me rolling.

Currently I'm using a large 300w black box (Viparspectra). The PAR output is absolutely nuts on this thing....but (as we can see in the BRS video on them, their PAR is really localized compared to other options.) For now, while the tank is young and I don't have that many corals...I'll be using it. However, I DO plan on upgrading to something with more channels of light, and more options like WiFi etc. You could always spring for a cheapo for the time being, then upgrade to your dream lights when you've got the $$$.

 

[vetteguy53081]

You can spin all the Led options out there a million ways to Sunday. When you get tired of looking at all those options, refer to post #18.
I personally would go with AI on a mixed 60.

I have Ai primes on two tanks and theyre great lights!

 

[Jim Fox]

Ron that was a most excellent write up... thanks! I'm changing my lights out in December (waiting for the sales) and I keep tossing the Radion G4s and Giesemann Aurora LED-T5 around as choices. After reading your post, the V2 is looking pretty good now as well. I'm starting to move the G4s out as a choice as I'm afraid they will launch the G5s shortly (just a gut feeling... nothing sound... Murphy's Law and just my luck). Thanks again!!!
Jim

 

[Ron Reefman]

I've had both sbreef lights and reefbreeder photon v2 and I prefer the reef breeders. The customer service isn't even comparable between the two... Logan at reefbreeders is the man. I also like the white diodes on the photon much more... I feel like they give a better spectrum VS the 14000k diodes just the sbreef lights .

I worked for a competitor to Reef Breeders and I met Logan at a MACNA show years ago (we were both vendors). He's a really good guy and does a bang up job with customer service. But then he sells well built hardware and doesn't have to do that much extra in the way of customer service. I think the Photon V2+ is by far the best value for a full function led fixture. You can pay a lot more for some other brands, but they really don't offer much (if anything) extra over the Photon in terms of quality, function, service or, most importantly, the ability to grow healthy coral!

 

[FunWithFishes]

1. I'd prefer to go with a long rather than many short. Unless this is considered a bad idea because of my central overflow.

2. I prefer hanging fixtures.

3. My hopeful budget was between $600 and $800

6. I guess I hadn't thought about these options. They'd be nice to have, but I won't stress if I can't afford them.

I guess the reef breeder are considered black boxes? They seemed to come with a lot of options and I figured they were probably lying a good idle of the road.

I can't thank you enough Ron Reefman, I will look at all your listed suggestions and see if any sound right for my tank.

Thanks everyone so far for giving all this advice and feed back. I'll do my best to pay it forward in the future and provide pics once everything is up an running

There are several questions regarding led fixtures that you need to answer, then you can get some real help.

The first point about led fixtures is: beware of fixtures that use less than 3 watt leds. There are a few brands out there that use 0.5 watt leds and they are OK for 12” deep tanks and maybe even 18” deep tanks with easy, low light corals.

Questions:

1) Do you want 1 or 2 long fixtures (up to 48”) or are more short fixtures (16") or multiple pendant fixtures OK with you?

2) Do you want hanging fixtures or do you want fixtures with legs? And do you have a canopy over the tank?

3) Do you have a budget in mind?

4) There are basic Chinese black box led fixtures (2 channel color control and manual dimmers) which need timers from the hardware store ($10 each) to turn them on/off. Chinese black boxes work very well, grow coral very well and come in several sizes. MarsAqua, GalaxyHydro, Euphotica, and more. ($100ea. to $200ea.)

5) There are a few that have built-in timers to turn the 2 different channels (white & blue) on and off. They also offer digital dimmer ability (not sunrise/sunset control, just like dimmer knobs only digital) OceanRevive T247B, Reef Breeders SuperLux, Viparspecta. ($140ea. to $200ea.)

6) Do you want sunrise/midday/sunset/moonlight control? These come in several sizes. At this level you can still get a less expensive black box or spend a bit more and get a better looking fixture (just remember, good looks don’t help coral grow). Euphotica. ($250 to $400)

7) Do you want more than 2 channel color control (like 6 or 8 channels)? These have sunrise/sunset ability as well. Reef Breeders, Aqua Illumination, Maxspect, Eco Tech. ($300 to $900+)

8) Is a remote control good enough to set the lights or do you want WiFi or a computer to help set the lights?

9) Do you want an led/t5 fluorescent hybrid fixture? They work very well for growing coral but there are very few currently being made and they are crazy expensive. Pacific Sun is the only one I know.

If you are just getting started, I'd go basic Chinese black box and keep it simple. Especially if you are using a canopy so what the fixture looks like is far less important than if it is exposed over the top of a pretty reef tank for everybody to see. They can grow any kind of coral in your tank, even at 30" deep. Once you know better what you are going to keep and you figure out what features you really want, then buy what you want and sell the used ones (or hang on to them as backups).

BTW, none of the features discussed above grow coral any better than the inexpensive Chinese black boxes with 3 watt leds (98% true IMHO). They give you the ability to make the tank look better for your pleasure, but do very, VERY little if anything for the coral.

I like the control of sunrise/midday/sunset/moonlight because I'm home a lot and I like to watch the tank change as the day progresses. And I like having 6 channels of color control so I can fine tune the look in my tank. A simple remote is all I need to set my lights, I don't care about WiFi or computer help setting them. I also have a fairly good budget so I could afford $900 for 2 fixtures ($600 for the big one and $300 for the small one... when they were on sale). BTW, I had a 50" Reef Breeders Photon V2 over my 60" tank and it grew sps sticks and plates like crazy.

Did I need these to grow healthy coral? Heck no. I used Chinese black boxes over my previous tanks that cost way less and they grew coral just as good as my new, more expensive ones. And mine are FAR from the most expensive. I’d need at least 2 and more likely 3 Eco Tech Radions at $900 each (that's right... $2700 total) and they won't grow coral any better either!

And there is no best fixture. People who tell you theirs is the best are really telling you theirs is the best for them. But it could be way off the mark for you.

You need to buy what is best for you. Oh, and like you, I really like the look of the Photon V2!

all on full system shot by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

 

[Ron Reefman]

1. I'd prefer to go with a long rather than many short. Unless this is considered a bad idea because of my central overflow.

2. I prefer hanging fixtures.

3. My hopeful budget was between $600 and $800

6. I guess I hadn't thought about these options. They'd be nice to have, but I won't stress if I can't afford them.

I guess the reef breeder are considered black boxes? They seemed to come with a lot of options and I figured they were probably lying a good idle of the road.

No, I don't consider Reef Breeders (and EverGrow) to be 'black box' fixtures. The black box is about the look more than the quality or function. They used to be black boxes, but they have stepped up the look to be slim and very modern looking. IMHO they are way better looking than Radion or AI which are still kind of old school box looking.

 

[FunWithFishes]

No, I don't consider Reef Breeders (and EverGrow) to be 'black box' fixtures. The black box is about the look more than the quality or function. They used to be black boxes, but they have stepped up the look to be slim and very modern looking. IMHO they are way better looking than Radion or AI which are still kind of old school box looking.

Yeah, I think the ReefBreeder looks pretty slick

 

[Velcro]

1. I'd prefer to go with a long rather than many short. Unless this is considered a bad idea because of my central overflow.

2. I prefer hanging fixtures.

3. My hopeful budget was between $600 and $800

6. I guess I hadn't thought about these options. They'd be nice to have, but I won't stress if I can't afford them.

I guess the reef breeder are considered black boxes? They seemed to come with a lot of options and I figured they were probably lying a good idle of the road.

I can't thank you enough Ron Reefman, I will look at all your listed suggestions and see if any sound right for my tank.

Thanks everyone so far for giving all this advice and feed back. I'll do my best to pay it forward in the future and provide pics once everything is up an running

The v2 isn't a black box. It has a great looking form factor and use 5watt Cree diodes. They are built like tanks and basically silent. Probably one of the most underrated led fixtures on the market but some people have thousands and thousands to spend on "name brand" fixtures. Rather spend that on the fancy named acros myself.

 

[FunWithFishes]

The v2 isn't a black box. It has a great looking form factor and use 5watt Cree diodes. They are built like tanks and basically silent. Probably one of the most underrated led fixtures on the market but some people have thousands and thousands to spend on "name brand" fixtures. Rather spend that on the fancy named acros myself.

I agree I'd rather save money on a sweet new coral or fish. I only asked about if the V2 is a black box because of the line on their site:

"The Photon V2+ breaks away from the ugly “Black Boxes” of the past, bringing a beautiful slim profile and high end hardware at an affordable price."

I guess I'm not familiar with what black box really means in the aquarium hobby. I know what it means in a programmer perspective, but thought there may be some reason for the black box label besides the obvious "it's a black box". I also just watched the BRSTV video on black boxes and how they are basically a spot light downward with little spread, and was worried that the V2 would be this way, which could be in issue since my tank is 2ft front to back.

 

[Dilan Patel]

I know u run Bb already...i would stick with them. Ive been running them on a 180 and love em so far i think the dimmensions are 72x24x24 and i use three and i get enough par to grow sps/montis/chalices on the bottom. i upgraded from a 55 to a 135 almost 6months ago of so and i went from kessils to bb since i get way better par. i use the kessils now in the 180 sump to grow frags lol

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yeah, I think the ReefBreeder looks pretty slick

In that category....reefbreeder or SB Reef. SB's are fantastic (see pic) but the owner has poor communication skills and impossible to reach. I still have a concern unanswered from Late june

 

[Reeferguy365]

Nothing wrong with black boxes as long as they have the correct color diodes. I have 3 on my 180 gallon. They will grow anything just fine even on the sand bed. I use the bloomspecs same thing as the viparspectras they only use one cord and are timer controlled. Best part they are cheap. I will say one thing if I had the choice and money wasn't a problem I would most definitely go with the Ecotec Gen 4 Pros but I would need like 6 on my tank lol

 

[vetteguy53081]

I agree that there are Good Chinese and Junk Chinese black boxes. MARS, SB REEF and REEF RADIANCE are in essence in that group but deliver a bigger punch. LPS will do well on them and some SPS but the essential colors are often not enough to deliver on many SPS unless supplemented with other lighting.

 

[Reeferguy365]

Not sure about the Mars Aqua or Reef Radiance I know for a fact SB Reef lights and my bloomspect which are super cheap will grow SPS just fine. My 180 is SPS dominated. Most of my SPS is growing and coloring up pretty well

 

[vetteguy53081]

Not sure about the Mars Aqua or Reef Radiance I know for a fact SB Reef lights and my bloomspect which are super cheap will grow SPS just fine. My 180 is SPS dominated. Most of my SPS is growing and coloring up pretty well

I have SB reef as one of many lights and I agree on growth potential.

 

[jason7570]

I have 3 different combos on 3 tanks (2 frag tanks )using one sump. Hyda 26’s / t5 combo, radion pro/ t5 combo and a reef Radiance. The reef radiance outperforms all of them in regards of color and growth for some reason. The worst is the radion combo. Thinking about ditching the radion and getting a SB reef light....

 

[dangros]

I have and recommend Mitras LX7s. I purchased them after ditching 2 Kessil 360we's which did not supply enough coverage for my 90 gallon tank. My SPS corals died or didnt grow. That was in spite of using the recommended amount of light Kessil themselves recommended. Plenty of other found success but I didnt till I got my Mitras.
I also didnt like the excessive shimmer caused by the turbulent flow in my tank which others do love. Also my opinion: the Mitra's have a far more pleasant look and are not only more configurable, have better spread, but also far more powerful (granted, you pay for it).
Here's a thread about them if you want to learn more: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-ghl-mitras-lx7-led.287227/

 

[cvrle1]

Not sure about the Mars Aqua or Reef Radiance I know for a fact SB Reef lights and my bloomspect which are super cheap will grow SPS just fine. My 180 is SPS dominated. Most of my SPS is growing and coloring up pretty well

Thanks very much for this info. I am really happy to hear this, as I purchased 2 pack of Bloomspect units (with timer) few days ago off ebay. They were just too dang cheap not to try (2 units for $112), and look to be almost identical to viparspectra units.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BLOOMSPECT...Timer-SPSLPS-Coral-Reef-Dimmable/332782539617

 

[Reeferguy365]

@cvrle1 thats a score! The bloomspecs are the exact same thing as a viparspectra only difference is they do not have the splash guard