Low Cost LED vs High Dollar Comparison

[NanoSteam]

Nothing wrong with the "Black box" led's either, they've been around for so long and are proven. They just typically have very narrow lenses so you have to mount them fairly high up.

 

[matt_work27]

I personally feel like buying brand new high end lights isn't worth the price, however sometimes people are leaving the hobby and letting go of high end stuff for a great price. I bought 2 radion gen 4's used with reef link and mount for $600 all in (I think they were like 1 year old at the time). They have lasted me around 6 years, though the violets went out on one of the fixtures. So, I picked up a nicrew gen 1 150 W and it definitely puts out a good amount of light, however the spectrum and coverage is not great. For example, I would say you need 2 nicrew 150 W if you want to have a full blown 50 gallon sps tank (24"x24" foot print).

 

[me & my baby]

In my 63 years of living I've found out that just because something is high cost and has the "name factor" doesn't make it any better than a low cost item, but you have to explore the low cost item to see if it's just junk. Years ago a friend that was a manager at a saltwater store ended up fixing products for customers. He took apart a expensive led light fixture and was surprised that it was nothing better than a low cost one, except for it's "lighting show" and other things that aren't need for corals, more of a toy for us.
So, those of you that have tested different brands from $100 to thousands of dollars, what are your findings, cost differences and length of life ?

Personally, I'm not going to spend $800 to $1,000 for a light that only covers 2' x 2' area. Ridicules......
I'm setting up a 125g tank which is 72" long and I'm not going to buy 5 of those for around $4,000 to $5,000.

So what's out there that is low cost, but does just as good as the high cost brand name lights ?

I have 4 Nicrew navareef 135 on my 150 with plenty of par

 

[tautog83]

Im going to be using 2 nicrew 200s on my new wb frag 125. It will be mostly lps with some sps on top and im not worried about it. I dont need an app for my light because once its dialed in what am i really doing with it. So many people used black boxes years ago and it was fine. Some of these budget brands have definitley stepped it up a bit

 

[WBJ]

In my 63 years of living I've found out that just because something is high cost and has the "name factor" doesn't make it any better than a low cost item, but you have to explore the low cost item to see if it's just junk. Years ago a friend that was a manager at a saltwater store ended up fixing products for customers. He took apart a expensive led light fixture and was surprised that it was nothing better than a low cost one, except for it's "lighting show" and other things that aren't need for corals, more of a toy for us.
So, those of you that have tested different brands from $100 to thousands of dollars, what are your findings, cost differences and length of life ?

Personally, I'm not going to spend $800 to $1,000 for a light that only covers 2' x 2' area. Ridicules......
I'm setting up a 125g tank which is 72" long and I'm not going to buy 5 of those for around $4,000 to $5,000.

So what's out there that is low cost, but does just as good as the high cost brand name lights ?

I have Nicrew Hyperreef’s and grow everything

 

[WJP]

I have 3 viparspectra 165 watt lights over my 4ft 110 gal. They are $140-ish on Amazon. True story on hanging them a bit higher. Mine are about 10 inches from the water surface. I have a variety of coral- mostly SPS followed by LPS. I think I run the lights at 70% blues and 10% whites. No app and built in timers. The guys at BRS did a video comparing them to high dollar lights; that convinced me.

 

[Johnd651]

In my 63 years of living I've found out that just because something is high cost and has the "name factor" doesn't make it any better than a low cost item, but you have to explore the low cost item to see if it's just junk. Years ago a friend that was a manager at a saltwater store ended up fixing products for customers. He took apart a expensive led light fixture and was surprised that it was nothing better than a low cost one, except for it's "lighting show" and other things that aren't need for corals, more of a toy for us.
So, those of you that have tested different brands from $100 to thousands of dollars, what are your findings, cost differences and length of life ?

Personally, I'm not going to spend $800 to $1,000 for a light that only covers 2' x 2' area. Ridicules......
I'm setting up a 125g tank which is 72" long and I'm not going to buy 5 of those for around $4,000 to $5,000.

So what's out there that is low cost, but does just as good as the high cost brand name lights ?

Check out the nicrews. I did a couple of write ups on here about them, par, and hanging.

https://amzn.to/4ogeTMA
Great lights, and I even have acros growing and getting bigger under them at half power.

https://linktr.ee/bombersreef

 

[Johnd651]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/nicrew-hyperreef-200-gen-2-par-readings.1136444/unread

 

[Johnd651]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/nicrew-hyperreef-200-gen-2.1131398/unread

 

[Johnd651]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/nicrew-hyperreef-gen-2-ceiling-mount.1135244/

 

[Linlox]

In my 63 years of living I've found out that just because something is high cost and has the "name factor" doesn't make it any better than a low cost item, but you have to explore the low cost item to see if it's just junk. Years ago a friend that was a manager at a saltwater store ended up fixing products for customers. He took apart a expensive led light fixture and was surprised that it was nothing better than a low cost one, except for it's "lighting show" and other things that aren't need for corals, more of a toy for us.
So, those of you that have tested different brands from $100 to thousands of dollars, what are your findings, cost differences and length of life ?

Personally, I'm not going to spend $800 to $1,000 for a light that only covers 2' x 2' area. Ridicules......
I'm setting up a 125g tank which is 72" long and I'm not going to buy 5 of those for around $4,000 to $5,000.

So what's out there that is low cost, but does just as good as the high cost brand name lights ?

Picked up the Quanta Helix 3-Light combo in Blue+ a few months ago and the coral have been growing like weeds under them, everything looks amazing under them and I dont have to fiddle with an app or risk the lights becoming End of Life bricks if the company or app disappear, or my phone maker no longer supports the app.... Have been waiting for the 4-Light Blue+ Combo to become available in the 36" again for my 40 breeder to replace the 3x AI primes and T5HO. Have had Radions in the distant past (gen 3's I think 2014ish) and would still pick the Quanta over them even if money was no object.

https://www.quanta-lights.com/products/4-helix-light-bar-combo?variant=45671904510109

 

[Marc G-L]

Im6going to sound like a commercial here, and most of you never heard of this brand. Glorium a Chinese plant/ terrarium light company around 20+ years. The m are a line of marine blades that are awesome. 7 led spectrum, 4 zones powerful output, a temp sensor included and really good customizable software. BTW, their lights work off of both wifi and blue tooth. Bought on Amazon a 48" 95 watt 196 led blade for $158 on sale. They come with a 2 yr warranty and for $30 more Amazon extends it to 3yrs. My corals, macro algae and I love the light.

 

[13rodo]

I use Nicrew Navareef 65s and have been able to grow whatever with them (including some acros). Nothing to complain about. I am going to give XR15s a go on my next tank because I want to be fancy for a change, but imo you can't go wrong with the Nicrew stuff.

 

[Alexander1312]

Picked up the Quanta Helix 3-Light combo in Blue+ a few months ago and the coral have been growing like weeds under them, everything looks amazing under them and I dont have to fiddle with an app or risk the lights becoming End of Life bricks if the company or app disappear, or my phone maker no longer supports the app.... Have been waiting for the 4-Light Blue+ Combo to become available in the 36" again for my 40 breeder to replace the 3x AI primes and T5HO. Have had Radions in the distant past (gen 3's I think 2014ish) and would still pick the Quanta over them even if money was no object.

https://www.quanta-lights.com/products/4-helix-light-bar-combo?variant=45671904510109

Only one post about one of the best light deals available.

I have two Helix bars, but also two ATLAS. And I really like the ATLAS.

Unfortunately, they are not always available. Really their only downside.

https://www.quanta-lights.com/products/quanta-atlas-sps
I do support the sentiment about the Reefis, and disagree with what was said about high end lights.