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.

Bomber's Reef | Instagram, TikTok | Linktree

🌊 Setting up a custom mixed reef tank with fish & coral! ðŸ 🌿 130 gallons, acrylic, 54x22x26

linktr.ee

 

[Johnd651]

Nicrew HyperReef 200 Gen 2 PAR Readings

So...I finally got the chance to get some PAR readings on the Nicrew HyperReef 200 Gen 2. Shout out and thanks to @pwfess for the Apogee PAR meter rental. The lights are hanging 13 in over the tank. The tank is 54”x26”x22” Hanging Video - Light Unboxing -

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Johnd651]

Nicrew HyperReef 200 Gen 2

So lights was one of the last things on the list. Well here we go, 2x Nicrew HyperReef 200 Gen 2 and a controller. I'll post par numbers and program when I get it dialed in. I'll be sharing what I learn along the way.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Johnd651]

Nicrew HyperReef Gen 2 Ceiling Mount

Figured I would share this about mounting Nicrews to the ceiling. Originally, I saw pictures of it on their site but could not find the "kit". Reached out, and quick response. Turns out it is 2 seperate components, that when used together form the ceiling mount. These 2 can also be used for a...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[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