Rpujol85
Active Member
not as bad as they say
I have the 18" reef capable fixture over what is essentially a rimless 29g biocube.
When first starting out you will be just fine using these lights (given a similar setup). I had zoas, gsp, xenia, and even hammers doing fine solely under these lights; even a browned out birdnest from the LFS colored up and grew well for me (albeit, about an inch under the water). Thes lights are not nearly as bad as everyone makes them out to be.
I only spent about $150 on my light, new. It has only one plug, seperate built in timers for blue and white channels, which is super conveniant and more than what you get with most of the current chinese black boxes.
That being said if starting all over I would go for something like the Ocean Revive t247s or whatever it is called. It has all those same features plus "full spectrum", much more powerful, and much better coverage for not much more money.
IMO if you can affoard the top tier LED brands great. But for someone on a budget the american backed chinese boxes are by far the best bang for your buck, and you are really only losing out on the really fancy t-storms and acclimation features compared to AI, ecotech, etc.
TLDR: these lights will sustain softies, LPS, and even SPS way up high in the tank. However you are better off with a more powerful/better spectrum light for not much more money. I recommend an american backed chinese box ala: reefbreeders, ocean revive, lumentek, etc.
I have the 18" reef capable fixture over what is essentially a rimless 29g biocube.
When first starting out you will be just fine using these lights (given a similar setup). I had zoas, gsp, xenia, and even hammers doing fine solely under these lights; even a browned out birdnest from the LFS colored up and grew well for me (albeit, about an inch under the water). Thes lights are not nearly as bad as everyone makes them out to be.
I only spent about $150 on my light, new. It has only one plug, seperate built in timers for blue and white channels, which is super conveniant and more than what you get with most of the current chinese black boxes.
That being said if starting all over I would go for something like the Ocean Revive t247s or whatever it is called. It has all those same features plus "full spectrum", much more powerful, and much better coverage for not much more money.
IMO if you can affoard the top tier LED brands great. But for someone on a budget the american backed chinese boxes are by far the best bang for your buck, and you are really only losing out on the really fancy t-storms and acclimation features compared to AI, ecotech, etc.
TLDR: these lights will sustain softies, LPS, and even SPS way up high in the tank. However you are better off with a more powerful/better spectrum light for not much more money. I recommend an american backed chinese box ala: reefbreeders, ocean revive, lumentek, etc.
