VIPARSPECTRA or Ocean Revive Arctic lighting
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Peace River
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I don't have any experience with the Ocean Revive, but I have been pleased with the (2) Viparspectra's that I have. They aren't going to compare with many of the high dollar lights, but if you want to spend just a bit more then the Noopsyche K7Pro2 may be another option.
jgirardnrg
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I have a friend who swapped his Vipars for 247's I sold him. We did PAR tests and the T247's had more punch. He also likes the spectrum better.
fryman
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You'd need 2x viparspectras I think to cover a 40 breeder, and then would have a lot of light spillage.
I have viparspectras (2x 165w) and while they grow coral (and look good to my eye) they have poor spread with significant hot/cold spots that weren't obvious to me until I measured. With a par meter it wasn't bad to dial in since the hanging kit is great for optimizing mounting height and you can also fine tune intensity but I expect without the par meter you'd have areas with either way too much or way too little par. Actually probably both - they need to be mounted rather high off the water or you get spotlights and your coral can easily be burned or light-deprived.
Given that they are a relatively cheap option and most ppl don't have par meters I'm recommending you borrow a par meter. That said they are pretty slick, the remote works well, and they have sufficient controllability without the heavy price tag.
I think they have too much white light, but that's a personal pref thing.
I have viparspectras (2x 165w) and while they grow coral (and look good to my eye) they have poor spread with significant hot/cold spots that weren't obvious to me until I measured. With a par meter it wasn't bad to dial in since the hanging kit is great for optimizing mounting height and you can also fine tune intensity but I expect without the par meter you'd have areas with either way too much or way too little par. Actually probably both - they need to be mounted rather high off the water or you get spotlights and your coral can easily be burned or light-deprived.
Given that they are a relatively cheap option and most ppl don't have par meters I'm recommending you borrow a par meter. That said they are pretty slick, the remote works well, and they have sufficient controllability without the heavy price tag.
I think they have too much white light, but that's a personal pref thing.
Peace River
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What is the height of the tank, what light settings are you using, and what type of corals are you keeping in that tank?
Thanks!
jgirardnrg
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The Ocean Revives can be rim mounted or suspended. Out of the two lights you listed the Ocean Revive is arguably the better light... at least in the PAR tests I did.
What sort of budget do you have for lighting?
Tadpolesreef
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Wanted to keep it around $400 and annoyed with kessil or ai and need for mounts and in the case of kessil added controller as I’m assuming I’m gonna need two of whichever fixture on a 4 foot tank.
Other problem is I’m renting and really trying to avoid wall mounting anything as the sheet rock is very sketchy and want to limit the amount of larger dry wall anchors around the house if I’ll be leaving in under a year.
revenant
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I have two VS 165w units hanging 11 inches above the water on my 60x18x20 DT and they get the job done on the cheap. Loads of brightness, great hanging hardware, nice timer, pretty easy to setup.. for the price I am very happy with them.. at some point I’ll probably end up getting radeons but for now I’m happy with the VS.
jgirardnrg
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I use one of these over a 40g breeder that I use as a frag tank:
Photon 24-V2 Pro - ReefBreeders.com
Our Photon V2 Pro is designed for reef tanks from the bottom up. Grow your SPS like never before with some of the best LED lights in the industry!
reefbreeders.com
It's at the top end of your budget but worth every penny in my opinion:
You can create a light stand that attaches to the back of your stand for like $20 by making a trip to Home Depot and grabbing some EMT tubing (2x 5' 3/4 EMT tubing, 4x 90 degree sweeps, bag of connectors and 4x straps) and hang the light on it like I do on my 60g cube. It's attached to the back of the stand:
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