Black box lighting good or bad?

[aquakj]

Hey guys so I have a 75 gallon about to turn it into a reef. I was wondering if I should get the 300 watt viparspectra or maybe look into other high end LEDs keep in mind I am trying to stay under budget! Which is $300

any recommendations on how to light up the tank within the budget??

 

[SR Reefing]

Hey guys so I have a 75 gallon about to turn it into a reef. I was wondering if I should get the 300 watt viparspectra or maybe look into other high end LEDs keep in mind I am trying to stay under budget! Which is $300

any recommendations on how to light up the tank within the budget??

Try youtube BRSTV I think last month they covered black box lighting, very interesting results.

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

I would say 2 noopshye k7 pro 2s which with the controller would be like $350,

or 2 nicrew hypereef 100 watts, which would come out to around $250.

BB s are just plain ugly, and they have so many problems, so by just spending a few more dollars you get yourself a superior fixture, and in the long run they will do so much better.

 

[Gernader]

Hey guys so I have a 75 gallon about to turn it into a reef. I was wondering if I should get the 300 watt viparspectra or maybe look into other high end LEDs keep in mind I am trying to stay under budget! Which is $300

any recommendations on how to light up the tank within the budget??

I also have a 75g and I use 165W ViparSpectra black boxes. You should get two of them to get more spread than a 300W. I have many types of corals that are growing fast and happy, even acros.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Black boxes like the one you mentioned are imo some of the oldest and most proven led lights out there. If that's what your budget allows for then go for it. It will grow any coral you want and they will look great

Buying anything more expensive would be just for the bells and whistles.

 

[Jonify]

Black boxes have a proven record of growth and health; there is less research around them, so you won't be able to use this community's collective knowledge to help you out, but they can absolutely work for specific applications.

 

[tehmadreefer]

I would say 2 noopshye k7 pro 2s which with the controller would be like $350,

or 2 nicrew hypereef 100 watts, which would come out to around $250.

BB s are just plain ugly, and they have so many problems, so by just spending a few more dollars you get yourself a superior fixture, and in the long run they will do so much better.

What are all these problems, to back up your statement??

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

What are all these problems, to back up your statement??

No heat sink, weak mounting options, disco balling, very large fixtures with not a lot of spread, very large open outlets ( on the fixture ) that are VERY dangerous if they come in contact with water.

just to name a few......

it is my opinion, and they do have there place, I am just adding my 02.

 

[aquakj]

Try youtube BRSTV I think last month they covered black box lighting, very interesting results.

I saw it lol the results looked good only thing they gave negative was the hardware and probably longevity of the lights

 

[blasterman]

I also have a 75g and I use 165W ViparSpectra black boxes. You should get two of them to get more spread than a 300W. I have many types of corals that are growing fast and happy, even acros.

This advice here. ^^^

Biggest problem with the cheapest black boxes are utterly bottom end drivers. The ViparSpectras are black boxes with better drivers and better coverage lenses. Even BRS liked them.

 

[aquakj]

I would say 2 noopshye k7 pro 2s which with the controller would be like $350,

or 2 nicrew hypereef 100 watts, which would come out to around $250.

BB s are just plain ugly, and they have so many problems, so by just spending a few more dollars you get yourself a superior fixture, and in the long run they will do so much better.

Yea that’s what I’m trying to avoid I know by spending a little more I’ll save more in the long run thanks for the recommendation

 

[tehmadreefer]

No heat sink, weak mounting options, disco balling, very large fixtures with not a lot of spread, very large open outlets ( on the fixture ) that are VERY dangerous if they come in contact with water.

just to name a few......

it is my opinion, and they do have there place, I am just adding my 02.

Lol ya ok says the newb..

 

[Gtinnel]

I have 2 of the 300 watt viparapectra on my 125 and they do a good job of growing corals including sps. They do have their faults, bulky, hard to mount, they don't have any "fancy" features like ramping up, but for the price I really like mine. As already mentioned for a 75 I'd do two of the 165 watt versions. Within your budget they're a good option IMO.

 

[tehmadreefer]

A few old pics from my Mars aqua black box lit tank

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I have 2 of the 300 watt viparapectra on my 125 and they do a good job of growing corals including sps. They do have their faults, bulky, hard to mount, they don't have any "fancy" features like ramping up, but for the price I really like mine. As already mentioned for a 75 I'd do two of the 165 watt versions. Within your budget they're a good option IMO.

I believe the newer ones do have the ramping up feature.

Another thing I like about these black boxes is that parts are readily available and they are much easier to work on than other led fixtures.

 

[Gtinnel]

I believe the newer ones do have the ramping up feature.

I was unaware of that. I've had mine for a little over a year now. I looked at ways of ramping them up and down with an Apex but then I cheaped out and never got an apex.

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

Lol ya ok says the newb..

Didn’t mean to to start an argument and btw you did have some truly magnificent coral!

 

[JCOLE]

Hey guys so I have a 75 gallon about to turn it into a reef. I was wondering if I should get the 300 watt viparspectra or maybe look into other high end LEDs keep in mind I am trying to stay under budget! Which is $300

any recommendations on how to light up the tank within the budget??

I would go with 2 Viparspectra 165W blackboxes. I personally like their spectrum better than the MarsAqua. That would be more than enough coverage for your tank to grow anything.

Check out my build thread if interested. I started my 150 gallon tank off with 4 MarsAqua blackboxes and ran those for about a year or so. I then changed out most of the diodes on the white channel to get a better spectrum.

I was getting close to 1500+ PAR at the top of my rocks.

I switched everything over to T5s around 3 months ago. I am having a lot of tank issues right now so I cannot comment on the T5s but I can tell you that the blackboxes absolutely did great on my SPS dominant tank.

 

[Deschutes541]

Didn’t mean to to start an argument and btw you did have some truly magnificent coral!

I'm sure you didn't but these threads always devolve into arguments. You typically have two sides. The first is your black box users that are convinced their $100 light is as good as any Gen 5 Radion. The other side refuses to acknowledge that any light less than $500 can grow corals.

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

I'm sure you didn't but these threads always devolve into arguments. You typically have two sides. The first is your black box users that are convinced their $100 light is as good as any Gen 5 Radion. The other side refuses to acknowledge that any light less than $500 can grow corals.

Yeah, BBs can grow coral I just can't stand the little things, I could never go for a $500 light, and just bought a couple hypereef 50s, so I am that mid range, and I will admit my two options yesterday were A) Black Boxes B) The light I ordered...

I think by this point the people who think only radions can grow coral have just pressed the ignore button on everything that doesn't include the title "Should I buy 2 xr30 gen 5's or 2 hydra 32's????