Budget lighting

[attiland]

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Does this look like it would be any good?

I was looking at these at one point but reviews put me off especially because of customer service reviews.
It is cheap though

 

[Uncle99]

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Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Phlizon LED Aquarium 165W Reef Light Dimmable Lamp at the best online prices at eBay UK! Free delivery for many products!

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Does this look like it would be any good?

Yup, looks good man, multiple manufactures of this configuration in the 165watt range.
I use them going on 4 years
Mount them high for good blend of spectrum, they push high PAR.

 

[40g Nano]

What fails on these cheap black boxes is the power supply.

 

[40g Nano]

What are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[ZoWhat]

1) AI Prime
2) Noopysche

.... I don't like Chinese black boxes bc they are ugly,bulky and the power supplies in them burn up in 18mos being exposed to salt creep/humidity. LED diodes might last 3-5yrs but power supplies like 18mos

 

[blasterman]

I dont like Radions because their firmware fails and I can buy an enterprise level firewall for less money (and also have to upgrade firmware). My blackbboxes don't need firmware updates, can be modified and just work.

Get the Vipar. Its basically a black box with better parts.

 

[Noah Hemingway]

What are the dimensions of the tank?

30 inches long by 13 inches deep by 15 inches high

 

[Noah Hemingway]

1) AI Prime
2) Noopysche

.... I don't like Chinese black boxes bc they are ugly,bulky and the power supplies in them burn up in 18mos being exposed to salt creep/humidity. LED diodes might last 3-5yrs but power supplies like 18mos

I can’t see salt creep and humidity being too much of a problem because the tank has a glass cover and the light will be 6/7” above that. So do you think it might be okay?

 

[Noah Hemingway]

Yup, looks good man, multiple manufactures of this configuration in the 165watt range.
I use them going on 4 years
Mount them high for good blend of spectrum, they push high PAR.

Those lights seem to be doing good for your corals! Their gorgeous! You’re doing something right!

 

[mijan]

I can’t see salt creep and humidity being too much of a problem because the tank has a glass cover and the light will be 6/7” above that. So do you think it might be okay?

If you do go with a black box like Viprasectra it should be closer to 12” above the tank

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Your best bet would be a cheap bank of T5’s. That will also provide better quality diffused lighting than the cheap led options.

If you are dead set on leads noopsyche would be a good option.

 

[BigRed78]

I’ve had pretty decent growth with blackboxes. I’ll be carrying them over to the build I’m working on now. I had great softie and lps growth. I was doing great with som easy sps but then my parameters decided to get all crazy and curbed that lol.

 

[ZoWhat]

I’ve had pretty decent growth with blackboxes. I’ll be carrying them over to the build I’m working on now. I had great softie and lps growth. I was doing great with som easy sps but then my parameters decided to get all crazy and curbed that lol.

I wasted like 5-7 yrs on stupid black boxes.

Here's the problem.... they have two color channels, white, blue, that's it.

By spending just a little more money on AI Primes or Noopysche, you get the ability to mix 7 colors!!!

Huge difference when you can ramp up or ramp down whites, blues, purples, reds, greens all INDEPENDENTLY!

AI and Noopysche have priced their products where there is no reason to go to Amazon/Ebay to buy cheap, bulky, ugly black boxes from any Mfgr like Viprasectra

SIDENOTE: on Viprasectra, they hard glue their LEDs to the circuit board. The only advantage to black boxes was the ability to unsolder a burnt out LED and resolder a new one. Most black box Mfgrs now are hard gluing the diodes... which means if you go to unsolder the diode, its still glued in. Then you have to take a chisel and try and pop it off. About a 50% chance when you do pop off the diode, the +/- contacts on the circuit board get destroyed and resoldering is futile bc the +/- to solder to is destroyed. The light ends up in your local landfill

Lifespan of most black boxes = 3yrs
.


.

 

[Uncle99]

Those lights seem to be doing good for your corals! Their gorgeous! You’re doing something right!

Thanks, don’t need WiFi connect and pinpoint control, just good intense light provided in the correct spectrum peaks, and this, the Black Box does well. Thats all corals need as far as lights go.

I can only speak to the quality and longevity of the Visparspectra boxes. They continue to operate as if new, we are more than 4 years in service, I thought the quality was surprisingly good. They were well built, solid, came with adjustable hanging kit, one computer like cord and a remote.

There a ton of these boxes available and I would think some of the supposed problems may originate with them, but I am hesitant to write off all boxes for this.

In my area, the BB was $120 delivered. I need 3.
Name brands run $400-$500.
Both lights can easily grow corals.

Bought some really nice corals with the savings.

 

[Gtinnel]

Here's the problem.... they have two color channels, white, blue, that's it.

While the Viparspectra do only have two channels there are still seven different colors of leds. You just can't control them individually.

I'm not arguing that Viparspectra are the best lights around because that is far from the truth, I would've rather had lights from any of the major manufacturers (Kessil, AI, EcoTech,etc.), but I was able to light my tank with Viparspectra for around $300 where as if I went with any other manufacturer it would have been at least twice (if not many times more) that amoint for any other non-black box manufacturer. I will argue that if you're trying to light a reef tank for as cheap as possible then Viparspectra are a solid choice.

I've only had my Viparspectra lights for one and a half years so I can't say too much on their longevity but so far I haven't had any issues. Being able to unsolder leds from a board won't matter for the average consumer, but for those who would be willing to solder in a new led would also probably be able to repair a broken trace on a board.

 

[ZoWhat]

I was able to light my tank with Viparspectra for around $300 where as if I went with any other manufacturer it would have been at least twice (if not many times more) that amoint for any other non-black box manufacturer. I will argue that if you're trying to light a reef tank for as cheap as possible then Viparspectra are a solid choice.

I would say price difference is not that much of a jump.

For me...Three (3) of these Headunits plus a Remote.....all to cover a 6ft 180g:

$500 out the door
($149/head plus $50 for the Remote)

I would say to all Blackboxers that when you are ready for different lights, seek out a Noops LFS Dealer and demo them

NOT my tank... but a tank lit by Noops

.

 

[Uncle99]

Yes that’s true, same thing could happen if you bought a cheap phone charger :/

Exactly

 

[Uncle99]

I would say $500 vs $300 is not that much of a jump.

Three (3) of these Headunits plus a Remote.....all to cover a 6ft 180g

$500 out the door

($149/head plus $50 for the Remote)

I would say to all Blackboxers that when you are ready for different lights, seek out a Noops LFS Dealer and demo them

.

The Noops is only a 95w light in comparison to the Visparspectra 165watt.
It’s in a black box and is made in China.
That makes it a Chinese Black Box IMM.
The advantage I see is multiple led focused by one lense, this would provide a more defused light, but CBB are just mounted higher for the same result.
The big difference is the Noops is much more controllable, settings matter and can be set with poor spectrum choices.
Less control is better IMM as it provides a more stable light source, and stability is everything.
Three of them would not light my 180g very well at all.
I would need 5.

 

[Gtinnel]

I would say to all Blackboxers that when you are ready for different lights, seek out a Noops LFS Dealer and demo them

I've actually considered switching from my viparspectra to noopsyche. They also look like a good choice. I've never seen them in person, I've just read a lot and watched a lot of videos about noopsyche. They are still a relatively cheap light that is made in China with a complicated setup process, so in my opinion they're closer to a black box than they are any of the major brands.

Although I agree that $200 isn't a lot of money but when you compare $300 to $500 it is quickly approaching twice the cost.

 

[Noah Hemingway]

If I was to go for T5 Bulbs what kind would you recommend?