Budget minded LED lighting

[PaReeferJ]

This is my 2 over the 40

 

[Reefnewb]

DIY fixtures are becoming more popular! But as for a stock setup my vote goes to Reefbreeders. I had a photon 24 over my 50g and loved it!

 

[Onebadcat]

So if I ran a 300w, is there suck thing as overkill on this? sorry once again.. I want to get the best one day, but my caviar dreams are overshadowed by my beer budget

 

[Reefnewb]

Most LEDs are controllable. so as long as the ones you get are controllable then it doesnt matter how strong they are. as long as the fixture covers the tank.

 

[CenlaReefer]

DIY fixtures are becoming more popular! But as for a stock setup my vote goes to Reefbreeders. I had a photon 24 over my 50g and loved it!

I also like Reef Breeders very much. I wanted to see what everyone thought about these LED Aquasanrise fixtures from Reef Breeders. They have diodes that can be exchanged rather easily without soldering. There is a video at the bottom of this link. I really think this new technology is amazing. The fixtures are expensive yet diodes that can be exchanged allow for fixture that can be used much longer. I wonder if the cooling fans can be exchanged easily.

https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/aquasanrise-plus-r60/

 

[redfishbluefish]

So if I ran a 300w, is there suck thing as overkill on this? sorry once again.. I want to get the best one day, but my caviar dreams are overshadowed by my beer budget

It certainly isn't overkill. Let me further explain what I have over my 90 gallon tank.....note it's a custom five foot 90 that isn't that deep. I have two 120W Apollo fixtures (not controllable) on either end with the Mars Aqua in the middle. The Apollos never had lenses, and I've removed the lenses from the Mars Aqua and have that turned down.

Note that for maybe three years I only had the two Apollos and added the Mars Aqua to fill in any shadowing. Oh, and it's a mixed reef with everything....sps grow like weeds.

For your four foot 90, I'd leave the lenses on because of the depth.

Also realize the the Mars Aqua is advertised as 300 watts, but is only putting out about 215 - 220 watts....so definitely not overkill.

 

[Onebadcat]

I found this gem on ebay... any insight? It doesnt look horrible, but are all LEDs created equal??

 

[PaReeferJ]

I found this gem on ebay... any insight? It doesnt look horrible, but are all LEDs created equal??

No!! There are different brands of led diodes. Heat sinks are also a issue with cheaper led's. A lot of them use a cheap thin heat sink that shortens the life of the lights.

 

[Vwfan]

Sb

 

[Onebadcat]

Ok, gotcha.. but it seems the Mars maintain some sort of quality then.. that be the heatsinks or what not.. I am only going to be running the 60 gallon, that 90 gallon is gone!

 

[Tommy's Reef]

T 247 ocean revive, all the way man about 150 bucks a piece amazing light a lot of people use them for straight up grow out tanks

 

[jasonrusso]

I have a 150 FOWLER. I absolutely love my Marineland LED. It has two built in timers (one for daytime and one for moonlight). It is bright enough to see the whole tank (they have a separate reef light) and everyone seems happy.

http://www.marineland.com/Products/...uarium-Lighting/Advanced-LED-Strip-Light.aspx

 

[Mark_D]

I'm also using the mars led fixture over my 60 cube... love it and the price is perfect considering I have 3 young children and cost is an issue. You won't be disappointed

 

[Onebadcat]

I'm also using the mars led fixture over my 60 cube... love it and the price is perfect considering I have 3 young children and cost is an issue. You won't be disappointed

The "165 watt" or the "300 watt" one?

 

[B40REEF]

As said above the SBReef lights can't be beat for the money and quality of the light, I run two of the new 16" Extreme Wifi lights on my 90 gallon.

 

[DurocShark]

I have the 330w Mars Aqua over my 60 and the 165w over my 17. You can dim them way down to meet PAR needs.

When my 70g tank brace broke, I got a new custom 60 and for this decided to go planted FW. I'm still using the 330w Mars Aqua for the light, just dialed way down on the blues. At 30" deep, I can still hit 200 PAR at the bottom of the tank with just the whites on. Too much for plants, but it's nice to know I have the option.

With your 40g tank this probably won't be an issue, but when looking at different lights, consider the wattage of the individual LEDs. On many inexpensive lights, 1w and even .5w LEDs are used. Those may not have enough punch to get to the bottom of a deeper tank. My 70 was a 36" deep tank, so it was a concern for me. 3w and 5w LEDs seem to get better PAR numbers at the bottom of deeper tanks.

 

[USMC4Life]

I am running SBreeflights 32" wifi version on my 65 gallon tall. It's a mixed reef tank. I had different lights over the years and this just blows them all away.


This is when it's ramping down for the night.




The growth of coral in just 2 weeks that I have had this is amazing!

 

[Jason mack]

I Will be putting two mars aquas over my 90 g dt

 

[Xerxes_Zoanthids444]

As said above the SBReef lights can't be beat for the money and quality of the light, I run two of the new 16" Extreme Wifi lights on my 90 gallon.

Yes I hear Greta things about SB Reef lights. I'm going to be purchasing the SB Reef lights 16" with wifi soon! The corals seem to love them!

 

[happyhourhero]

I run 2 16" SB Reef Lights on my 65.