Chinese box light question

[Jake_the_reefer]

So I am trying to save a little bit of money on a reef tank I plan on setting up and I need help selecting a black box light (I have had good luck with black box lighting in the past)
My tank is going to be a 60g cube reef and I've heard the general rule of thumb is 4-8 watts of led per gallon.

Would this 300w light be sufficient or should I look elsewhere? I am trying to stay under 170 for lighting.

 

[Jon Fishman]

I don’t know the details off the top of my head, but I looked at those and they are junk.

If you go ebay etc you can get the Mars Aqua 300w at around $170. I went with 3 of them after a lot of debating with myself. Love the one I have on my 75

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

I don’t know the details off the top of my head, but I looked at those and they are junk.

If you go ebay etc you can get the Mars Aqua 300w at around $170. I went with 3 of them after a lot of debating with myself. Love the one I have on my 75

So one decent 300 watt should work just fine? 175 seems pretty fair!

 

[LowLi]

check out noopsyches

 

[oreo54]

I don’t know the details off the top of my head, but I looked at those and they are junk.

If you go ebay etc you can get the Mars Aqua 300w at around $170. I went with 3 of them after a lot of debating with myself. Love the one I have on my 75

Well you could be right but ho did you determine they were "junk"?
Yes 1/2W diodes but at least they are lensed (reflectors)..90 degrees I believe.
[/quote]One light is ideal for 32x18” coverage[/quote]

Safe and Power Saving: Isolated energy design, UL/CE/ROHS/FCC certified,

Don't think ONE "black box" has any real certs..


Actual wattage is only around

65W±5%

Mars Aqua lies as well as their "selling watts" i.e 3w "class" diodes run at 2W..maybe..
but yes stronger than the above..
Depends how shallow and what your goal is..

Now not tryoing to "sell you these.. They are budget lights .. but I think that have a niche..
BIGGEST catch is the possibly honest 5000hr lifespan..

typo or not? Lots of Chinglish w/ these lights..

Lets do a little "analyses" of the Mars Aqua:

• 100pcs) High Intensity 3W Epistar leds
• Lens Angle: 90°
• DB: 58.9dB
• Input Voltage: AC100-240V
• Frequency: 50-60Hz
• Lifespan: 100,000 hours

Average forward voltage on these lights is around 3.6V
Never saw one w/ a driver that exceeded 550mA
3.6x100x.550 = 198W
Now w/ some luck the emitters have better than the generally feeble 50Lumens/watt rating..

Most 1/2W diodes are approaching 100Lumens/watt
Yea lumens are for people but it shows a level of efficiency..

Epistars are capable of this efficiency but do you believe it's in these?
Thankfully there is very little waste sideways like for tubes and bulbs.. and yes they WORK just fine.

now 100,000hrs lifespan? Not in this universe..
Another poster I agree w/

The MarsAqua is a reasonably well made, basic, standard, slightly old design of an led fixture. Does it provide enough light to grow corals, absolutely. Is it even the best made inexpensive led fixture out of China, probably not, at least in my view. It has a painted steel case that can/will rust, some others use aluminum cases and powder coat them which is much better. There are a lot of other differences as well (fan quality, heat sink quality, stainless steel fastener quality, driver quality...), but you should really do some serious studying of led fixtures......................

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I would pass on it, you would be better off with one of the cheap black boxes with the 3w leds like some of the others have mentioned

 

[oreo54]

I would pass on it, you would be better off with one of the cheap black boxes with the 3w leds like some of the others have mentioned

Looking back.. I'd agree w/ you on the basis of 65 real watts isn't good enough for a 60gal cube.. depending on your goal of course..
That , technically , wasn't my point..
But you aren't getting 300W w/ the Mars either..
198/60 is in old school 3.3W/gallon..

now not sure where they got the 4-8WPG LED rule..

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

Any suggestions for "cheap" lighting for my 60 gal cube I'd be putting lps down at the bottom or middle height of the tank so I would need some deep penetration 24 inch deep

 

[jsvand5]

I’d get one of these. A little over your budget but they have a better spectrum and better components than the cheaper black boxes. I have a few on my 210g and have been really happy with them.

https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-reef-lights/13-sbox-30-basic-3-channel.html

 

[xxkenny90xx]

The black boxes like these are fine for corals, but the colors may or may not be to your liking. Also try to find one made of aluminum so it doesn't rust and with a good built in timer

 

[xxkenny90xx]

But then again, I'm known for going cheap and having to replace things down the road...