Guys I need help with my light choice PLEASE

[Tamberav]

I’ve heard about it but not any like hype about them

Well if you haven't heard if stratton...phillips and not much about Maxspect I guess there's a lot of good lights out there on the down low.

For the corals you listed you probably only need a 200-300 dollar fixture but if you like to spend 1k. You could

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Do yourself a favor before buying anything and check out the reefi duo extreme led fixture. It really is amazing.

Reefbreeders are also pretty nice, one step above ai primes imo (bring on the flaming!)

 

[f.christian]

I had a 60 gallon cube for a while. I used first a black box Mars aqua. Good coverage just didn't like it to much. I was able to borrow a kessil and it wasn't enough. And the disco ball killed me. Then I bout a used radion. Best choice ever for that size ill see if I can find a photo

mh

No need to over think then. Those corals need very little light to thrive and are very undemanding. You don’t need a $1100 ati straton that can put 500 par 24” deep. It’s WAY overkill. A single kessil a360x will be fine.

My issue is I don’t want fine I want them to be at peak happiness. So I’m struggling to find a suitable way to spend my money

 

[f.christian]

Here's my old 60 cube

I’ve just heard bad stuff about the radions they may be good but for the price I’ve heard there’s better

 

[f.christian]

Do yourself a favor before buying anything and check out the reefi duo extreme led fixture. It really is amazing.

Reefbreeders are also pretty nice, one step above ai primes imo (bring on the flaming!)

I haven’t heard of either

 

[Tamberav]

Picking a light is almost a personal choice as they are all different. So asking which one to a large group will net you 1000 different answers.

Some like lots of shimmer.

Some like even coverage.

For some it is about budget....200 dollar light vs 1000 dollar light.

Some may want the cleanest most refined looking fixtures.

Some may not like fan noise.

Even the way it attaches to the light or how it hangs is important to some.

Some want the newest hot tech.

Ofc all the apps are different too and some don't even want all that control. Like a kessil you sort of can't screw up settings or a T5 is about bulb choices but not worrying what you set your red or green led at but others want full control and moon phase and so on.

 

[RJKain-777]

Watch BRS led show down. 3 part series. Puts the lights head to head.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I haven’t heard of either

Reefbreeders is mid tier. Sounds like you want something higher end and that's gonna be the reefi. It's a beautiful fixture and comes with the best warrenty in the business

 

[f.christian]

Well if you haven't heard if stratton...phillips and not much about Maxspect I guess there's a lot of good lights out there on the down low.

For the corals you listed you probably only need a 200-300 dollar fixture but if you like to spend 1k. You could

lol there’s no way ima spend 1k on a light I’m looking more in the 300 rangecause that seems to be the not basic but not master reefer price point

 

[f.christian]

Reefbreeders is mid tier. Sounds like you want something higher end and that's gonna be the reefi. It's a beautiful fixture and comes with the best warrenty in the business

I’m going to have to check that one out

 

[Bpb]

I’m going to have to check that one out

Reef fi uno I believe will be a winner for you then. It’s a step up from the kessil previously mentioned by me. I will say though....the difference between all the choices listed in this thread will be small. You can find tanks that will blow you away under every single recommended item in this thread. There is no best or worst light out there. Just different strengths for different applications inside of different budgets.

 

[X-37B]

I’ve just heard bad stuff about the radions they may be good but for the price I’ve heard there’s better

I have many friends that only run radions so that bad stuff you are hearing makes no sense to me.

I have 2 xr 30 gen 4's that I bought for a song for my upgrade. They work very well .

T5 they are set and forget. Ran them for 14 months on my 120
They grow all corals well.

Just changed them out for MH, metal halides,
as they are my prefered light of choice.
Upgrade will be MH and radions.

You could get a black box led. They worked very well on my nano for a year and are pretty inexspensive too.

It can be confusing as their are so many types out their.

2 orphek light bars would be another awesome choice.
My 120 with MH

 

[Jakob]

Hell you could get away with running 2 ai primes 16hds they are 209 each

 

[BG107]

I have a nano with 1 Red Sea 50 LED, and am setting up a larger tank with 2 Red Sea 90s. Really like the lights. The shimmer is really nice, and has not disco ball effect. And the par output on these lights is very good. The plug and play aspect is also very nice. The app is a little spotty, but once you are connected, it is easy to use.

 

[f.christian]

Reef fi uno I believe will be a winner for you then. It’s a step up from the kessil previously mentioned by me. I will say though....the difference between all the choices listed in this thread will be small. You can find tanks that will blow you away under every single recommended item in this thread. There is no best or worst light out there. Just different strengths for different applications inside of different budgets.

so based on what I need which is my corals to be ideally in their happy place is what I want but that is very broad

 

[Cell]

Your best bet is to set your budget and look at the options that will mostly max out that budget. All these lights will grow coral. Then check off the features that are most important to you. If you are a tinkerer, something like an AI Prime would be a better choice. If you want something already optimized, them maybe a Kessil. Need ramping? Need a timer? Etc...

 

[f.christian]

I have many friends that only run radions so that bad stuff you are hearing makes no sense to me.

I have 2 xr 30 gen 4's that I bought for a song for my upgrade. They work very well .

T5 they are set and forget. Ran them for 14 months on my 120
They grow all corals well.

Just changed them out for MH, metal halides,
as they are my prefered light of choice.
Upgrade will be MH and radions.

You could get a black box led. They worked very well on my nano for a year and are pretty inexspensive too.

It can be confusing as their are so many types out their.

2 orphek light bars would be another awesome choice.
My 120 with MH

Do the MH take a lot of power? Could I possibly run a combo of whatever light I choose and a MH?

 

[f.christian]

I have a nano with 1 Red Sea 50 LED, and am setting up a larger tank with 2 Red Sea 90s. Really like the lights. The shimmer is really nice, and has not disco ball effect. And the par output on these lights is very good. The plug and play aspect is also very nice. The app is a little spotty, but once you are connected, it is easy to use.

Have you ran other brands of lights? Do you have personal experience with them?

 

[f.christian]

Your best bet is to set your budget and look at the options that will mostly max out that budget. All these lights will grow coral. Then check off the features that are most important to you. If you are a tinkerer, something like an AI Prime would be a better choice. If you want something already optimized, them maybe a Kessil. Need ramping? Need a timer? Etc...

My thing is I want to maximize my coral color I want to see all the colors my corals have.

example I have Bounce lava lamp Discosomas and some have developed these orange spots but they are faint. I don’t know how to make them pop more. I currently only have a random black box running on them