How about these lights?

[Jacked Reefer]

I'm going to look into the K7 Pro II as well. Just haven't had time to look into it yet. Still deciding obviously but just thinking out loud so to speak.

I often go from one extreme to the other. Usually I end up on the expensive side of things lol. I'm not much of a believer in buying lower prices stuff. The whole you get you what you pay for thing always resonates with me. My other half is the opposite. I always tell her if she would stop buying cheap $*** and buy quality stuff she'd actually save money.

I understand the extremes thing. To combat my need to by the latest and greatest I make charts that help me figure out “bang for buck” I say if you want to compromise with you significant other halide is your best bet. It works like a charm but since the popularity is declining so is the price!

 

[Philipgonzales3]

I understand the extremes thing. To combat my need to by the latest and greatest I make charts that help me figure out “bang for buck” I say if you want to compromise with you significant other halide is your best bet. It works like a charm but since the popularity is declining so is the price!

But will LED be cheaper to run? Also I don't know a lot about MH or halide, but with most non LED don't you have to replace the bulbs every so often? I suppose with LED as well but after 5-10 years I'm sure I'll switch them out regardless just to get newer features.

I think the biggest detturent to halide would be the heat. I'm assuming LED runs the coolest, but I could be wrong. If MH runs hotter that would probably be a no go. I live in Texas and I rent an older house with poor insulation. I rent it from my uncle so I get a good deal on rent or else I'd move. Currently we are saving to buy our own home. But long story short we struggle to keep our house below 85F when it gets into 100+ outside. I'm already thinking I am going to need a chiller when summer comes around. I may see how far I can get with sump fans and portable A/C units. We have used portable A/C units to keep our server room cool during emergencies when the server room A/C unit would break. I'm thinking this will benefit both the tanks and us as it gets so hot that it's miserable.

Also, I am the breadwinner and I manage the bills. This makes it a little easier to "sneak" higher end purchase in. Haha.

Sorry for rambling on. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it!

 

[Why-Me]

Go LED and don't look back.
Sounds like you may need a chiller, you'll know when it gets hot.

 

[lapin]

Currently we are saving to buy our own home.
Also, I am the breadwinner and I manage the bills. This makes it a little easier to "sneak" higher end purchase in. Haha.

Hum....... Saving and Reef Tank. The 2 will never get along. *-}

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Hum....... Saving and Reef Tank. The 2 will never get along. *-}

Well the new house should of course include an in wall or peninsula tank. So maybe that will help motivate me. But that's of course in a perfect world. So let's hope I win the lottery haha.

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Copy and paste from one of my other posts since it was light related.

...Now I did do a "thing" today. So the biggest hassle so far, outside of ATO (I top off twice daily, pending purchasing a cabinet to install an ATO reservoir in) has been turning on my lights on and off every morning for both my SW tank and my son's FW tank. I leave for work near 6 AM and return near 5:30 PM daily. This meant I had to either feed at 6AM or 5:30PM and turn the lights off near 6 or 6:30 PM to not have a crazy long photo period. Another thing that was a hassle is cutting off the return pump during feeding. I started just leaving the return pump on to avoid the hassle of crouching under the tank and yanking out the plug. I dreamed of getting a new return pump with a feed mode. While I'm still likely going to upgrade the return pump and lights on my SW tank soon, I will not be doing so on my son's FW tank. Decided to kill 2 birds with one stone.

Smart plugs! ~10 each on Amazon BTW
(I do plan on moving the power strip to another cabinet that is not directly above water. It doesn't have enough slack to go anywhere but still doesn't seem like a good idea the way I currently have it.)



I can turn on or off any device from the app or also by voice by tying into either Amazon Echo or Google Assistant. Haven't tried the voice part yet.



I can also schedule my lights or devices to turn on or off on a schedule. You can actually set to actual sunrise and sunset times and even add an offset. This will allow me to turn on the lights after I leave, via a schedule and as a result be able to view the tank longer in the PM. I used static values now to ensure everything works as intended.


I think I'll order another for my skimmer. There were other brands of smart plugs that measured power consumption. This is one feature I wish this particular plug had but no biggie. Maybe it's better not to know. I could always plug another plug that measures consumption (or use a kilowatt meter) before the power strip.

 

[reef lover]

I used to run hqi halides on my 55 the 2 biggest reasons i switched was 1 the heat transfer. Even with a fan on top the tank and ac on it would still creep up towards 80 in the summer. 2 is the cost of the bulb having to replace it yearly, then light shock to the corals as they deal with increased par levels . Ive just found led to be easier and more cost effective for me in the long run.

 

[Jekyl]

Right now I have a 2' x 2' SC Aquarium PNP. It is currently a fowler and is getting 9 watts of light over it via an aqueon modular 24" light that I had lying around.

Honestly I just mostly want some corny features, such as the ramp up/ramp down at sunrise. Throw in some lighting storms and clouds and you have my attention.

I'm thinking I can start trying to introduce some coraline algea in the tank.

Maybe some think like this? Maybe I can start looking at some beginner corals.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Branching-...205049?hash=item2ce1e160f9:g:hGgAAOSwtcRcH4Nm

What do you think? Yay or nay?

 

[Jekyl]

Right now I have a 2' x 2' SC Aquarium PNP. It is currently a fowler and is getting 9 watts of light over it via an aqueon modular 24" light that I had lying around.

Honestly I just mostly want some corny features, such as the ramp up/ramp down at sunrise. Throw in some lighting storms and clouds and you have my attention.

I'm thinking I can start trying to introduce some coraline algea in the tank.

Maybe some think like this? Maybe I can start looking at some beginner corals.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Branching-...205049?hash=item2ce1e160f9:g:hGgAAOSwtcRcH4Nm

What do you think? Yay or nay?

I'm going with 2 viparspectra 165w for my 90 gallon. They also make a larger 300w that may suit you better. 2 of them are only going to cost me about $260 total

Here are the testing results before everyone starts knocking them for not being able to cover the needs of sps (yes t5 hybrid is still best)

https://lovefishtank.com/coral-reef-aquarium-led-light/

 

[Philipgonzales3]

I'm going with 2 viparspectra 165w for my 90 gallon. They also make a larger 300w that may suit you better. 2 of them are only going to cost me about $260 total

Here are the testing results before everyone starts knocking them for not being able to cover the needs of sps (yes t5 hybrid is still best)

https://lovefishtank.com/coral-reef-aquarium-led-light/

At this price this is very tempting. Only thing that I would want is slow ramp up and ramp down. But that's probably not even necessary right? I mean I don't think that lights had slow ramp up and ramp down for that long right? It's a newer feature I believe but that is just a guess.

Also not as much control as the other lights but that may not necessarily be a bad thing for a newb like me lol.

 

[Jekyl]

In the same price point would be the Current USA further down the list. They have the features you want but now suitable for sps. After that things get a lot pricier

 

[Philipgonzales3]

In the same price point would be the Current USA further down the list. They have the features you want but now suitable for sps. After that things get a lot pricier

Reading up on these now. Man seems like a pretty sweet light for the price. Recommended spread is 24"x24" so I'd only need the 165W. I'd like the option to have SPS but definetly won't be an SPS dominant tank so don't think I would need the higher powered one.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/viparspectra-165watt-anyone-using-these.317612

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Reading up on these now. Man seems like a pretty sweet light for the price. Recommended spread is 24"x24" so I'd only need the 165W. I'd like the option to have SPS but definetly won't be an SPS dominant tank so don't think I would need the higher powered one.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/viparspectra-165watt-anyone-using-these.317612

That’s what you’ll wind up with.


Go with what you have for now. Get the chilller lined up , best to look now as it’s winter.
Get an ato. For coral you need it.

If you’re handy get some of the par38 bulbs for coral off eBay. 4 would be fine , 6 you’ll have a nem. 8 and it’s sps time. $7-20 each.

Look for SBreeflight Black boxes. Used.

Fwiw , fresh water lights will grow coral.

 

[Philipgonzales3]

That’s what you’ll wind up with.


Go with what you have for now. Get the chilller lined up , best to look now as it’s winter.
Get an ato. For coral you need it.

If you’re handy get some of the par38 bulbs for coral off eBay. 4 would be fine , 6 you’ll have a nem. 8 and it’s sps time. $7-20 each.

Look for SBreeflight Black boxes. Used.

Fwiw , fresh water lights will grow coral.

I was actually just looking at this light.

https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-reef-lights/68-new-sbox-extreme-18-wifi.html

I'm not particular handy unfortunately

 

[Why-Me]

My honest opinion if I were looking to save a few from The big brands on the market. I'd get a SBReeflight 18" extreme wifi or SBReeflight Ultra 22"

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I was actually just looking at this light.

https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-reef-lights/68-new-sbox-extreme-18-wifi.html

I'm not particular handy unfortunately

That’s what I have. It’s great. 2 year warranty.

Don’t forget to look a at used.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lights-360x-ai26hd-black-box.548967/#post-5652665
But an ato first

 

[Philipgonzales3]

That’s what I have. It’s great. 2 year warranty.

Don’t forget to look a at used.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lights-360x-ai26hd-black-box.548967/#post-5652665
But an ato first

I am the ato...32 to 64 ounces every 12 hours. If I get corals then I will just quit my job and break it up more through the course of the day! Easy!

Haha the ATO plan is, well, planned. Hopefully it is also well planned. Just waiting to make sure funding is going to be stable.

 

[Morelia]

I have (2) used SB Reef 16" WiFi lights I am getting ready to sell. Less than 9 months old.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I am the ato...32 to 64 ounces every 12 hours. If I get corals then I will just quit my job and break it up more through the course of the day! Easy!

Haha the ATO plan is, well, planned. Hopefully it is also well planned. Just waiting to make sure funding is going to be stable.

One thing I learned from Reefing is being handy to keep a budget reef.
My first canopy build was ok. The current fourth one is actually kinda nice.
Look at easy diy Ato. Use dc and a 12v pump. ($19) unles you had crap in the garage and mine was $12.

The ato is life support. Lights will come as you progress. The cooling is a big challenge.

You can PM me and I’ll get the ato plan for you.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I have (2) used SB Reef 16" WiFi lights I am getting ready to sell. Less than 9 months old.

Nice.