How are blackbox's budget?

[dantimdad]

Wow.

So, what was the question again?

Oh , I rember.

$350 for a 48 wide tank. 3 SBreeflight BBS.

To achieve the same par and coverage with an Ai , it’s $2700+
You couldn’t fit enough a80s to get the same par. You’d need 6 a160s.
I run the BBS at 40%.

I went big and spent $275 for the ramping model for the cube.

It’s 180 par on the sand.
You’d need an Ai hydra or radion xe 30 to do that. Or two(maybe 3) kessil 360.

A plain Jane mars aqua can be found for 89.

I knew this would fire u up


Thanks for posting. I appreciate it.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I knew this would fire u up


Thanks for posting. I appreciate it.

Lol.

You bet!

One of the great thing about technology now,especially as it become more common and affordable, it’s brought this hobby to a lot more people.

 

[dantimdad]

Lol.

You bet!

One of the great thing about technology now,especially as it become more common and affordable, it’s brought this hobby to a lot more people.

I couldn't agree more!

 

[Reeferguy365]

Since you're going to go with a black box 165 definitely try to see if it lists what diodes are used my recommendation would be either a SB Reef basic or the bloom spec. The only thing I like more about the bloom spec is that it has a timer, one cord and you can get two day shipping from Amazon

 

[Reeferguy365]

And one more thing the 165 watt black boxes are really running at around 120 watts lol

 

[hart24601]

Wow.

So, what was the question again?

Oh , I rember.

$350 for a 48 wide tank. 3 SBreeflight BBS.

To achieve the same par and coverage with an Ai , it’s $2700+
You couldn’t fit enough a80s to get the same par. You’d need 6 a160s.
I run the BBS at 40%.

I went big and spent $275 for the ramping model for the cube.

It’s 180 par on the sand.
You’d need an Ai hydra or radion xe 30 to do that. Or two(maybe 3) kessil 360.

A plain Jane mars aqua can be found for 89.

Look at that clam growth!! Dang man!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Look at that clam growth!! Dang man!

Um, old pic, it’s bigger than the other one now.

 

[hart24601]

Um, old pic, it’s bigger than the other one now.

You tease!

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Black Box LEDs are both loved and hated. There is however no doubt whatsoever that they work and grow coral very well. I nearly went with BB to light my reef tank. Many people can not afford the high end LED lights and sadly thats the trend this hobby has taken, high end and pricey. Lower cost alternatives help the hobby by getting newcomers started without a huge price tag shock. I may have really wanted my tank to run on all EM products but my budget did not agree with me and if it was not for lower priced china products and used equipment I would not be reefing again.

 

[dantimdad]

Black Box LEDs are both loved and hated. There is however no doubt whatsoever that they work and grow coral very well. I nearly went with BB to light my reef tank. Many people can not afford the high end LED lights and sadly thats the trend this hobby has taken, high end and pricey. Lower cost alternatives help the hobby by getting newcomers started without a huge price tag shock. I may have really wanted my tank to run on all EM products but my budget did not agree with me and if it was not for lower priced china products and used equipment I would not be reefing again.

Well said. Well said.

 

[Jay Norris]

Let's see???? Black box vs big name lights. The way I see it? Black boxes are for people that want, but can't afford. In my eyes that's not the way to go about success with anything. I run 2 Mitras lx7. I like the extras. I like thunderstorms, I like clouds, I like ramp up and ramp down. Most of all I like sleeping at night and not having to worry that my Chinese lights aren't going to fail on me.
After all we are replicating nature here. Nature has thunderstorms, clouds, etc. If I can't afford to give my critters the best then why should I do it??? I'm not cutting corners with my livestock. Argue all you want! That's the bottom line.

That not the issue, I also use the Mitra 7206's on my tank, and a Reef Breeders Photon V2+ on my fuge, the Black Box lights grow corals just fine, and their is no reason to belittle anyone because they can't afford an $800 light. Everyone in this hobby has a different way of running their tanks, some with the $800 lights and some with the $150 lights, and both type of lights are good at growing corals, so lighten up Francis.

 

[Cliff717]

I had ai hydra. They failed. Lost my confidence in ai. Long story short I have been using sb reef for almost 2 years. I supplement with t5 and I love the setup!
T5 are only on for 5 hrs a day.

Growth is awesome and I love the color
For reference I will put a couple pics of a couple months of red dragon growth

 

[Lousybreed]

Go black box. They work! Sure you give up some features and fancy iPhone apps. Who really needs them. I love halides and I will use halides u til the day I stop reefing. I support black box LED’s because it will at some point put pressure on the expensive lights to come down. Just remember to mount them a bit higher than normal to get better light blending.

 

[actik]

i do wonder, do people run the black boxes for 12 hrs then shut them down at night and just have the aquarium light less?

 

[Shooter6]

If you find one you like let me know. I need a new light now lol.

Check out ledzeal.com i got the Malibu s400 which is a 5 ft light. Both wifi and wired controller with custom layout 601.00 deliversed to.my door.

 

[ph123uk]

I have a Viparspectra, I CAN afford any of the lights on the market, I just chose not to after seeing this in the flesh. I can only compare it to an AI SOl Blue and a Giesemann Tesla (I have had both previously) - but, IMO its better than them both for output, and colour.

I was going to get a Radion g4 Pro, not going to bother now. Only thing id like is to be able to ramp up and down, but no biggie.

 

[dantimdad]

i do wonder, do people run the black boxes for 12 hrs then shut them down at night and just have the aquarium light less?

Let's continue our discussion and I will hit on this when it comes time to actually turn on the lights. OK?

Looking forward to working with you on your project *Buddy*

 

[D_Nyholm]

You can get something like the reef breeders that have built in timers and ramping. A little more expensive but also worth it.

I have hydra 26 hds on one tank and a reefbreeders photon on another. Both look great and the growth I'm getting is similar (reefbreeders seems slightly better but I think it is due to the age of the tank).

 

[dantimdad]

I have a Viparspectra, I CAN afford any of the lights on the market, I just chose not to after seeing this in the flesh. I can only compare it to an AI SOl Blue and a Giesemann Tesla (I have had both previously) - but, IMO its better than them both for output, and colour.

I was going to get a Radion g4 Pro, not going to bother now. Only thing id like is to be able to ramp up and down, but no biggie.

Welcome to R2R!

I like your tank. I am sucker for cubes and peninsulas!

If you have any questions, please give a yell.

 

[dantimdad]

I had ai hydra. They failed. Lost my confidence in ai. Long story short I have been using sb reef for almost 2 years. I supplement with t5 and I love the setup!
T5 are only on for 5 hrs a day.

Growth is awesome and I love the color
For reference I will put a couple pics of a couple months of red dragon growth

That is for real only a couple months?!

That would be incredible growth no matter what the lighting. Your params must be spot on and stable as well.

Job well done!