Ligthing for 120g 4x2x2 mixed reef under $1200

[Gernader]

I have a Mars Aqua for my 29g reef and I am able to keep any kinds of corals.

Here are some pics: I only use blues, no whites

 

[ApoIsland]

I have a Mars Aqua for my 29g reef and I am able to keep any kinds of corals.

Here are some pics: I only use blues, no whites

Growing corals is obviously not a problem with the Mars Aqua and all other Chinese leds. I have been doing it for 5 years. My issue is that they look like crap compared to all other fixtures. Since you are using blues only there may not be a difference. But for the people who like a little whiter look the colors fall way short with those fixtures.

 

[ApoIsland]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/interesting-new-led-light.640820/

that's the thread that sold me on them. i have no personal experience with them tho

Thanks for the link.

 

[dragon99]

If you aren't in a hurry to purchase, I'd wait to see what the Philips CoralCare G2 comes out at price wise (my gut says it will probably be slightly over your budget). It's been delayed now a few weeks, but I think it's going to be a massive improvement in quality over some of the current reef LED's.

Philips CoralCare Gen2 LED Lighting Fixture

The first reef aquarium light available in the USA by Philips, a leader in technological innovation since 1891. It has the light quality you'd expect from T5 or Metal Halide with all the benefits of LED. It has 68 state-of-the-art LEDs, a patented diffusion lens for homogeneous light...

www.coralvue.com

 

[ApoIsland]

If you aren't in a hurry to purchase, I'd wait to see what the Philips CoralCare G2 comes out at price wise (my gut says it will probably be slightly over your budget). It's been delayed now a few weeks, but I think it's going to be a massive improvement in quality over some of the current reef LED's.

Philips CoralCare Gen2 LED Lighting Fixture

The first reef aquarium light available in the USA by Philips, a leader in technological innovation since 1891. It has the light quality you'd expect from T5 or Metal Halide with all the benefits of LED. It has 68 state-of-the-art LEDs, a patented diffusion lens for homogeneous light...

www.coralvue.com

No rush on the purchase and those lights definitely look interesting. Thank you for the link!

 

[hoju74]

Tagging along as I'm planning for a 120g build and would also like to avoid T5 if possible. My top considerations are:
Reefbreeders 48" V2+
3 AI 32 Hydra
2 Kessil A360X. This would have to be supplemented by T5 as my goal is a mixed reef with monti's and birdsnest

 

[X-37B]

I ran the chinese black box on my nano and it worked well.
I wont by anything from china anymore if I can help it.
I went back to T5's on my 120.
I will never understand the "I dont want to change bulbs" anymore lol.
It always seems to be it costs to much. Just buy one a month at $20.
Plus they last alot longer than people thought.
Anyway if I was to go back to led I would seriously consider the Orphek.
Not in your budget unless you went with the 48" light bars. I have tossed around the idea of at least 2 for my 120 but 8 T5's are hard to beat.
Plus with the Orphek light bars you have choices of the type of light or can customize them.
Pics dont do these justice. If you get the chance to see the Orphek in person it will justify the cost imo.
Heres my 10 month old 8 T5 120 just for viewing fun lol.

 

[jschultzbass]

I have a reefbreeders Photon V2+ 48 on my 4x2 frag tank and like it a lot. I attached 2 T5s to each side to get 100% without question coverage. If I wasn't going to use T5 I would add either the Orphek OR2 bar to each side or the reefbreeders own LumenBar. The Photon with the bars come out to $1050 and you'll have a lot of coverage.

 

[ApoIsland]

I have a reefbreeders Photon V2+ 48 on my 4x2 frag tank and like it a lot. I attached 2 T5s to each side to get 100% without question coverage. If I wasn't going to use T5 I would add either the Orphek OR2 bar to each side or the reefbreeders own LumenBar. The Photon with the bars come out to $1050 and you'll have a lot of coverage.

That's very helpful. Thank you for the post!

 

[ApoIsland]

I ran the chinese black box on my nano and it worked well.
I wont by anything from china anymore if I can help it.
I went back to T5's on my 120.
I will never understand the "I dont want to change bulbs" anymore lol.
It always seems to be it costs to much. Just buy one a month at $20.
Plus they last alot longer than people thought.
Anyway if I was to go back to led I would seriously consider the Orphek.
Not in your budget unless you went with the 48" light bars. I have tossed around the idea of at least 2 for my 120 but 8 T5's are hard to beat.
Plus with the Orphek light bars you have choices of the type of light or can customize them.
Pics dont do these justice. If you get the chance to see the Orphek in person it will justify the cost imo.
Heres my 10 month old 8 T5 120 just for viewing fun lol.

Thanks for sharing the pics. I always love when people share photos of tanks. Especially when talking about lighting and what they are growing. I will definitely look into those Orpheks.

The nicest tanks I have seen in person all run T5. There is no doubt color and growth are superior. Unfortunately I'm a cheap lazy accountant so that makes me an LED guy. Cheap and lazy are probably not ideal combos for the reefing world but it has worked out pretty good so far.

I don't have to run a chiller with LED's which is a significant savings. Add up the savings from utility bills and the cost of bulbs and I am way ahead. And even though it is minimal effort, I don't have to spend time buying and doing the actual replacing of bulbs. Just one less thing I have to worry about.

 

[ApoIsland]

Update. I ended up choosing the Photon 48 V2+ for $700. Someone in our local reef club tried to talk me out of it as he had the same lights for a week and didn't like the spectrum. I will give it a try and see for myself.
He was steering me towards the Illumagic Blaze X-120 as far superior in build quality and lighting. I almost chose these lights but I couldn't get past the fact they are almost twice as expensive and with the 75 degree optics I would definitely need supplemental lighting to cover my 24'' front to back tank.

Even if I do need supplemental lighting for the Photon 48 I'll still be under $1K.

Thank you to everyone who contributed!!

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Do the 32's have much better coverage than the 26's? Those 26's were very limited at 12 inches above water.

The 26’s have limited spread? I have a 26hd over my 26x21x19 12 inches above the water and it lights the tank just fine. I would do 3 32’s. I have 2 26’s over my Waterbox 130.4. They cover the entire tank but I’m gonna add a third in the middle and lower them down to about 8” for more par.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Update. I ended up choosing the Photon 48 V2+ for $700. Someone in our local reef club tried to talk me out of it as he had the same lights for a week and didn't like the spectrum. I will give it a try and see for myself.
He was steering me towards the Illumagic Blaze X-120 as far superior in build quality and lighting. I almost chose these lights but I couldn't get past the fact they are almost twice as expensive and with the 75 degree optics I would definitely need supplemental lighting to cover my 24'' front to back tank.

Even if I do need supplemental lighting for the Photon 48 I'll still be under $1K.

Thank you to everyone who contributed!!

The photon is a good choice!

 

[ApoIsland]

The 26’s have limited spread? I have a 26hd over my 26x21x19 12 inches above the water and it lights the tank just fine. I would do 3 32’s. I have 2 26’s over my Waterbox 130.4. They cover the entire tank but I’m gonna add a third in the middle and lower them down to about 8” for more par.

The two 26hd's were not even close to providing enough light spread to grow the corals on the top back left corner or the front left corner of my tank. Both lights were spaced evenly on just left left side 24x24 section of the tank.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

The two 26hd's were not even close to providing enough light spread to grow the corals on the top back left corner or the front left corner of my tank. Both lights were spaced evenly on just left left side 24x24 section of the tank.

What settings were you using? If you have lower whites the 26’s don’t have much punch ime.

 

[ApoIsland]

What settings were you using? If you have lower whites the 26’s don’t have much punch ime.

This was a long time ago so I can't be sure. I definitely would never run whites more than 50% though. Usually when I get a new fixture on there I set them at 100% blue and 40% white. Through the years I have tested quite a few different led fixtures over that left side in an effort to upgrade the lights. With all fixtures the colors are so much nicer than these black boxes but the sps just stops growing and the zoas on the bottom always start reaching to the sky after a week as if they are starved for light.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

This was a long time ago so I can't be sure. I definitely would never run whites more than 50% though. Usually when I get a new fixture on there I set them at 100% blue and 40% white. Through the years I have tested quite a few different led fixtures over that left side in an effort to upgrade the lights. With all fixtures the colors are so much nicer than these black boxes but the sps just stops growing and the zoas on the bottom always start reaching to the sky after a week as if they are starved for light.

The photon is probably your best option for coverage though. It is essentially a big light bar over the whole tank.

 

[blasterman]

I've run into the same issue with black boxes. Growth and PAR is excellent and I've seen spectacular SPS tanks under them.

Color though is a problem. The Chinese just throw a bunch of colors in the light and let you sort it out. They tend to have not enough blue and too many irrelevant colors mixed poorly. When you put red and green on the same channel it makes yellow, which makes a tank look like crap. I mod my own black boxes to sort it out. 70% blue, 25% cool white and 5% warm white covers the bases and gives you lots of spectrum options. They also tend to use too narrow optics. Wider spread optics cost the same, so why not have the option? Duh?

I also prefer having many smaller lights on big tanks for flexibility, and IMO the American models are too expensive and they still make them in Asia. Not getting my money.

 

[ApoIsland]

The photon is probably your best option for coverage though. It is essentially a big light bar over the whole tank.

That's good to hear. I don't expect the colors to look quite as nice as they would under the AI fixtures but hoping for something nicer than what I currently have.
While growth isn't really a concern at this point (I would actually love to never have to put my hand in the tank again and trim corals). I would just be concerned that if they weren't growing they are on their way to dying. Maybe that is the wrong thought process...

 

[Amado]

This is really bad for the hobby. When a person is not able to light a tank for under 1,200.
I am currently on the market for lights.
I just upgraded tanks and have to buy new lights because my 3 x kessil 360x will not light a 30” tall tank.
I am also from the no T5 camp and there is no way I will change a bulb.
I am waiting to see what kessil replacement light for the ap700 looks like and what price point they will sell it for.

I am also waiting to see what philps creates for reef light.