Need help wading through information for LED lighting

[stubbz08]

Hey guys. I am just about ready to pick up my real light for my 55 gal setup.48*24 (Just using cheapo that came with aquarium right now)
I'm am spending hours researching but so many different opinions and good and bad reviews and pricing....I am looking for

-visually appealing with goose neck or arm hanging over tank.
-Able to grow the majority of corals, but I will steer clear of the non user friendly ones
-Dimmable with the ability to slowly ramp up from sunrise to full day to sunset
-I don't care to play with the setting much other than I like the whiter look than all blue
-Something that I can rely on and is timeless I'm not a "new every year" guy
-budget 1000 and under
-also recommend a good controller with the light. For minor tweaking and on off timing

Thanks everyone in advance for your expertise and knowledge!

 

[Lasse]

You will have plenty of suggestions about the more known lights so i will come with one suggestion that´s not so common but IMO give the best value for the bucks. I have tested a earlier version of them (see my build thread) and was very surprised how strong they was. I could not run the whites in full power. It has 6 channels that you can adjust individually and you can run several with the same settings or change setting between them. The only draw back is that i could be difficult to configure the WiFi setting and it will take some time to learn how to do the settings - but after that - its just work. Two of these will not ruin you and if it´s nor enough you can by one more later on - but I think two is enough. You can chose between 120 and 90 degrees optics. The light I´m talking about is Coral Box Moon light - sold in the US by Reef Breeders as Nano Light Plus

Sincerely Lasse

 

[stubbz08]

You will have plenty of suggestions about the more known lights so i will come with one suggestion that´s not so common but IMO give the best value for the bucks. I have tested a earlier version of them (see my build thread) and was very surprised how strong they was. I could not run the whites in full power. It has 6 channels that you can adjust individually and you can run several with the same settings or change setting between within them. The only draw back is that i could be difficult to configure the WiFi setting and it will take some time to learn how to do the settings - but after that - its just work. Two of these will not ruin you and if it´s nor enough you can by one more later on - but I think two is enough. You can chose between 120 and 90 degrees optics. The light I´m talking about is Coral Box Moon light - sold in the US by Reef Breeders as Nano Light Plus

Sincerely Lasse

Ok, thank you. I will check your build thread! What made you go off the beaten path and not use a well known brand?

 

[DSC reef]

For what your looking for I think kessil might fit your needs.

 

[Cscultho]

i use the Kessil AP700 on my 55g and im very happy. Im growing both LPS and SPS without issue. Easy to use and low profile. I use the Kessil goose necks which give it a nice clean look. Very happy.

 

[Lasse]

Their spec was the ones that i want. I was preparing an own build of LED fixture for my new tank and had got all I need for that build. Of different reasons i notice that it would take a long time to build this fixture. I need a light rather fast. The one I really wanted - the Pacific Sun Metis Hyperion S2 without ant phosphorus coated white LEDs cost around $ 1600 and was out of discussion for me. I found this Coral Box Moon LEDs (was rather new at the moment) and they have a spec that could fit my demand rather well.

There was a possibility to run blue, green and red – without using the phosphorus coated LEDs in order to get a pleasant light with combination of reflecting colours and colours from coral fluorescence. You could also run all LEDs during periods in order to optimize the growth. I bought three for my 80 gallons DT (120 cm long, 50 cm depth) and it works very well. Later on, that autumn, I got a chance to by a used PS fixture of my dreams for a good price and I did so. When I had changed the fixture – I was surprised that it was not a large difference between the lights. I got nearly the same result with my old Coral Box Moon LED as I did with the PS fixture and I run them at a lower wattage. I was very pleased with them and I know other persons that are satisfied with them. They have a 5 watt phosphorus coated LED from Cree as main LED and it looks like this LED is very strong according to photosynthesis – its seems like its important to run the 5 watts rather low – at least in the beginning.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[stubbz08]

Their spec was the ones that i want. I was preparing an own build of LED fixture for my new tank and had got all I need for that build. Of different reasons i notice that it would take a long time to build this fixture. I need a light rather fast. The one I really wanted - the Pacific Sun Metis Hyperion S2 without ant phosphorus coated white LEDs cost around $ 1600 and was out of discussion for me. I found this Coral Box Moon LEDs (was rather new at the moment) and they have a spec that could fit my demand rather well.

There was a possibility to run blue, green and red – without using the phosphorus coated LEDs in order to get a pleasant light with combination of reflecting colours and colours from coral fluorescence. You could also run all LEDs during periods in order to optimize the growth. I bought three for my 80 gallons DT (120 cm long, 50 cm depth) and it works very well. Later on, that autumn, I got a chance to by a used PS fixture of my dreams for a good price and I did so. When I had changed the fixture – I was surprised that it was not a large difference between the lights. I got nearly the same result with my old Coral Box Moon LED as I did with the PS fixture and I run them at a lower wattage. I was very pleased with them and I know other persons that are satisfied with them. They have a 5 watt phosphorus coated LED from Cree as main LED and it looks like this LED is very strong according to photosynthesis – its seems like its important to run the 5 watts rather low – at least in the beginning.

Sincerely Lasse

Awesome information! Thanks!