Recommend affordable lighting.

[Dondante]

I'm getting back into the hobby after a 15+ year hiatus. Man, things have changed. Love the DC pumps and LED options for power consumption. Amazing.

I'm not oppose to Chinese lights. Lol. It's all very confusing though .

I need the following features:

LED

Programmable sunrise/sunset etc .

Can't hang lights from ceiling . Hanging brackets or tank mounts are a must. I currently dont have a canopy and not sure I'm going to build one.

LPS and maybe some SPS higher in the tank.

120 Gal 48" x 24 x 24

Thanks.

 

[djbetterly]

My buddy has crazy good success with SPS and his Fluval light. I’m always shocked but more often than not his Fluval lit tank outgrows mine which is lit by two Radion’s.

 

[Jacked Reefer]

2 ocean revive t247s or a 4ft reefbreeders led would both be perfect for a mixed reef tank of that size.

 

[Stickboy15]

don't cheap out on lights just take the shot to the wallet once and be happy. I got into the hobby with black boxes and never could get the growth and colors from them so I got gen 4 radions and my growth had more then doubled and colors are perfect. Spend the money and do it once and have it for many years rather then being unhappy and buying multiple times. Remember no bulb changes and easy on the electric bill will help the big pill to swallow easier.

4 radion xr15s will do the trick I say 4 15s rather 2 30s because you can spread them apart.

 

[Jacked Reefer]

[

don't cheap out on lights just take the shot to the wallet once and be happy. I got into the hobby with black boxes and never could get the growth and colors from them so I got gen 4 radions and my growth had more then doubled and colors are perfect. Spend the money and do it once and have it for many years rather then being unhappy and buying multiple times. Remember no bulb changes and easy on the electric bill will help the big pill to swallow easier.

4 radion xr15s will do the trick I say 4 15s rather 2 30s because you can spread them apart.

I believe some brands of black box are inferior to others. Just like name brand leds. (Ex when you could light a tank with two radion xr15s but it would require three kessil 360s) I personally believe that true blackboxes like mars aquas or visparactas are flimsily built and do not use the correct spectrums required by most corals. Others, suck as the ocean revive and some of the ones on the black box study thread are far superior because they don’t cut corners on the growth side of things. Sure they may not have a ultra black aluminum body with 50 dollar fans but the interiors are very similar to those of radions or orpheks

 

[Mical]

What do you plan on keeping as far as corals? I have a pair of Orbit Marine LEDs that would fit your tank but as most know here on R@R their only good for softies and some LPS.

 

[Stickboy15]

he said lps and sps higher up

 

[Dondante]

Yeah. I lost so much money back in the day buying other things. I'm just happy I don't have to buy metal halide and HO fluorescent rigs . No chiller!!!

But I'm just completely lost on these new LED setups.

My setup came with a set of Current USA 36"-48" IC Pro .nice lights and awesome easy festures but I can already tell they aren't going to cut it.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

[

I believe some brands of black box are inferior to others. Just like name brand leds. (Ex when you could light a tank with two radion xr15s but it would require three kessil 360s) I personally believe that true blackboxes like mars aquas or visparactas are flimsily built and do not use the correct spectrums required by most corals. Others, suck as the ocean revive and some of the ones on the black box study thread are far superior because they don’t cut corners on the growth side of things. Sure they may not have a ultra black aluminum body with 50 dollar fans but the interiors are very similar to those of radions or orpheks

On my smaller reef tank I have a Mars Aqua black box and have seen good growth on my SPS.

 

[Dondante]

[

I believe some brands of black box are inferior to others. Just like name brand leds. (Ex when you could light a tank with two radion xr15s but it would require three kessil 360s) I personally believe that true blackboxes like mars aquas or visparactas are flimsily built and do not use the correct spectrums required by most corals. Others, suck as the ocean revive and some of the ones on the black box study thread are far superior because they don’t cut corners on the growth side of things. Sure they may not have a ultra black aluminum body with 50 dollar fans but the interiors are very similar to those of radions or orpheks

Which of the Chinese Black Boxes have you seen good results from?

 

[Stickboy15]

yeah current usa makes great freshwater lights I have them on my 90. Current usa saltwater lights a whole different story great for soft tanks of fish only but are super low power.

 

[Jacked Reefer]

Which of the Chinese Black Boxes have you seen good results from?

From the ones I have seen in action the ones I have previously recommended ocean revive t247 and reefbreeders (if you count those as blackboxes) I would trust over my own tank. If you want a full review and scientific tests I would go to the black box study thread and see what kind of lights you like one there. And if any of them catch your eye just wait a bit and you’ve got science to back of your lighting choice

 

[ZoWhat]

Whoa. time out. Whsts you're budget?

We all want to eat steak dinners but asking for it off the $1 value menu is unrealistic

Above avg lighting is going to run you $600 to $1000. anything less you'll just be killing off $60 corals left and right

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

I'm getting back into the hobby after a 15+ year hiatus. Man, things have changed. Love the DC pumps and LED options for power consumption. Amazing.

I'm not oppose to Chinese lights. Lol. It's all very confusing though .

I need the following features:

LED

Programmable sunrise/sunset etc .

Can't hang lights from ceiling . Hanging brackets or tank mounts are a must. I currently dont have a canopy and not sure I'm going to build one.

LPS and maybe some SPS higher in the tank.

120 Gal 48" x 24 x 24

Thanks.

Our Photon 48-V2+ is a great fit for your tank. You can read more about our lights here: https://www.reefbreeders.com/photon-v2/

They come in at $659.99 shipping included in the USA, and we have a 2 year USA warranty on all of our Photon V2+ lights.

If you have any questions just let me know!

 

[Dondante]

Probably around $600. No time out needed. I asked for affordable...
Not cheap. Best bag for the buck. Again, I'm a little overwhelmed at the choices, texhnotech ect.

Oh and not needing a canopy. Lol

Good info so far, guys .

 

[jtl]

Our Photon 48-V2+ is a great fit for your tank. You can read more about our lights here: https://www.reefbreeders.com/photon-v2/

They come in at $659.99 shipping included in the USA, and we have a 2 year USA warranty on all of our Photon V2+ lights.

If you have any questions just let me know!

I have this light and seriously recommend it. It is well built, looks great and has quality components. Most of all it will grow corals as good as any of them. They also have excellent customer service.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

As you have seen there are 90 million opinions, and we all can say this light is great and that is terrible. Most of the time people don’t like lights because of what they hear or read, (not always but mostly).

If you can find the better Chinese boxes, (not mars aqua, but the ocean revive are better) if you can find the current usa 4114 orbit pros they have the same par and growth rate as any of the radions and or hydras and better spread.

The ic loops will grow softies and lps and some sps. The sps would need to be upper half of the tank. The ic lights are not terrible lights, but you have to place them correctly and corals correctly.

There are lots of new lights out there, and name brand means nothing. For all those who say don’t skimp on lights is kinda funny. If you visit any public aquarium none of them use these named branded lights, they use whatever they can find cheap because they are based on donations mainly. Most public aquariums have tanks that look fantastic (not talking about the ones that are 1000 plus gallons etc, on those it’s mostly natural sunlight or metal halides.

Another thing would be to see each light in action so you can see if you like the color it puts out. Most people may become surprised that they don’t get the look they want even with the most expensive radions.

 

[Dondante]

My buddy has crazy good success with SPS and his Fluval light. I’m always shocked but more often than not his Fluval lit tank outgrows mine which is lit by two Radion’s.

Really? Running the 3.0? I figured those would be on PAR with my Current Pros.

 

[MSB123]

noopsyche k7 Pro II are really nice and work well! They are also cheap which is a plus! @noopsyche

 

[Ktran350]

I’m using Reefradiance Starfire “Black Box” lights. I believe they used to be a sponsor on here? So far so good on my mix reef and it’s growing SPS. It comes preprogrammed and don’t have to mess with it. I have it about 12” above the water.