Sb light reviews.

[sghera64]

I've been in the market for lights for quite a while now. I've read a bunch of reviews on different lights and taking everything into consideration (cost, heat, replacement parts/maintenance, electrical consumption, growth, color, customer service, warranty and overall rating) I have decided I'm most likely going to get these lights. I was planning on getting two sb 32" Wi-Fi for my 6 long, 2 feet deep and 30" tall. It will be a mixed reef.

Anyone care to share a review, positive or negative. Photos of your setup would be great [emoji106]

I have one 32" WiFi over my tank which is just like yours. It covers the one side well. I currently have a 250 Watt metal halide Radium with T5 suppl. on the other side I plan to replace MH soon with another 32" WiFi extreme. Beneath the current 32" WiFi extreme is a mixed Reef. I get 163 PAR On the sand a bed 3" back from the Front pane of glass (Apogee meter). I'm getting 350-400 PAR 6-8" below surface beneath the fixture which is 9" above water. I set my blue lights (PAR generators) at 44% for their maximum from noon to 6 PM. SPS and cup coral are looking good to my satisfaction.

I suspend my SB 32" above the water with thin steel cable that is counter weighted so that I can raise and lowers light effortlessly.

About the pictures:
Fishroom view: I'm pointing to one of two water jugs used counter balance the light (on pullies). Don't mind the cooling trunk line. I'm just goofing around to see how cold I can run the heat sink on the LED's. The WiFi version reports internal. Temperature.

Front view: The left side of tank is beneath 250W Radium (HQI setting) supplemented with two T5 bulbs. The right side is beneath the SB Reef Light; also supplemented with two T5 bulbs.

One more thing: I saw a rumor that SB ReefLights is coming out with a new model called the Ultra. I'm not sure what is different other than it appears they may offer more light channel controls. I don't know for sure. So, you might hold off a couple of months if you want to make sure you have two identical units that are top-of-line for SB.

 

[Murica]

I have one 32" WiFi over my tank which is just like yours. It covers the one side well. I currently have a 250 Watt metal halide Radium with T5 suppl. on the other side I plan to replace MH soon with another 32" WiFi extreme. Beneath the current 32" WiFi extreme is a mixed Reef. I get 163 PAR On the sand a bed 3" back from the Front pane of glass (Apogee meter). I'm getting 350-400 PAR 6-8" below surface beneath the fixture which is 9" above water. I set my blue lights (PAR generators) at 44% for their maximum from noon to 6 PM. SPS and cup coral are looking good to my satisfaction.

I suspend my SB 32" above the water with thin steel cable that is counter weighted so that I can raise and lowers light effortlessly.

About the pictures:
Fishroom view: I'm pointing to one of two water jugs used counter balance the light (on pullies). Don't mind the cooling trunk line. I'm just goofing around to see how cold I can run the heat sink on the LED's. The WiFi version reports internal. Temperature.

Front view: The left side of tank is beneath 250W Radium (HQI setting) supplemented with two T5 bulbs. The right side is beneath the SB Reef Light; also supplemented with two T5 bulbs.

One more thing: I saw a rumor that SB ReefLights is coming out with a new model called the Ultra. I'm not sure what is different other than it appears they may offer more light channel controls. I don't know for sure. So, you might hold off a couple of months if you want to make sure you have two identical units that are top-of-line for SB.

Thank you, great info!

 

[Murica]

I'm checking out the new ultra.. Think the 45 inch would be sufficient for a 6 foot tank?

 

[Flippers4pups]

I'm checking out the new ultra.. Think the 45 inch would be sufficient for a 6 foot tank?

Don't think so. Looks like you could pull the lenses off of them like other Chinese black boxes, but I would think it would still lack at the corners.

I run three modded, to SB reeflights diode layout, Mars Aquas 165w units on my 125 with all the lenses pulled at 13" off water surface. Great coverage and I love them. (So do my corals, SPS and LPS)

 

[Sunny Goold]

Awesome - I have been looking for the cheapest lights possible that won't catch on fire and will be good for coral (I am planning on building my first tank). I really wanted quality and simplicity. I will have a 4ft tank and so think I will get the 32 and use a T5 (or 2) - to supplement.

This thread has been really helpful to me. The way I see it I can spend $200 on 2 X cheap Chinese lights or get these for $310 and I should get much better results and I won't have to build some dodgy looking hood. I probably can hold off on getting a seneye to understand par areas. I am going to put it in my boys room so the moonlight feature will be a huge positive.

Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed to this thread.

 

[sghera64]

Awesome - I have been looking for the cheapest lights possible that won't catch on fire and will be good for coral (I am planning on building my first tank). I really wanted quality and simplicity. I will have a 4ft tank and so think I will get the 32 and use a T5 (or 2) - to supplement.

This thread has been really helpful to me. The way I see it I can spend $200 on 2 X cheap Chinese lights or get these for $310 and I should get much better results and I won't have to build some dodgy looking hood. I probably can hold off on getting a seneye to understand par areas. I am going to put it in my boys room so the moonlight feature will be a huge positive.

Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed to this thread.

Glad we could help. Before you buy a PAR meter, check out the BRS video on PAR meters. I know my Apogee under-reports my PAR by as much as 20% on the blue channel. So, the PAR numbers I provided above are probably 10-15% lower than the true PAR. My recollection is that the Seneye is one of the more accurate meters priced below $700. But, Apogee updated their software/firmware on the currently manufactured sensors based on the BRS finding. I've not seen a comparison of the Seney versus the updated Apogee's.

Read Dana Riddle posts too. What I find, is a PAR spot check gives you a ball park and the corals tell you the rest. Your coral can actually adjust quite a bit for under and over irradiation with light. The key is to make the changes slowly and then keep the lighting constant from that point on (including ramping, max output and color/channel mix).

 

[Sunny Goold]

Thanks Sghera! That sounds like a perfect explanation. I'm consuming every bit of BRS info I can - and what I am learning from them is forming the basis of my plan (I usually look for confirmations). I am about to search for Dana Riddle - thanks.

Yes - I was thinking of using the Seneye to give me a ball park to see if a certain coral should do well in that part of the tank based on the light. On BRS it seemed pretty broad for the good lights but when I saw the Chinese blackbox investigation I straight away realised that small location differences in the tank could mean large differences in light (especially with a cheap LED). I am going to start out with a couple of easy softies and if that works maybe an easy LPS. I suppose I won't 100% need a par meter for these if I have a good light but if I want to get some slightly more difficult ones then it should prove invaluable. Also the more I learn the more it seems to me that flow matters. BRS showed you really need to get all 3 of water quality, lighting and flow right

Sorry for writing so much - it helps me crystalise my thoughts. Onto Dana Riddle - thanks again