This would certainly be interesting and valuable. A lot of reefers have shared that desire in this thread as well as in the YouTube comments. I think everyone would like to find a way to light reef tanks for less than the ~$1,000(s) it costs now. I think the general perception might be that we wouldn't want to test something like this because it is so low cost and we don't sell it but in reality, lighting is the most expensive critical component of reefing and a barrier of entry to many. Providing options where that is no longer a barrier is good for everyone involved and will certainly increase the number of reefers out there. This is likely even good for the higher end lighting companies because it expands the market base and eventually the number of intermediate to advanced reefers who are looking to invest in higher quality feature rich options.
That said I think this opens a whole new type of testing that hasn't been brought up previously. Mainly what we have been discussing is performance testing which is the ability to produce an awesome looking and thriving reef tank. With imported products only available through informal and often unaccountable sales channels, we need to take a more critical look at safety and quality or longevity testing. This is just a guess at this point, but I'd wager the black boxes put out acceptable PAR and spectrum for many tanks, almost certainly in multiples. However, when an item is only sold through eBay or similar channels, it's been my experience that they were designed in and for countries where the standards of safety and quality are quite different than they are here in the US. Having experience with imported pumps sold through similar channels, I know highly unacceptable failure rates and even fire hazards are a very legit issue. While we are excited to perform and share performance testing, safety testing and quality or longevity testing are likely outside of the scope of things we can properly address in this format. To be fair, we don't perform that type of testing on the brands we sell, but there is a different expectation out of the respected industry's leaders with 10-20 year track records of producing safe products. Primarily because there is a significant legal liability and legal incentive to do so, a moral imperative, and the innate desire to protect their brand image and company value. Many of these things just don't exist with a foreign product sold on eBay.
Maybe the R2R community can share how you would like to see the safety and quality addressed in situations like the black box. Even when it comes with a stern safety disclaimer, it seems irresponsible to present performance testing on a product knowing that can inherently be a vote of confidence which could lead to many reefers installing unsafe or poorly made products in their homes and on their tanks. Open and honest I think behaving responsibly inherently means we should only performance test products we believe represent value to the reefing industry and are safe for their tanks and families. So I am asking all of you, knowing the reefing community would like to see it do you think it is responsible to review and essentially promote products which should have by their nature of introduction and method of sales the assumption of lower quality and safety standards?
