The real Black Box light study

[crusso1993]

Read thru all 39 pages today...wow!
Thank you for all of your time and effort! From a noob who has not bought a light yet....I learned a few things.
Hope the family is doing well.

Welcome aboard! I think you're going to like it here.

 

[Rybren]

Testing another light with a cool little app. I should have some numbers tonight or tomorrow but here are some pics................

Got my finger on the trigger for one of these. Can't wait for everyone to get better!

 

[Manose]

My mom is home and doing well so I am heading down to the shop tomorrow and see if I can finish the new par testing tank.
It will be the same as the old tank just in a different part of the building so I will not be bothered
I plan on staying the night as I think we have a reef club coming to visit.

 

[symon_say]

That's great, take good care of mom.

 

[Diggem]

ok this is probably the wrong place to ask but been following this thread and everyone here seems to have so much knowledge was looking at viparspectra starting 20 gallon tall mixed reef so that's 24x12x16 is there any other light on the cheaper side for tank that size or just go with viparspectra and turn way down any suggestion would be appreciated

 

[Manose]

ok this is probably the wrong place to ask but been following this thread and everyone here seems to have so much knowledge was looking at viparspectra starting 20 gallon tall mixed reef so that's 24x12x16 is there any other light on the cheaper side for tank that size or just go with viparspectra and turn way down any suggestion would be appreciated

For 100$ you are not going to find any better but you will have to turn them wayyyyyy down.

 

[Rybren]

Testing another light with a cool little app. I should have some numbers tonight or tomorrow but here are some pics................

I wonder what those numbers look like

 

[Manose]

I wonder what those numbers look like

We are going to find out this week as I have the new tank ready to go for our testing. It is a sweet looking little light that is for sure.

 

[Rybren]

We are going to find out this week as I have the new tank ready to go for our testing. It is a sweet looking little light that is for sure.

Great! Have you played with it at all?

 

[Manose]

Great! Have you played with it at all?

Yes I did and really like the little app that it uses and the color it produces is really nice just have not taken any par readings yet.

 

[Rybren]

Awesome, I'm looking at picking one up for a 24x20x10 frag tank. Will wait for your PAR numbers.

Thanks for doing all of the testing; I know that it's a lot of work. Very eye opening.

 

[Rybren]

The manufacturer provided me with some PAR numbers for the light. Unfortunately, they are all open air and not in water and they don't state how high the light was above the sensor. Will be interesting to see how they compare to your numbers.

 

[BeejReef]

I have a feeling this information is going to cause some better competition in the world of reef lighting. Providing data that shows that sub $200 lights can keep up with $700-800 lights. It’s a fact that has been known because of personal experience from people but now there is hard data to back it up.

This information needs to reach the right people and needs to be pushed out there to help facilitate change.

Now if we could get some in tank pumps like the gyre or the vortec pumps that didn’t cost $300 bucks.........

That being said we as reefers are responsible for the markups that exist because we choose to pay that markup. And while for people that have a high amount of disposable income this doesn’t matter, those that don’t suffer because of this. There should always be an affordable option that performs well. It helps keep prices in check and fuels innovation through competition.

There will always be people that will buy the so called top of line best “brand” available regardless. Cost is a limiting factor in this hobby and keeps a lot of people out of our hobby. I know when I was first interested many years ago the cost of lighting alone kept me from setting up a tank. Now that there are more affordable options I am enjoying reefing.

@Manose you doing this could be responsible for bringing many people into this hobby I hope you know that.

What I take away from all of this is similar to the BRS Investigates video... even though they kind of shi* on the black boxes. They put out a metric fuggton of light at 1/4 to 1/3 of the price. They put out so much that you could run them at 50% above a diffuser and still see 100 to 125 par on your sandbed and an sps glory zone at 12-18". It's just like buying a new car or a 5yr old used one. What do you value? Set it and forget it.. call or email somebody if it breaks, or do you change your own oil and do your own brakes?

LEDs won't save you money over MH or t5 over a 10 year period if you have to have it every time a new one comes out with a new feature or tweaked spectrum. I wonder if they even save $ when run in a hybrid with t5. In my (very novice) mind, the CBB is a great value IF each unit gives you 3+ average years of service. Then you get the chance to "buy a new used car" that has stuff your old one didn't. If they're dying in under two years, seems the "cheap" option would be to buy top tier.

 

[SeaDweller]

I’ve ran the cheap CBB to “better (looking)” ocean revives to now RB photon V2+ (aka Evergrow) and I don’t think anything could make me happier (aside from t5). But the current gen of these RB/ever grow is awesome.

Does anyone have numbers for these?

 

[Rybren]

... In my (very novice) mind, the CBB is a great value IF each unit gives you 3+ average years of service. Then you get the chance to "buy a new used car" that has stuff your old one didn't. If they're dying in under two years, seems the "cheap" option would be to buy top tier.

I switched from T5 to CBB about 6 years ago; it cost me $250 for two. Bulb replacement was costing me at least $125/year. My BBs have saved me a nice chunk of change. My tank is doing just as well under the LEDs as it was under the T5s. The BBs are still going strong, but if they die on me tomorrow, they won't owe me anything.

 

[symon_say]

Any updates?

 

[SuperPro]

Not sure if this is why the study has stopped but this was posted in a local reef club in Tn that was suppose to have a club meeting at the facility:

Thanks for your message; I'm sorry I missed your call.
The rain, leaks, and increased humidity have taken a toll on the facilities and on our ability to offer a safe tour to your members.
I apologize for the inconvenience, but the campus is not ready to receive guests right now; we have a lot of work ahead of us to dry things out and restore many areas.
We look forward to hosting the club each year, and we want the visit to be well worth your travel time and trouble.
Rescheduling for sometime after the April swap would work well for us.

Thanks again for time and consideration

 

[Manose]

Sorry guys my mom has been ill so my time has been taken up. She is doing much better so i'll be back at it as soon as I can.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Rybren]

Mom certainly comes first. Hope she gets better soon.

 

[Diggem]

For 100$ you are not going to find any better but you will have to turn them wayyyyyy down.

So what would your suggestion be in running it on the 20 gallon tall