Confused by the LED lighting market...help

[hochunk]

What is currently the best option in the budget LED category (say around $200 for a 100w light)?

 

I ask because Reefbreeders seemed like the way to go if you didn't want to DIY. And I've priced out some DIY options and they are approaching $300-$350, so no real savings and more aggravation. Although if that results in a superior light then that is something to consider.

 

However lately Reefbreeders seems to be chasing the higher end of the market with $300, $400, and $600-$800 lighting options and their surviving budget option is around $200 and appears to be very similar to the Ocean Revive light.

 

Add to that the seemingly endless selection of budget Chinese lights on Amazon and Ebay (Marsaqua, GalaxyHydro, DsunY, etc) in the $100-$250 range and things get very confusing very quickly. Are you better off avoiding completely the Chinese knock off lights? Is there anyone that owns these that is happy with them?

 

The reason I'm asking is I am thinking about setting my 55 gallon tank back up and need enough lighting to cover a 4 ft tank, and it would be nice to have a system I could migrate to a later tank and not end up selling. It seems to me that multiple smaller fixtures might be the way to go rather than trying to buy a single 3 or 4 foot fixture.

[rfalk]

I own a galaxyhydro and it certainly works. Value wise there hard to beat.

[Clown79]

Its really hard with LEDs. None of the fixtures are comparable. The led colour options are often different, some programmable, the covrage for the tanks are different.

 

The biggest issue is that most are designed for cube/small tanks. Not many are designed for long tanks.

 

Nanobox is good but not sure which one you would need for 55g.

 

Par38 by coral compulsion is a good option. They have full spectrum(a couple of options), dimmable, 35watt with 80 degree optics. These cover 24", you would need a few. These screw into any light bulb socket.

 

Aquamaxx nemolight- designed for long tanks, programmable, sleek, and no heat issues

 

Current Orbits- designed for long tanks.

 

Radions aren't budget lights and 1 wouldn't work

 

Ai prime is good but 1 won't work

[VW_TDI_02]

Clown covered a good bit. I wouldn't recommend the Current Orbit Marines for that deep of a tank. They are fantastic for shallow tanks like 20 longs but they really struggle over deeper tanks.

 

Those Chinese ones are actually pretty good lights. I've seen them as low as $60 and 2-3 of them should cover your tank easily. The bad thing about them is that you don't have a ton of control of the color. You also have to figure out a way to mount them and usually have 2 cables per box.

 

Nanobox has the quad fixture but that's pretty expensive.

 

TBH, there really aren't many affordable ways to light a long and deep tank with LEDs other than the Chinese fixtures. DIY for long tanks would be cheaper for tanks where you would need 2-3 Radions but that's about it.

[hochunk]

I was thinking of either 2 Reefbreeders Superlux lights or 2 of the Chinese clones (very similar to what the original Reefbreeders budget fixture used to be). That would put me in a price range of $200-$400. I was also looking at a DIY kit from RapidLED for 2 70W Lumia arrays, but a dimmable kit is around $360. I don't think the kit comes with any sort of lighting controller, either.

[rfalk]

If you are looking to go cheap, dont mind the look and have a decent way to mount them get the Galaxyhydro off amazon. I personally use them in a frag tank behind a closed door and they work great for on/off control. I didnt use them on other tanks because I personally dont like the look of of the big box and wanted more control for my display tank but they will certainly grow coral and color is decent. Just remember in the long run the LEDs will probably be one of your cheaper purchases but the $80 hydros are decent.

[blasterman]

Again, the Chinese black boxes like the Mars Aqua have a strong following and color is exceptionally good albeit for 2 channels of color. They aren't as efficient as the Cree / Luxeon based premium lights like the Radion, nor do they have the ability to control each color discretely or emulate thunderstorms at specific lattitudes and a custom sunsets according to GPS coordinates. I also found I could care less about such features and a $10 lamp timer turns it on and off each day when I want. I can also focus on growing coral more. Two should be fine for a 55 with center brace although you'll need to raise them a couple feet for full coverage.

[Boggers]

I had 2 black boxes on a 75G for a long time without issues. They are the cheapest way to go at the moment. (I did have two leds burn out at the 2 yr mark however)

[Clown79]

I've heard good things about mars aqua and for Leds, its probably the best option for a budget

[fmfa0801]

There is a huge thread over on Reef Central about the MarsAqua ( Chinese black boxes). They are very good lights especially for the price compared to over LEDs. Some even modify for controls or swap out the colors.

[DPRoberts]

I went through a similar dilemma recently and someone pointed me in the direction of the OceanRevive Arctic T-247. 120W, $199 online, probably similar to the other lights mentioned above, but it gets good reviews.

[Nola Bear]

I was about to get the galaxyhydro that was programmable but then searched CL for used primes and got what I needed.