Did Marineland Fail?

[Deleted User 6]

It lack major expense too. Noobs.

[gabe_j]

but would you really be satisfied with a light that can only gorw some zoas and softies? not that i don't love my zoa collection but still i'd like the option down the road to have some lps and sps especially for the price. the old version was selling for 130. so this one should mark in right around 150 mabe a bit higher and for that price you can get a way better lighting set up. boob. j/k but seriously its a waste of money to get that lamp.

[Deleted User 6]

I wouldn't be satisfied, but some people might. PC lights were the norm for years and could barely grow more than softies. Point is, it is reef capable lighting but it was made for FW and other niches. To call it a fail is stupid - the world doesn't revolve around our tiny niche.

[gabe_j]

So it should be considered acceptable because it can barely sustain life? All I'm saying is don't market stuff towards a niche like reef keeping because it may let some softies live. I'm sure they could have put out a much better product for reef capable lighting had they really wanted to be considered a competitor in the industry. Or they should have just left it at fw and called it good. I'm sure in a fw set up I would do fine. Heck I've got a small Dymax led light for my daughters 2.5 gallon neon zebra fish tank. And it works just fine.

[Deleted User 6]

I still think softies could do great under that. Maybe even some easy LPS. It's like a more energy efficient PC light. I guess PC lighting should never have been marketed toward reefs either.

[gabe_j]

thats great and all but i may just be biased against it cuz i was very unsatisfied with the model prior to this.

 

but i still think its a waste of money. there far better lighting options for the price.

[DC5]

On one hand, products like these raise the awareness of LED's for the hobby. On the other, it also trashes the name of LED's when some uneducated consumer can't keep a clam alive.

[Crackerballer]

On one hand, products like these raise the awareness of LED's for the hobby. On the other, it also trashes the name of LED's when some uneducated consumer can't keep a clam alive.

 

Uneducated consumers shouldn't be keeping clams anyway, so that is a double fail on their part.

[MrIcky]

DHaut, you crack me up. And you're right. People here are obsessed with the mostest/bestest. You could make a very nice regular set-up with softies and lps up higher. 80 par at 18 inches has got to be at least equal or better than PCs.

 

As far as the FW comments- go check out the serious plant guys. They'd call some of you out for being just another reef snob. I run MH on my planted tank, but you could grow easy plants *just like you can grow easy corals* under these for sure.

[evilc66]

DHaut has a point, but only if the PAR numbers are actually accurate. If they hold true, or are even a little low compared to real world testing, then it could be a decent option for low to low-medium lighting. Color temperature isn't going to be that nice though, and the use of 10K white LEDs isn't helping situations with color rendering.

 

I'm going to see if I can get my hands on one and run it through the wringer.

[mdbrit]

doesn't look like it has anywhere enough blue for me. and i tried their other one the crappier version of this one. and it sucked way worse. i mean as soon as i turned it on i started wrapping it back up and took it back to the store for some T5's. so yeah it will probably suck. and they are gonna want what around 150+ your better off saving your money and gettinga fish need it 4 bulb set up with 2 actinic stunner strips and still come up saving money over this POS imo.

 

Awesome grammar.

 

I was hoping for better PAR numbers also. I have a double-brite on a freshwater system and actually like how it looks. However, with low power usage, you could supplement with a T5 or two and have a great lighting system that's perfectly capable of sustaining a reef if it's planned properly.

[ScubaJ]

I don't see why its being bashed so badly. "Reef Capable" is not defined by an SPS forest... If it wasn't still $400+ I would get it to try it. DHaut had the right idea.

 

I mean, look at all the so-so LED fixtures that claim a lot more a lot more and cost double to triple the ML unit. Right now most LED units are in a much higher price bracket, I am not sure you can find a single 36" LED fixture that comes close to $400 that will support ANYTHING. Most units are designed for all types of corals which drive the cost and limit the target group. This is the poor mans reef tank LED light. I don't see anything wrong with except a few tweaks which I am sure they will develop as an upgraded unit to get the first wave of buyers to buy the next. Just like Apple with Ipods.

 

Next unit will be more blue, slightly higher PAR, and 3xcords. Which are the three main weaknesses I see in this unit.

[mdbrit]

I agree. The lack of separate power cords can be mitigated by adding a T5 strip and using it for supplemental light out put as well as dusk/dawn options using timers.

If the street prices come down, it will be a nice option. Certainly the lower power consumption and heat output is a big plus. It's not attempting to be a metal halide replacement IMO.

[gabe_j]

Awesome grammar.

 

I was hoping for better PAR numbers also. I have a double-brite on a freshwater system and actually like how it looks. However, with low power usage, you could supplement with a T5 or two and have a great lighting system that's perfectly capable of sustaining a reef if it's planned properly.

 

 

sorry i get pretty lazy about using perfect grammar and punctuation.

[Mustang Boy]

thats great and all but i may just be biased against it cuz i was very unsatisfied with the model prior to this.

 

but i still think its a waste of money. there far better lighting options for the price.

 

 

i dont want to sound like an ass but why are you mad that you bought a light that wouldnt sustain corals and even says so on the box? wouldnt that be your own fault for buying a product without any knowledge of it and not even taking the time to look at the box.

[nano_keeper30]

For the money and a plug and play 10 year light source its a decent buy. Remember this is going to be targeted at big box stores (petco, petsmart) where of course its going to sustain anything they sell.

 

Right now I got a 25g Salona that im holding a bunch of spair live rock in. Above it I have a 18" 2 bulb T-5. I also have a bunch of softies such as colt, kenya tree, some shrooms and a bunch of the rocks have zoa's on them. I dont check this tank to much other than to do water changes every 3 weeks. Last time I checked it I have so much soft coral its insane, seriously the whole tank is covered in it that you can barley see the 40lbs of live rock I got stacked in there.

 

These lights are by no means high power and the stuff is growing so rediculas. I am sure that these strips put out better or atleast the same amount of light as the crappy Nova T-5 I got over the tank in my basement. Whats a 18 inch t-5 ? 18 watts ? So in other words I got 36 watts of t-5.

[borillion_star]

I know this thread is kind of old, but you could always buy one off craigslist or ebay for cheap and refit it!

[dgnetez]

If I could just give my opinion regarding these lights. I was running MH on two of my tanks and decided to "down size" as a result of the heat and energy cost. For my 20" cube I have SPS and LPS corals and put a 120 wt LED hanging fixture. Works great and tremendous growth. The fixuture has 3 wt leds driven at 2 wts. For a smaller 29 gallon tank, I couldn't hang a fixture so opted for two of these 24"w Marineland reef-capable lights. Now for the zoa's, LPS and ric's the light performed well. It was bit dark compared to the 120w but that was expected. Here is the first problem, the plug on one unit gets very hot and has begun to melt. After a couple weeks, the heat just got worse and it became a fire hazard. The 2nd light unit seems to run really cold and the light out put dimmed. Make a long story short, I removed both units with the possible intention of retrofitting with some crees. Currently, I added 4 truelumen pro strips which have really nice color saturation and plenty of penetration at 17". Would I recommend these for 24"deep coral tanks, no. My 3rd tank that I recently started is using reef brite XHO fixtures. It's a 65gallon and it needs 4 to get enough light for the mixed community which includes RBTA and SPS.

 

Make long story short. I have no problems with the light output for these units if you can get them cheap and have the right application. I do have a problem with their quality control and retail price. Personally, I would never buy another marineland light again given my previous experience.

[TheUnfocusedOne]

Why not make a new thread instead of resing this?

[Fish_Maniac]

When not make a new thread instead of resing this?

 

This.

[bensanders]

Why not make a new thread instead of resing this?

 

Also...what?