How can anyone be happy with the lighting options out there?

[tehmadreefer]

Somebody talk some sanity into me. Seems like every lighting setup has some major flaw. I have a 29 Gallon -

and I am have the HARDEST time finding a good lighting option. I just can't pull the trigger on ~$600 when I'm not confident I'll have success.

T5's - Simple success, but are just as expensive as some LEDs, have no shimmer and no controlability. Bulb replacements arent so bad I guess.
Metal Halide - Old, power hungry, unsightly, but give great results.
Puck LEDs - Expensive. Either spotlights or disco ball. Kessils are great but $$$ and are known to go out after 2 years. Maybe Redsea 50's?
Strip LEDs - Economical. Not many newer models out there. Some have huge paneling on them. Barely generate enough PAR for SPS. Just as expensive as pucks, but look worse.
LED + T5 Hybrid - Performance king. BRS recommended. But can't help wonder why I would spend $$$ to add LEDs in later if they are just for aesthetics? Plus, who wants a HUGE fixture above their tank?

I've narrowed it down to:

Budget option - 1 or 2 Orbit Marine LED Strips - $150

Economical option - Maxspect Razer X R5 - $450

Ideal option - 2xRedsea Reefled 50's - $520

Dream option - 1xRadion XR30 G5, or Orphek v4 compact

What am I missing here?

Well for starters , your list is complete false...

 

[91yjeeper]

I have five kessils, three A360WEs over my 125 mixed, and two A160s each over a biocube. Over the years, I bought them, all used at about half the retail price. They have been flawless, no issues. Just love them.

How long have you had them? Many reports of them breaking at 2+ years.

 

[91yjeeper]

Well for starters , your list is complete false...

Care to elaborate?

 

[jmevox]

t5 is the best for coral growth u can buy a basic $100 setup with blue plus and put 2 reef brite blue antic color will be amazing

I agree. T5s are proven to work and I think with the reefbrite combo they just look the best. I loved my reefbreeder photon but with the controller right on the fixture I constantly wanted to adjust settings and play with the remote. With T5s, you get a PAR meter set it up and can't mess with it.

 

[Rick.45cal]

Welcome to Reef2Reef, I LOVE my light (ATI Powermodule) and if I had to do it over, I would buy one again. I’ve run everything in my time from halides to LED’s and to me this is the best of the lot. I wouldn’t trade my fixture and the growth I get from it for anything. As far as being controllable T5’s are incredibly controllable with dimmable fixtures, but to me the simplicity far outweighs spending hours trying to guess if your color spectrum is suitable like some people do with LED’s (I realize some people enjoy this aspect, I do not, I enjoy growing corals). Having the LED’s with the T5’s is just the icing on the cake, and with ATI’s program, I can make them emulate any of ATI’s T5’s bulbs for simplicity’s sake. To me it’s a big win. Plus it pumps out tons of PAR and it grows corals with great color.

I hope you find something you are happy with, because that’s what it’s all about. You can grow corals with any of the options, it’s about finding what works the best for you. Good luck and be well!

 

[Bpb]

Welcome to Reef2Reef, I LOVE my light (ATI Powermodule) and if I had to do it over, I would buy one again. I’ve run everything in my time from halides to LED’s and to me this is the best of the lot. I wouldn’t trade my fixture and the growth I get from it for anything. As far as being controllable T5’s are incredibly controllable with dimmable fixtures, but to me the simplicity far outweighs spending hours trying to guess if your color spectrum is suitable like some people do with LED’s (I realize some people enjoy this aspect, I do not, I enjoy growing corals). Having the LED’s with the T5’s is just the icing on the cake, and with ATI’s program, I can make them emulate any of ATI’s T5’s bulbs for simplicity’s sake. To me it’s a big win. Plus it pumps out tons of PAR and it grows corals with great color.

I hope you find something you are happy with, because that’s what it’s all about. You can grow corals with any of the options, it’s about finding what works the best for you. Good luck and be well!

Fantastic shots. I don’t presume to make assumptions about the OP’s skill and experience level....but more often than not, those obsessing over the finer points of light fixture aesthetics as well as hair splitting over $100 here or there are typically newer and/or still are in the “only ever owned a few frags” territory. Once you’re to the point where your tank is as full as yours is, you stop obsessing over the lighting and especially the aesthetics because all the attention is inside the glass, not on top of it

 

[Hydrored]

Just bought 3 ReeFi Duo Extreme lights after getting rid of 4 G5 Radions and couldn’t be happier. So yes, you can be happy with your lighting.

 

[Rick.45cal]

Fantastic shots. I don’t presume to make assumptions about the OP’s skill and experience level....but more often than not, those obsessing over the finer points of light fixture aesthetics as well as hair splitting over $100 here or there are typically newer and/or still are in the “only ever owned a few frags” territory. Once you’re to the point where your tank is as full as yours is, you stop obsessing over the lighting and especially the aesthetics because all the attention is inside the glass, not on top of it

Very True!
A couple bad experiences with products that have horrible user interfaces, don’t live up to their claims and end up being wastes of money will cure you of those issues as well! Sometimes the newest, isn’t always the greatest, in spite of what we all might want to think.

 

[91yjeeper]

t5 is the best for coral growth u can buy a basic $100 setup with blue plus and put 2 reef brite blue antic color will be amazing

Where are finding the $100 setups? ATI fixtures are $378 on BRS.

 

[Bpb]

Where are finding the $100 setups? ATI fixtures are $378 on BRS.

Amazon and horticultural shops

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

How long have you had them? Many reports of them breaking at 2+ years.

I know they are all older than two years. One of the A160s I have had for four years myself after getting it used. The 360s I have had for about two years.

 

[Bpb]

I know they are all older than two years. One of the A160s I have had for four years myself after getting it used. The 360s I have had for about two years.

This is not an endorsement or even a suggestion of how anyone should proceed, but among kessil owners I personally know, all of them who have had them last 4+ years are those who voided the warranty, completely took the cover off, and cleaned out the heat sink and circuitry with canned air, q tips, and rubbing alcohol. Done every 8-12 months. Most people who seem to have early failures don’t clean them well enough.

 

[91yjeeper]

Just bought 3 ReeFi Duo Extreme lights after getting rid of 4 G5 Radions and couldn’t be happier. So yes, you can be happy with your lighting.

$2300 is no small amount of cash for lights. I'm glad you are happy with them.

 

[Homebrewer]

I’ll throw in AquaRay TMC. I run two of the Nature Perfect 1500 tiles over a 65, you could definitely use one for a 29 gallon. I think they run about $275. One thing about these lights is that they have a 5 year warranty, have no moving parts (i.e. no fans), and they are sealed, so they can be mounted closer to the surface without the fear of salt creep damage.

I splurged and bought the controller, which is an 8 channel power source (can run 4 tiles), but also includes a temperature probe and a light meter. You don’t have to have this, but it’s a nice option. I’m on year 4.5 of them, and while I might consider one of the newer options eventually, I read about a lot of problems with various lights, and I have to say that so far, the TMC tiles have been bulletproof for me.

 

[91yjeeper]

This is not an endorsement or even a suggestion of how anyone should proceed, but among kessil owners I personally know, all of them who have had them last 4+ years are those who voided the warranty, completely took the cover off, and cleaned out the heat sink and circuitry with canned air, q tips, and rubbing alcohol. Done every 8-12 months. Most people who seem to have early failures don’t clean them well enough.

Dang. You need to void the warranty to have them survive their warranty period? That's unfortunate considering the price.

 

[jda]

Most LEDs are going to last you about 5 years on average. Sure, some have failed earlier, but many have not - the ones with the failures are more vocal. Expecting them to last more than 5 years is just not realistic... sure, some have units older than that, but the vast majority do not even make it 5 years with them. ...so add this to your unrealistic first post of cons with lighting sources.

If price is the only issue, then get a 6 bulb used ATI unit for $300 and replace bulbs in it for a decade or two. The bulb costs can never add up to replacing high end fixtures every four or five year - especially when you get smart and buy bulbs on Black Friday or at other sale days. You won't get any cheaper than this... at $100 for bulb changes, plus the cost of the unit at $300, you can change 20 years worth of bulbs for what those $2300 LEDs cost.

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

Dang. You need to void the warranty to have them survive their warranty period? That's unfortunate considering the price.

I have never taken mine apart, but I have used canned air to blow the dust out

 

[Doglips56]

Somebody talk some sanity into me. Seems like every lighting setup has some major flaw. I have a 29 Gallon -

and I am have the HARDEST time finding a good lighting option. I just can't pull the trigger on ~$600 when I'm not confident I'll have success.

T5's - Simple success, but are just as expensive as some LEDs, have no shimmer and no controlability. Bulb replacements arent so bad I guess.
Metal Halide - Old, power hungry, unsightly, but give great results.
Puck LEDs - Expensive. Either spotlights or disco ball. Kessils are great but $$$ and are known to go out after 2 years. Maybe Redsea 50's?
Strip LEDs - Economical. Not many newer models out there. Some have huge paneling on them. Barely generate enough PAR for SPS. Just as expensive as pucks, but look worse.
LED + T5 Hybrid - Performance king. BRS recommended. But can't help wonder why I would spend $$$ to add LEDs in later if they are just for aesthetics? Plus, who wants a HUGE fixture above their tank?

I've narrowed it down to:

Budget option - 1 or 2 Orbit Marine LED Strips - $150

Economical option - Maxspect Razer X R5 - $450

Ideal option - 2xRedsea Reefled 50's - $520

Dream option - 1xRadion XR30 G5, or Orphek v4 compact

What am I missing here?

I have Noopsyche K7 pro II lights and really like them. They are reasonably priced. I have 4 of them on my 6’ 125g tank

 

[Bpb]

I’m perfectly happy with these big dudes

 

[Afterburner]

I recently moved from the black box (Mars Aqua) to Kessil. The main reason is that the Black Box seems to shine straight down which is fine for a long narrow tank, but mine is a corner tank and nothing would grow well on the back corner. I grew great in a stripe down the center. I wanted the shimmer and ease of use, so I bought a Kessil AP700 and H350 used on ebay. I made a triangle aluminum rack to hang them on and had a T5 so I put it in the center. So far I am very happy with this set up and everything in my mixed reef seems to like it also. I love the shimmer which was non existent with the black box.