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

[Steven Garland]

Or this...

Supra Quad T5 Retrofit Fixture

Retrofit T5 Lighting for you Canopy! Supra Quad T5 Retrofit Fixtures are perfect for hoods, canopies, frag tanks, and refugium. They can be mounted with the included eye bolts and just add your favorite T5 bulbs and plug it in. Available in: 24" 24W Quad T5 36" 39W Quad T5 48" 54W Quad T5...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Radicalrob1982]

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 like both. I’m going full t5 just for the fact that corals love them and it’s hard not to have success. I will eventually add some kind of LEDs later down the road. I find the t5s light up your tank with a nice blanket of light and prevent shadowing. Then the LEDs give everything a nice touch of high definition. To me they add sharpness and help with the washed out look of t5s.

 

[Kris 2020]

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 just bought a Zetlight QMaven II from BRS. Had it about a month now. yes it’s from China Lol. and it does NOT have the advertised “integrated moonlight”. Otherwise I like it. The app that controls it is just ok. BRS also did a video on it checking par levels etc.

 

[91yjeeper]

Just to update everyone. I purchased a Reefbreeder Photon 24 V2+. I liked what I got for the price.

Pros:
Size and coverage for my 29. I get no dark spots in the corners of my tank and super little light spill into the room.
It comes with the controller.
No shadowing like with Kessil spotlights
Attractive shimmer - I was surprised by this, but the shimmer is actually very good! Not too strong (Kessil), not too weak (T5).
It includes all mounting hardware options
Provides ample par (I measured 700+ par at the sandbed with all channels at 100%!!!)
6 channel controls vs others like RedSea (blue, white only)
Sleeker design than black boxes
BRS just started carrying them in stock (not sure how much that really implies)

Cons:
Color separation can get pretty bad. Especially when Red and Green channels are bright (I don't know if this is specific to reefbrite or a characteristic of red green wavelengths). I mounted the light pretty high in hopes to get better blending too. I was sad about this as having no "Disco" was a huge requirement for me. That said, when using all the channels for "daylight", color blending is pretty good although I still see some laser beams of red and green sometimes. I might just need to find the right channel setting and mounting height.

I run the light at about 30% using ReefBreeders recommended schedule for soft corals.

I've got some Armor of God and Utter chaos Zoanthids, 1 Green candy cane LPS, and some Pulsing Xenia.
All doing pretty well after about 2 weeks under the light. Time will tell...I'll post an update.

Thanks all for your help and comments. This was my first post and seems to be a fantastic community!!!!!!!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I’m perfectly happy with these big dudes

Are those 20k?

 

[Bpb]

Are those 20k?

they are

 

[RobB'z Reef]

they are

Awesome, giving a hard consideration to MH.. What ballast?

 

[Bpb]

Awesome, giving a hard consideration to MH.. What ballast?

ive used the following

Hamilton m80
Hamilton m58
Hamilton dimmable electronic
Lumatek electronic.

The m80 ballasts are great for radiums. They burn them good and bright. Monstrous amounts of par. But it’s a lot of extra energy and heat.

M58 ballasts I felt the same way about. They got the job done. Will probably last decades. But they ran so hot I couldn’t touch the housing for longer than a few seconds. That’s a lot of heat to add to the room and energy that is ultimately wasted

I really like the Hamilton electonics. They’re what I prefer. They run mostly cool to the touch and are silent. No fans to break down or load them with dust. Time will tell how long they run for