Non-bias lighting help, please?

[MGarvo2]

Posting here because I’m planning for a mixed tank, but if I were to lean in a direction, it’d be towards sps.
2 part lighting question for folks with bigger tanks,…
My past tank was a standard 120, 4x2x2. I had two black box LEDs similar to Viparspectras. Everything was good. SPS grew pretty well and my LPS was happy. Coverage seemed just fine.
My new tank will be 48w30d24h. First, am I silly for worrying about the coverage of the additional 6” of depth? I’m having a heck of a time finding higher quality lights for under $1500 that seem to be a good option to fill the 48”x30” floor. I’ve been looking at Kessils, Radions, and now I’m on an Orphek kick. This shouldn’t be so painful.
Second thing that keeps haunting me is should I even buy more pricey lights? I had no problems or real complaints with my black boxes. Is the additional $1000 really worth it? Especially, knowing I could replace those black boxes 4 times over if they didn’t last with the amount I’d be saving.

 

[I never finish anythi]

Look at popbloom rs90. Not high end but effective. They are doing a WiFi upgrade in a few weeks .

 

[I never finish anythi]

https://www.reef2reef.com/members/alain-bouchard.124154/

 

[DanyL]

Take a look at ReeFi Uno 2.0 Pro, you'll have some change money left over and will get better spectrum, more power and more spread out of them than both the Radions and Kessils.
Oh, and they come with 3 times more warranty than the others, as well as a hanging kit.
And no, that's not a joke, they are really as good as everyone who had any experience with them say.

As for wether you should upgrade or not, it really is up to you.
If everything grew like it was supposed to, then I can see no harm in using them either.

 

[Eric R.]

I agree about the ReeFi's, great lights and priced more affordably than their competitors. If you want unbiased light reviews, I'd check out telegraham's led light reviews on Instagram, YouTube, or over on the humble fish forum. He compares cheap names to big brand names side by side honestly, and takes things apart to look at them as well. Plus he's just fun to watch/listen to.

 

[DanyL]

I agree about the ReeFi's, great lights and priced more affordably than their competitors. If you want unbiased light reviews, I'd check out telegraham's led light reviews on Instagram, YouTube, or over on the humble fish forum. He compares cheap names to big brand names side by side honestly, and takes things apart to look at them as well. Plus he's just fun to watch/listen to.

+1 on telegraham, a one of a kind in a world full of brand advertisement bias.

 

[Dburr1014]

Posting here because I’m planning for a mixed tank, but if I were to lean in a direction, it’d be towards sps.
2 part lighting question for folks with bigger tanks,…
My past tank was a standard 120, 4x2x2. I had two black box LEDs similar to Viparspectras. Everything was good. SPS grew pretty well and my LPS was happy. Coverage seemed just fine.
My new tank will be 48w30d24h. First, am I silly for worrying about the coverage of the additional 6” of depth? I’m having a heck of a time finding higher quality lights for under $1500 that seem to be a good option to fill the 48”x30” floor. I’ve been looking at Kessils, Radions, and now I’m on an Orphek kick. This shouldn’t be so painful.
Second thing that keeps haunting me is should I even buy more pricey lights? I had no problems or real complaints with my black boxes. Is the additional $1000 really worth it? Especially, knowing I could replace those black boxes 4 times over if they didn’t last with the amount I’d be saving.

If you had great success, why switch?
Use them and add fill lights like pc or led strips.
Keep it simple.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Unfortunately, there's no such thing as a non-biased opinion. All opinions are shaped by personal experience, which may be incomplete.

My biased opinion is stick with the black boxes. Mine have been working great. I agree on pricing for black boxes vs premium fixtures. I can't justify spending a thousand dollars on a single light when you can light the entire tank with black boxes for less.

I think another thing people tend to under-appreciate about black boxes is coverage. Puck-style lights don't distribute light very well. As long as the black box has good distribution of the different diodes colors, you'll get much better coverage than with a single point light.

Some black boxes are actually pretty good. If you look at the tests BRS did on the black boxes, some of the color specturms are pretty scary. They're completely missing peaks in the violet and teal/cyan ranges, or they're biased one way or the other. The Viparspectra in particular has spectrum peaks exactly where you want them.

 

[Steven Garland]

Look into Noopsyche lights. So far the only complaint is getting used to the controller.

 

[Screwgunner]

I have a 125 6 foot long with 3 black boxes and my montys are growing fine and my birdsnest is growing to fast. I have softys so I am afraid to blast them with light. But my settings are low and I have alot of juice left. 2 years with no problems. Replacement are 100 apiece . If you have the money go for the good stuff. I'm sure it will pay off in the long run. Just my two cents!

 

[Tamberav]

You can add quanta bars to the black boxes to get some more coverage.

Or you could turn them sideways (so the long part is over the width of the tank) and add more boxes.

Agree reefi is a better upgrade then mainstream lights.

 

[GatorGreg]

There's absolutely a difference in quality. All bias aside. Black boxes are cheaply made. Radions aren't. Is it worth the money? You decide. Do you like your black boxes? Then that's all that matters. Is the radion, the A.I and the Orphecks better quality lighting. Absolutely. But the only thing that matters is what you like.

 

[Jposch]

Take a look at ReeFi Uno 2.0 Pro, you'll have some change money left over and will get better spectrum, more power and more spread out of them than both the Radions and Kessils.
Oh, and they come with 3 times more warranty than the others, as well as a hanging kit.
And no, that's not a joke, they are really as good as everyone who had any experience with them say.

As for wether you should upgrade or not, it really is up to you.
If everything grew like it was supposed to, then I can see no harm in using them either.

Do it! I have 1 giving me between 150-200par through lids in a 3ftx3ft area in a shallow 12"high 4ft square frag tank. Mounted about 20" above the rim!
The outer 6" perimeter still gets like 100 par.
Without lids, I'd wager ypu could keep lps easily 4ft×4ft in a shallow frag tank. I supplement with halides. I could lower thw Reefi more, but I can't lower the halides. Already pushing like 500 par on some lower light LPS. ha
2 would EASILY cover your tank. The swappable reflectors are the real deal. I despise leds sold for reef tanks. Hate them. But, the Reefi addresses alot of the issues like poor color blending, laser beam like spread, asinine $/watt, etc.

 

[Jposch]

The Reefi sounds like fantasy of the power in such a small unit. Once you open the box, you'll be even more of a skeptic, but one look at the ****** heatsink, and plug it in, you'll realized real quick it does as advertised.

 

[DanyL]

You really can't go wrong with the ReeFi, the developer is an ex-Intel specialized in heat transfer.
No other brand use the same tech and design as the ReeFi, it's a first in this field and also how he was able to squeeze so much power and handle it properly while keeping it in a such a small package as it is.

And support is on a whole other level compared to other companies, it's personal.
He knows each and everyone who purchased a fixture from him and takes care to ensure everything is up to standard.

I'm not pushing you to upgrade your lights, or to switch from black boxes either.
All I'm saying is that if you decide to do so, don't spend more money to get mediocre products from pricy brands.
There are decent options for better prices, and as it stands right now - ReeFi is at the top, regardless of its price and even more so when its considered.

 

[therman]

If you are looking for a larger fixture with a broad array for better coverage, I have had tons of success with Reefbreeders. Also has personalized excellent customer service.

 

[JGK17]

Posting here because I’m planning for a mixed tank, but if I were to lean in a direction, it’d be towards sps.
2 part lighting question for folks with bigger tanks,…
My past tank was a standard 120, 4x2x2. I had two black box LEDs similar to Viparspectras. Everything was good. SPS grew pretty well and my LPS was happy. Coverage seemed just fine.
My new tank will be 48w30d24h. First, am I silly for worrying about the coverage of the additional 6” of depth? I’m having a heck of a time finding higher quality lights for under $1500 that seem to be a good option to fill the 48”x30” floor. I’ve been looking at Kessils, Radions, and now I’m on an Orphek kick. This shouldn’t be so painful.
Second thing that keeps haunting me is should I even buy more pricey lights? I had no problems or real complaints with my black boxes. Is the additional $1000 really worth it? Especially, knowing I could replace those black boxes 4 times over if they didn’t last with the amount I’d be saving.

If you are looking to get good coverage on your 30" wide tank and for under $1500 I think your best option would be to go with Quanta Pro LED bars. One 4' bar cost $185, I think you will probably need 5-6 bars since you have a 30" wide tank. 5x LED bars would run you $925 and 6x would cost $1110. Also, they have 3D print files available for you to use to print out attachments for your lights so you can definitely light your tank for under $1500. FYI these led bars are not dimmable, but that should not be an issue bc you can use timers or an apex to offset when different led bars turn on. There is alot of great information on the link below. If you would like more info on what different bar color combos look like together check out "mahina_corals" on Instagram. This is Luca's (Quanta bar owner) personal Instagram. He also has his personal email at the bottom of the website.

I was personally going to go this route on my new 40B SPS only tank but I was able to get 3x Radion XR15 G5 for under $600. In the future I plan to add 2x NON Pro LED bars (only provide ~50par/ only meant as a supplemental light).

FAQ & Product Selection Guide | Quanta Lights

Learn more about the different light combinations that that can be used for your tank. Read about the recommended combinations for SPS dominated reef tanks!

www.quantareef.com

 

[Nate Chalk]

Bias... Hmmm

I like the orphek or3 bars for coloration. Blue plus/sky blue does make the color of the coral pop. They are also diy repairable which is nice.

Kessils I have I can give or take. For me it's about aesthetics. Shimmer and pop.

 

[njreefkeeper]

Posting here because I’m planning for a mixed tank, but if I were to lean in a direction, it’d be towards sps.
2 part lighting question for folks with bigger tanks,…
My past tank was a standard 120, 4x2x2. I had two black box LEDs similar to Viparspectras. Everything was good. SPS grew pretty well and my LPS was happy. Coverage seemed just fine.
My new tank will be 48w30d24h. First, am I silly for worrying about the coverage of the additional 6” of depth? I’m having a heck of a time finding higher quality lights for under $1500 that seem to be a good option to fill the 48”x30” floor. I’ve been looking at Kessils, Radions, and now I’m on an Orphek kick. This shouldn’t be so painful.
Second thing that keeps haunting me is should I even buy more pricey lights? I had no problems or real complaints with my black boxes. Is the additional $1000 really worth it? Especially, knowing I could replace those black boxes 4 times over if they didn’t last with the amount I’d be saving.

More important than anything will be coverage; especially if you lean toward SPS. Equally importance is going with a fixture you’re comfortable with and know its strengths and weaknesses. If you know the ins and outs of your viparspectras there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using them again. I think there’s many more people that have made a lighting change and regretted it than have said “wow everything is 10 times better now.”

my .02

 

[billyocean]

I've had ai, radion, maxspect and orphek. I bought some viparspectras as a short term solution until I went back to orphek. That was a year and a half ago and don't plan on changing anything. I'm acro heavy as well. Definately no frills with the vipars but power and coverage are great.