Cheap Lighting

M

Mattleary23

New member
Is there a way to get cheap lights? I have heard of cheap LEDs from china, or would T5s be better. If so which lights would you guys recommend? Cheap would be better, also i would like to keep sps, not lots but at least a couple pieces.
 
Define cheap?
You can pick up numerous $100 (165Watt) reef led lights on ebay/amazon (commonly referred to as a Chinese Black Box LED)...
Brands like Mars Aqua, Galaxy Hydro..
A slight step up would be Reef Breeders or Ocean Revive
 
You cannot afford cheap lighting.

Look to get some high quality stuff on the used market.
 
6 ft tank your probably need three to four Chinese black box.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Matt you can get three mars Aqua 165w led lights for three hundred. They work well for my coral, though I currently only have lps. There are slightly more expensive ones that run 150/200 per light that have timers and some say better spectrum. It is up to you. The high end lights are nice but you pay 5 times as much. The used ones don't seem to be that cheap unless they are old IMO.
 
2015GaTor said:
Matt you can get three mars Aqua 165w led lights for three hundred. They work well for my coral, though I currently only have lps. There are slightly more expensive ones that run 150/200 per light that have timers and some say better spectrum. It is up to you. The high end lights are nice but you pay 5 times as much. The used ones don't seem to be that cheap unless they are old IMO.
Click to expand...

To the OP, Matt. This post is right on the money. 3 MarsAqua would be a good start for $300. A 4th fixture would probably be a good idea for 2 reasons. 1) with 4 you will have plenty of light to keep anything you want (as far as light is concerned). # will be a very bare minimum. 2) If you ever have a fixture fail, 3 can keep things alive while you get the 4th fixed or replaced.

You can spend more... a lot more. But most of the difference is in controls that you get to play with and that have very little if any affect on your corals.

Good luck.
 
I guess that somebody should have asked you what you plan to keep.

What do you plan to keep?
 
2015GaTor said:
Matt you can get three mars Aqua 165w led lights for three hundred. They work well for my coral, though I currently only have lps. There are slightly more expensive ones that run 150/200 per light that have timers and some say better spectrum. It is up to you. The high end lights are nice but you pay 5 times as much. The used ones don't seem to be that cheap unless they are old IMO.
Click to expand...

I bought a couple of 300w LED's off Amazon for $105 a piece. Just an FYI

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OK8IDTS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Elricsfate said:
What?

300w 5x60 is in the description. Not sure what you mean here.
Click to expand...

this is the same BS as 165 watt led fixtures (they are not 165 watts). Not that you would want to run that fixture at 300 W as it would approach the temperature of the sun. properly sinking the heat from 300 watts of led is not a cheap feat and would not be found in a fixture of that price

Specifications:
LED Power: 60x5W
Actual Power:120W±5%
Input Voltage:AC85-265V
Spectrum:470nm blue, 450nm royal blue, 660nm Red,525nm green,13000K cool white, 6000K cool white, 4000K warm white
Fans Quantity: 3 quiet cooling fans
Lifespan: 50000 hours
Dimensions(LxWxH): 15.8" X 8.4" X 2.6"
Warranty: 1 year warranty
 
I think JayBall is suggesting those are 3w leds or are underdriven down to 3w.
This is a thing I have been curious about. I have leds that are 24x3w but have no active heat dissipation. The unit doesn't get that hot which leads me to believe they are underdriven.

Once you get it, put a kill-a-watt on it. I'd be curious..

edit: JayBall beat me to it.

edit: Also, I wonder how 90 degree optics will work on that unit. I've not been a fan of larger diodes simply because it requires more spread on each diode in order to avoid spotlighting.
 
jayball said:
this is the same BS as 165 watt led fixtures (they are not 165 watts). Not that you would want to run that fixture at 300 W as it would approach the temperature of the sun. properly sinking the heat from 300 watts of led is not a cheap feat and would not be found in a fixture of that price

Specifications:
LED Power: 60x5W
Actual Power:120W±5%
Input Voltage:AC85-265V
Spectrum:470nm blue, 450nm royal blue, 660nm Red,525nm green,13000K cool white, 6000K cool white, 4000K warm white
Fans Quantity: 3 quiet cooling fans
Lifespan: 50000 hours
Dimensions(LxWxH): 15.8" X 8.4" X 2.6"
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Click to expand...

lol We are bouncing back and forth between threads.

Yes, I plan to run them at lower settings than max.

For the record a person on Amazon asked about 60x5 vs 120 actual, and the reply was that you can run both channels at 120ea...which would still only equal 240. So who knows...

In any event, what I care about is, how do the corals do under this light. If they do well, then I'm happy. If they do not, then I'll buy different lights.
 
Elricsfate said:
lol We are bouncing back and forth between threads.

Yes, I plan to run them at lower settings than max.

For the record a person on Amazon asked about 60x5 vs 120 actual, and the reply was that you can run both channels at 120ea...which would still only equal 240. So who knows...

In any event, what I care about is, how do the corals do under this light. If they do well, then I'm happy. If they do not, then I'll buy different lights.
Click to expand...

oohhhh Sorry for the thread bouncing..

and i see the description says 1 year warranty. a Question was how is the warranty. the sellers answer to the question was 180..... did not say days months years or eons...
 
mcgyvr said:
Define cheap?
You can pick up numerous $100 (165Watt) reef led lights on ebay/amazon (commonly referred to as a Chinese Black Box LED)...
Brands like Mars Aqua, Galaxy Hydro..
A slight step up would be Reef Breeders or Ocean Revive
Click to expand...

:spin1:
+1 set it and forget it. Hands down. This wallet friendly, coral growing, results proven light has done exceptionally well for many in this hobby on this forum and others. :thumbsup:
 
mcgyvr, I though the exact same thing? Just what is there he can't grow under that led fixture?

jda, if you want to spend multiple hundreds of dollars for a single led fixture, or multiple thousands for a bigger system, feel free to do so. But don't try to tell me or anybody else that these $100 black box fixtures aren't good enough. That may have been true about 4 or 5 years ago, but most of the basic black box Chinese fixtures these days are way more than capable. I still use one over my frag tank that's over 4 years old, the PAR has barely changed and corals still grow just as well as they did when I had MH and t5.
 
If they are so good, then why the Photons over your display. Since you have switched, there must have been an issue the first ones that this guy might want to avoid or a feature that he might want. Maybe he wants to get some Photon V2s from the start, so help him understand the difference - there was one for you or else you would not have switched.

BTW - I never said anything about LEDs. I only asked the guy what kind of coral that he wants to keep. Saying that he wants to keep some SPS is useless... there is a larger difference between keeping plating montis and the tough acropora. This is pretty big since the lighting requirements of acropora are different than montis, birdsnest, poci and stylos. Nearly everybody who is serious about growing acropora beyond frags has at least moved to having a few T5 in with their LEDs, so maybe a hybrid is a good choice... or an all-T5 fixture.

As far as the goofy statement, one day you will understand this and your whole entire life will reach a different level.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Alternative Lighting for Biocube 29
Replies
0
Views
119
thommyboy12183
T
S
Lighting Question - Glass penetration
Replies
7
Views
294
xabo
xabo
newsalt
Aqua Illumination SOL Blue problem
Replies
2
Views
178
oreo57
oreo57
L
Lighting Advise for 36 x 18 SPS
Replies
7
Views
551
Uncle99
Uncle99
B
Coralife Smart Led Light
Replies
7
Views
357
griss
griss
Back
Top