do i really need 600$ lights?

[TwentyfiveCents]

have a mixed 75 gal tank soft-lps-sps and wanted to upgrade my lights...seen the prices and I'm just surprised how much lights can go for, my tank is doing awsome with really cheap lights and i would like to know if these expensive lights are just made to sell to us or do they really help the coral grow faster and bigger....i have some cheap so called **** box lights at the moment

 

[Gladmaker]

I have some of the cheaper lights on my 75 gal that give good lighting - one set of T5 and one set of LED. I can't see paying that much for a light. I would like to see what others say about this.

 

[mikem101]

have a mixed 75 gal tank soft-lps-sps and wanted to upgrade my lights...seen the prices and I'm just surprised how much lights can go for, my tank is doing awsome with really cheap lights and i would like to know if these expensive lights are just made to sell to us or do they really help the coral grow faster and bigger....i have some cheap so called **** box lights at the moment

So this is kinda a loaded question but, I will do my best to answer with my opinion. There are cheap lights that work well to grow coral and definitely are strong enough for the job! That being said in my experience its a toss up, Some people have had them and they have worked for years. I also know some guys that bought them and they worked for 2 months. It is the same as anything else you purchase, when your buying name brands most are made with quality materials and come with a solid warranty and customer service. user interface and controllability is usually a lot easier than on cheap made LED's. So all in all can you use cheap LED's and have a beautiful tank? of course. Your buying the others for all the other reasons I've listed above.

 

[Breadman03]

Reef equipment is a lot like cars. There's a bit of cheap junk out there, a bunch of super high priced and flashy gear that works really well, and a bunch of moderately priced, less flashy gear that works essentially just as well as the expensive stuff.

You should look into Reefbreeders if going LED. There are a few other brands at a similar price point that I think are at a good price point. There are also solid halide and T5HO units across the price range.

 

[Jon0807]

If your tank is doing awesome with what you have, why upgrade? If it ain't broke, don't fix it as the saying goes

 

[DancingShark]

Simple answer is no. I have SBreef lights they are cheap but gets the job done.

 

[UTCReefer]

I have 3x 400W MH, and use cheap $13-$15 bulbs that are supposedly 20K in color. Are they as blue as radiums? Nope. They are more like 14K but still make my corals pop and the growth is fine too. I have never measured PAR but SPS can grow on the bottom of my tank so its probably decent.

 

[SycoCell]

I upgraded from my black box lights recently mainly because I wanted to have better visuals. I'm happy. I didn't buy new - I bought the original 4x Hydra 26 models for the price of 1 and a half new ones. I'm glad I did it.

 

[kmbyrnes]

Lights are only part of the equation. Everything in your tank factors into its health. Water chemistry, flow, livestock ( wanted and unwanted ), etc.
I've used expensive lights and they worked as advertised for me. When I needed to quadruple my number lighting units, I went with the much more economical Black Boxes. They are also working well.

Do the expensive lights sometimes have more cool features - Yes
Do you NEED the more expensive lights - No
Corals can thrive under either one.

Ultimately, it's your tank. If you like how it is today, leave it be. But if you feel like an upgrade, go for it.

 

[Snaredrum]

Lights are only part of the equation. Everything in your tank factors into its health. Water chemistry, flow, livestock ( wanted and unwanted ), etc.
I've used expensive lights and they worked as advertised for me. When I needed to quadruple my number lighting units, I went with the much more economical Black Boxes. They are also working well.

Do the expensive lights sometimes have more cool features - Yes
Do you NEED the more expensive lights - No
Corals can thrive under either one.

Ultimately, it's your tank. If you like how it is today, leave it be. But if you feel like an upgrade, go for it.

Also I have found that upgrading just to be upgrading might not bring the results you were thinking. If your happy with your tank and growth I would not change it just to be spending money.

Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk

 

[thomas.torode]

To give a short answer: You pay for the features and apparel.
Health and stable water parameters matter far more than any equipment you can buy.

 

[TwentyfiveCents]

thanks for the replies, will keep the cheap lights lights and just maintain my water quality :thumbsup:

 

[kmbyrnes]

thanks for the replies, will keep the cheap lights lights and just maintain my water quality :thumbsup:

Which frees up $$$ for corals :beer: