Help me choose a light

intyme

New member
My tank will be either a 90 or 110.

I am looking to spend around $500ish, on my previous tank I had an aquatic life 4 bulb t5 ho. Loved it, but didn't like not having the shimmer. I'm leaning towards the reef breeder photon 48. <-- on the fence. Heard mixed reviews. I also looked at the ATI fixture 6x54. I can't do halides bc I don't have ac in my house, and I don't want to buy a chiller. Help! Lol

What would you do? Thanks
 
Not one person has an opinion on a light? Out of 93 views? Is my question not specific enough?



Frustrated
 
Reefbreeder photon, current orbit marine pro, perhaps something a used maxspect razor might all be options for you in the LED realm. Strong opinions here around LED vs. halides but at end of the day for me I LEDs are great as I am mostly doing LPS and my tank isn't too deep. Also don't like the energy drain and heat the halides put off.
 
I've been researching leds for the past month....so many options.

I have a 90 gallon 36 x 24 x 24 that I'm looking to light and I've researched all these brands.

Ledzeal s200 plus - 36" with full controllability via a phone app. around 430 shipped.

Reefbreeders 32 - 449 shipped

Ocean revive t247- 2 of them - only has timer. - 2 for 316 shipped. They have a B version now - not sure the difference.

2 Kessil A360we - route i want to go if i can find a good deal. Missed one on here the other day 2 for 550 they were sold for. Plus I'd have to buy the controller for 99 bucks.

AI 52 - probably need 2 of them - even more expensive.
 
Stick with T5 and maybe add some led's to achieve the shimmer that you miss.

Don't get me wrong, LED's can grow coral. Softies and LPS don't care if you have LED, T5 or Halide. But...if you want the best looking SPS and the best coverage, don't go LED only. I have tried LED twice now, and both times was left disappointed and both times went back to T5. I tried the AI Sol Blues a few years ago, and more recently the Ecotech Radion Pro. IMHO T5 is hard to beat. YMMV

Also, the controllability with LED's are nice, but i'll take t5 over any LED only setup any day of the week.
 
Running Kessil A360WEs in our display, love them.

Probably going to try a mix of an Orbit Marine and Orbit Marine Pro on our new frag tank.
 
Can you specify the tank size? Not just gallons. I have an AI Hydra26 over a 28g JBJ Nano cube (18x18x18 DT area). Fantastic Light! Maybe 2 over a 36x24x24 would work great. I am upgrading to a 100g (48x24x21) in a year or so and will be moving the AI over and adding 2 more.

Good Luck!
 
I am a big fan of LED's, but anytime you can get a combination of light sources you should do it. I would recommend going with T5 and adding some LED strips as well. Get the best of both worlds.
 
The tank is a standard 90 48x24x18
I had an offer presented on a 6 bulb tek light, with a few extra unused ATI bulbs for $250, then was thinking adding some stunner strips for the shimmer. Idk much about tek lights.
 
I have two Tek lights a 6 bulb Tek elite that has active cooling this way your bulbs will last longer. So if it is a Tek elite you will be fine if not that maybe to much unless you get 6 new bulbs. Also Reefbrite Leds will connect right to a Tek Elite no modification needed.

My other Tek light is a Maristar II T-5/MH.


ATI lights are better than Tek but there are lots of good deals on the used market.

Another option is Kessil Tuna Blue's 350's not controllable by a 3rd party controller only by your two little fingers.
 
I would do the Photon 48. Great light, great customer support, great warranty. You can fix anything on the light yourself so you don't have to ship it out for repair if something breaks. This light will give you the sunrise/sunset simulation, shimmer, along with moonlights via the built in controller. That said I would keep the 4 T5's (2x 48" bulbs on either side of the Photon) to supplement a few hours during the day. In my experience LED's don't provide an even spectrum and due to the nature of LED's they tend to cast shadows. However once the LED's are dialed in (that's the tricky part), growth is spectacular.

To keep cost down on the T5's, Sunblaster makes an excellent product with fantastic reflectors. Throw some ATI bulbs in along with a new or used Photon and you should be good to go.

http://www.bghydro.com/sunblaster-n...ech-reflector.html?utm_source=google_shopping
 
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