Starting again in the hobby...Lighting question

[bigmc66]

I've been out of the hobby for 10 years and I'm setting up a 65 g mixed reef. All of my previous experience is with MH and t5 lighting with which I've always gotten good results.

I'm now interested in LED, of course, but I'm struggling understanding issues with wattage, PAR, PUR.

So I have a center braced 65 G mixed reef. What should I be looking for in terms of wattage to cover softies through SPS? Or should I even be worrying about watts and just look at PAR/PUR at different tank depths? Any units that are recommended? Obviously Kessil and Eco are great, but I'd like to also explore cheaper units such as reefbreeders, ocean revive, etc.

 

[Uncle99]

I have same tank, I use 165 watt LED right and left of the brace, doing mixed including clams, SPS acro, and nem....intensity 50%.... 25 months now all corals look great. I would think all name brands push enough PAR to grow corals, however I think MH/T5 always produces best results, but the cost of bulb replacement is somewhat prohibitive. Like most things, ya get what you pay for.
The lighting debate continues.

 

[lpsouth1978]

If you are looking for less expensive options, look at the Viparspectra 165W on Amazon. If you want better quality, look at SBreef lights. They are still in the realm of the Chinese Black boxes, but with better build quality. They also have different models ranging from basic, no frills lights, to lights with built in timers, to controllable. This gives you more options than other CBB's. All depends on what you want from your light, and what you are willing to spend.