Lighting your reef... Best bang for your buck.

[oyf709]

What would you recommend to hang over the reef, reef breeders or taotronics? That my question and probably many others who never had LEDs.

lol, you are asking the wrong person for that, I would of tell you " my LEDs". but I am not gonna say it that way.
Taotronics really just a general name ppl use for all Chinese brand LED fixture and ReefBreeder s no different, all their fixtures are from China. ( I even have couple of the companies contactedd me directly to ask me carry their fixtures also). It really come down to personal preference. Reefbreeder has 1 thing that is very important tho which is warranty provided by them in US instead of offshore. So you should consider that as a plus.

 

[Daniel Fishy]

Tricky question for you! What's your site? If you can post it or pm me.

 

[oyf709]

click on my signature and it will lead u there, however, there are few things need to work on such as the shipping cost to US etc for the lights. I also don't have the same fixture as reef breeder, main reason is that I don't like the idea of 2 power cord per fixture. So for 2 fixtures to light up a 4' tank, it will need to take over half of my power bar. So when that company contacted me, I declined their request mainly of that reason. I am looking to get a similar type of LED fixture in tho, with only on/off and manual dimming option. I am looking at the cost of very close to what the reefbreeder value fixture is, between 150 to 170 USD after shipping. The sample will be here by around april to may.

 

[oyf709]

Here is what I promised few ppl that I will test, they are both 3W LED with 90 degree optic and 6500K white. This is at a distance of about 72" away from the board
Left is 3W CREE and right is 3x 1W generic light

I had yet to test the PAR but I don't think it would be the same just base on the result here. Again, it is almost impossible to test this equally simply because you will never find these LED makes with exact same material and brand. However, this can pretty much mimic the difference when you compare a fixture makes with 3W LED vs fixture that made with generic 1W LEDs

 

[jnslondon]

Amazon.com: HQRP Blue + White Aquarium Reef Corals Grow LED Light Panel 13.8W 150 White + 70 Blue LED 7000K / 460 nm + UV Tester: Pet Supplies


Are these enough for sps/lps ???

 

[oyf709]

Amazon.com: HQRP Blue + White Aquarium Reef Corals Grow LED Light Panel 13.8W 150 White + 70 Blue LED 7000K / 460 nm + UV Tester: Pet Supplies


Are these enough for sps/lps ???

I don't think it is even close

 

[mr_X]

Amazon.com: HQRP Blue + White Aquarium Reef Corals Grow LED Light Panel 13.8W 150 White + 70 Blue LED 7000K / 460 nm + UV Tester: Pet Supplies


Are these enough for sps/lps ???

No way! Very weak.

 

[Robbiesamp]

What about kessels led light I don't think that is spelled right? But are they ok ?

 

[oyf709]

Kessil are fine lights. But you will pay premiums for it as they cost a fortune . I also don't really like how they name their product as it is Linda misleading. For example their 150a doesn't mean they are 150w , I think they are only 35w . That being said the light is very good quality.

 

[mr_X]

Good question. according to the videos on their website, "Diablo Corals" said they are getting 200 PAR at the bottom of a 24" deep tank. That's not bad at all. They are manually dimmable by 2 knobs on top of the unit and are 400 bucks a piece though.
The other video from "All About Fish" with the guy named Tatao, stated he wanted to give them a few more months to see how they did. These have been out for a while. I would want to get an update on that.

 

[Robbiesamp]

Ok we'll I can get them for 330 a light and I was seeing if 3 of these would be better than the reef breeder

 

[oyf709]

so you are going for the 350A I assume? Why not give my Pharos LED a try? Pharos even comes with hanging kit but for the 350A would need to buy the gooseneck separately. (about $50 each). I am not sure if you need to pay tax on top of the 330 per light, if you do it is almost cost the same as 3 pharos LED. Plus the Pharos comes with a wireless controller =D

I just did a PAR reading myself off the pharos LED, the light is 18" above my tank and my tank is 24" tall. At the sand bed it is reading between 220 to 240

 

[Robbiesamp]

No I don't really like the ones I found I would go with yours in a heart beat over his any day

 

[Jmkb02]

Look at this on eBay: Dimmable LED Aquarium Light 120W Coral Reef Tank White Blue Grow Light 55x3 Watt http://bit.ly/UceNCc

How about these? Claims to be the same as taotronics... Looks to be true.

 

[mr_X]

Looks to be the same, except for optics.

 

[Robbiesamp]

Are those good lights

 

[mr_X]

Yes. I am using the same ones over my tank, less the optics. I am not sure if the optics will give a spotlight effect or not, but you can always remove them if you don't like them.

 

[Jmkb02]

I thought because of the depth of my tank I would need optics... What are your thoughts x, I have a 135 approx 26" deep.

 

[Robbiesamp]

What LEDs are those ?

 

[mr_X]

No, you don't need optics for your tank. Mine is 25" deep, and the fixtures are at least 10" above it.