Reef Central Online Community - View Single Post - Novices need LED lighting questions answered.

wertoiuy · 07/31/2018, 05:45 PM

I am looking for suggestions on the best lights for my situation. I am looking to light a standard 75 gallon which would have mainly LPS/Softies. Here are my answers to the criteria Ron posted:

1. Budget - Preferably around 200-250.
2. Color Control - For control in general, just something that I can adjust the percentage of white and blue intensity. I don't really care about the other colors, and while timers would be nice I don't want to pay a premium for them.
3. Intensity Control -^
4. Looks - They will be in a hood, so I don't care.
5. Materials Quality - Similar to timers, the nicest I can get without paying far more.
6. LEDs - ^
7. Customer Service - Again, not necessary, but it would be nice.

Looking at this myself, it looks like the MarsAqua style Chinese black-boxes would be best. However, there are two main questions I have before I decide on them.

How much shimmer do they produce? I would like to AVOID the shimmer as much as possible. I know it is mainly dependent on the surface motion; I would want to keep that to a minimum anyways. I work at a LFS. We have Kessil pucks on our coral tank, and Fluval Aquaskys on some of our freshwater tanks. There is not much difference in surface motion, and the Kessils make that tank distracting for me to look at, while the freshwater have almost no shimmer. So I know that it can vary, likely because of point source vs. strip.

Like I said, I work at a LFS. I can get stuff at wholesale rather than retail prices. I figured I could get a slightly nicer light at wholesale from our distributor than the MarsAqua through Amazon. For the same price, I could have higher quality and a physical company with a reputation. What are some lights I should be looking for? Everything I have found so far is crummy .5 watt led strips, like the FluvalSea, or massively overpriced, like the Kessil.

07/31/2018, 05:45 PM	#339
wertoiuy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Posts: 26	I am looking for suggestions on the best lights for my situation. I am looking to light a standard 75 gallon which would have mainly LPS/Softies. Here are my answers to the criteria Ron posted: 1. Budget - Preferably around 200-250. 2. Color Control - For control in general, just something that I can adjust the percentage of white and blue intensity. I don't really care about the other colors, and while timers would be nice I don't want to pay a premium for them. 3. Intensity Control -^ 4. Looks - They will be in a hood, so I don't care. 5. Materials Quality - Similar to timers, the nicest I can get without paying far more. 6. LEDs - ^ 7. Customer Service - Again, not necessary, but it would be nice. Looking at this myself, it looks like the MarsAqua style Chinese black-boxes would be best. However, there are two main questions I have before I decide on them. How much shimmer do they produce? I would like to AVOID the shimmer as much as possible. I know it is mainly dependent on the surface motion; I would want to keep that to a minimum anyways. I work at a LFS. We have Kessil pucks on our coral tank, and Fluval Aquaskys on some of our freshwater tanks. There is not much difference in surface motion, and the Kessils make that tank distracting for me to look at, while the freshwater have almost no shimmer. So I know that it can vary, likely because of point source vs. strip. Like I said, I work at a LFS. I can get stuff at wholesale rather than retail prices. I figured I could get a slightly nicer light at wholesale from our distributor than the MarsAqua through Amazon. For the same price, I could have higher quality and a physical company with a reputation. What are some lights I should be looking for? Everything I have found so far is crummy .5 watt led strips, like the FluvalSea, or massively overpriced, like the Kessil.