Help me pick out some new leds!

[xxkenny90xx]

Hey guys it's come time for me to replace my old reefbreeder photon 48" fixture and I'm a bit overwhelmed with all of the options out there these days. I'm looking at ai, Kessel, radion, reefbreeders, ect??? My tank is 60x18x24" 

I'm currently leaning towards the Reefbreeders v2+ 50 mainly because of the price (final price $715 shipped)

Price is gonna be a big factor for me. Also, I don't care for wifi features. Thanks! 

Edited April 5, 2020 by xxkenny90xx

[xxkenny90xx]

Also, I'm leaning towards new but if you have something lightly used for sale then I'm all ears

Edited April 6, 2020 by xxkenny90xx

[CrazyInside]

Can't beat the deals on the radion g4 pros with diffusers.. lots are up for sale cheap from people switching to the g5s

[xxkenny90xx]

Thanks for the reply! Where are you seeing these? Ebay? How many would I need? What's a good price for one? 

[xxkenny90xx]

Just read 17 pages about the reefi lights over on r2r. Sigh this hobby hates my bank account 

[SuncrestReef]

21 minutes ago, xxkenny90xx said:

Just read 17 pages about the reefi lights over on r2r. Sigh this hobby hates my bank account 

I'm guessing you probably saw my ReeFi review at R2R.  I have to say, they are pretty [language filter] nice lights.  I don't regret replacing my Radion G4 Pro's with ReeFi.  But yes, they're spendy.

[Bicyclebill]

I think the photon you’re thinking about is a pretty solid choice. I’ve read really good stuff about them.


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[xxkenny90xx]

Ya I saw everyone's reviews, including yours Suncrest, and Dana riddles. It seems everyone is crazy about the reefi lights (or at least the extreme model). I haven't seen any info about the cheaper version... 

My main concern with spending that much is the lifespan of leds. Is it still typically 50,000hrs (best case scenario)? Or are they better these days? 

Also, Logan over at reefbreeders just offered to throw in the driver I need to fix my old light (so I can sell it) for free. He's always been great to work with. 

Honestly, unless you guys can tell me the reefi is an 100,000hr 10yr light, I'll probably go with the cheaper option. 

[Lexinverts]

41 minutes ago, xxkenny90xx said:

Ya I saw everyone's reviews, including yours Suncrest, and Dana riddles. It seems everyone is crazy about the reefi lights (or at least the extreme model). I haven't seen any info about the cheaper version... 

My main concern with spending that much is the lifespan of leds. Is it still typically 50,000hrs (best case scenario)? Or are they better these days? 

Also, Logan over at reefbreeders just offered to throw in the driver I need to fix my old light (so I can sell it) for free. He's always been great to work with. 

Honestly, unless you guys can tell me the reefi is an 100,000hr 10yr light, I'll probably go with the cheaper option. 

The ReeFi Extremes are the best constructed LEDs that I have ever owned. I'm sure they will last considerably longer than the ReefBreeders. Plus Daniel is here on the forum, so you will also get the best personalized service in the business.

[xxkenny90xx]

21 minutes ago, Lexinverts said:

The ReeFi Extremes are the best constructed LEDs that I have ever owned. I'm sure they will last considerably longer than the ReefBreeders. Plus Daniel is here on the forum, so you will also get the best personalized service in the business.

From what I've read you are right. Is there any data on how long its projected to last? Last time I was led shopping (6 yrs ago) all the lights were bragging about 50,000 hrs

[Lexinverts]

6 minutes ago, xxkenny90xx said:

From what I've read you are right. Is there any data on how long its projected to last? Last time I was led shopping (6 yrs ago) all the lights were bragging about 50,000 hrs

You should ask Daniel. I'll tag him here @danlu_gt

[Krux]

With a 60" tank you are looking at 3 fixtures in all likelihood, do your math based on that.  I have 2X XR30 on my 48" tank and am just waiting for a deal to add a third... the middle is too dark.  I may run them front to back instead of sideways, will see what the PAR meter says when I get the third.

 

Also consider the cost of mounting systems into the price, the mounting arm and diffusers add another $160 to each light for the xr30 Radions.  When you have more than two a horizontal track system becomes more cost effective if offered for whatever light you buy.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Krux

[xxkenny90xx]

43 minutes ago, Krux said:

With a 60" tank you are looking at 3 fixtures in all likelihood, do your math based on that.  I have 2X XR30 on my 48" tank and am just waiting for a deal to add a third... the middle is too dark.  I may run them front to back instead of sideways, will see what the PAR meter says when I get the third.

 

Also consider the cost of mounting systems into the price, the mounting arm and diffusers add another $160 to each light for the xr30 Radions.  When you have more than two a horizontal track system becomes more cost effective if offered for whatever light you buy.

Hm thanks for the input. I don't remember where I got my info (maybe from Dana riddles r2r post) but I had it in my head that 2 reefi lights would be ok. 3 would be out of my price range

[Krux]

You can always start with two and see where it goes from there...

[danlu_gt]

From what I've read you are right. Is there any data on how long its projected to last? Last time I was led shopping (6 yrs ago) all the lights were bragging about 50,000 hrs

From Cree's datasheet and test procedures, the XPE2 are tested 7000-8000 hrs to extrapolate the life of the LEDs. They run the tests are different case temperature and power levels. LED junction temp will be higher than the case temp at any given case temp. Cree XPE2 blue led still have at least 90% of it's intensity at 45,000hrs at 105C case temp at 500mA and 51,000hrs at 85C case temp at 1000mA full power. Unfortunately Cree do not have data beyond that.

ReeFi's thermal solution ensure the LED junction temp is always below 75C.



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[albertareef]

On 4/8/2020 at 5:28 PM, xxkenny90xx said:

Hm thanks for the input. I don't remember where I got my info (maybe from Dana riddles r2r post) but I had it in my head that 2 reefi lights would be ok. 3 would be out of my price range

I have three of the ReeFi extremes over my 72 inch (mounting them them the long direction) and the coverage is great.  Daniel could weigh in but two could work if you are willing to live with a bit of drop-off on the ends I would think.  60 inches is definitely that awkward "in between" size when looking at lights of this style but really depends on your particular needs/wants.

[danlu_gt]

On 4/8/2020 at 5:28 PM, xxkenny90xx said:

Hm thanks for the input. I don't remember where I got my info (maybe from Dana riddles r2r post) but I had it in my head that 2 reefi lights would be ok. 3 would be out of my price range

You have a narrow tank of 18" so I would recommend mounting the ReeFi in parallel to your tank length.  30" spread per ReeFi Duo Extreme is very reasonable if you can mount them high enough, say 10"-12" above the water for mix reef.  My display tank is 72" x 30" x 24"h and I have ReeFi Duo Extreme mounted in perpendicular so each one have covers 30" depth of the tank.

[Lexinverts]

2 hours ago, danlu_gt said:

You have a narrow tank of 18" so I would recommend mounting the ReeFi in parallel to your tank length.  30" spread per ReeFi Duo Extreme is very reasonable if you can mount them high enough, say 10"-12" above the water for mix reef.  My display tank is 72" x 30" x 24"h and I have ReeFi Duo Extreme mounted in perpendicular so each one have covers 30" depth of the tank.

I agree with Daniel, that you could make 2 of them work if you raised them up a little bit. Since they have virtually no lateral light spillage, this would not hurt the aesthetics of your tank.

[albertareef]

21 minutes ago, Lexinverts said:

I agree with Daniel, that you could make 2 of them work if you raised them up a little bit. Since they have virtually no lateral light spillage, this would not hurt the aesthetics of your tank.

This is a good point - the lack of lateral spillage makes the vertical positioning a lot more flexible for sure and that height would probably allow a pretty good, even coverage as Daniel mentions. 

[goldenbasketreef]

Lighting is critical part of aquarium equipment.

The trade off is may be corals that could not grow well or dying if you don't have proper lighting set up. 

You could loose corals and end up costing more for not having proper lighting.

If you know your budget try to get the best bang for the money and adding more later on.

Buying the same brand and adding more unit is the best way of doing it, make a plan to complete within 6 months for example, buying another unit per 2 months

if you need 3 units.

In the mean time stock the tank with corals that will work for the initial lighting set up then expand as you add more lighting

Happy reefing!

Edited April 10, 2020 by goldenbasketreef

[TaylorW]

I really like the SB Reef lights, I believe they're having a sale now on the Pros (with timers built in) for $299, you can order a 32" Pro (I have this one) for about $330 including shipping, they have a two year warranty which I really like and they have a Facebook page for people with the lights for questions, troubleshooting etc and I believe one of the owners of the company is on there regularly to answer questions. One of the 32" are rated for up to a 120 gallon with heavy SPS and clams but you could definitely use one for an even larger tank with mixed reef. They also have 16" lights for under $200 if you need two or three it will still be in your budget. They also have the Ultra 45" for $699 for really large tanks. I absolutely love this light, I bought it never intending to use the Moonlights but now they're one of my favorite features, the purple color is stunning. I've had mine almost a year and my corals are loving this light and everything looks great in that tank. I will most definitely be buying another for my other tank when it's time. Believe me I understand having a budget, Ocean Revives are great too, mine lasted years

 

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[albertareef]

5 hours ago, TaylorW said:

I really like the SB Reef lights, I believe they're having a sale now on the Pros (with timers built in) for $299, you can order a 32" Pro (I have this one) for about $330 including shipping, they have a two year warranty which I really like and they have a Facebook page for people with the lights for questions, troubleshooting etc and I believe one of the owners of the company is on there regularly to answer questions. One of the 32" are rated for up to a 120 gallon with heavy SPS and clams but you could definitely use one for an even larger tank with mixed reef. They also have 16" lights for under $200 if you need two or three it will still be in your budget. They also have the Ultra 45" for $699 for really large tanks. I absolutely love this light, I bought it never intending to use the Moonlights but now they're one of my favorite features, the purple color is stunning. I've had mine almost a year and my corals are loving this light and everything looks great in that tank. I will most definitely be buying another for my other tank when it's time. Believe me I understand having a budget, Ocean Revives are great too, mine lasted years

 

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These are the lights I had on my tank previously for about 4 years. Only lost one UV diode in that time and was able to get a replacement for it from them. Definitely worked well but no tamping or fine tuning of the light (three channels - blue, white, moonlight).  Definitely very cost effective for the amount of light you get but also very basic. They are helpful with info on user repairs although I had mixed results with response times. Would definitely recommend as a low cost/minimal fuss option though. I don’t have any first hand experience with their more expensive programmable models. 

[xxkenny90xx]

Thanks for all of the info guys! I love this forum! I did look into the sb reef lights but didn't see a size that works for me (didn't know there was a 45" one) but they look pretty similar to my old light and I'm ready to change it up. I would've loved to try the reefi lights but I'm laid off right now and the wife and I decided it's not the best time to spend that much $. I did see at a frag swap recently that Daniel was using a pendant style prototype, it looked great, I'll be looking into it for my small tank if he starts selling them! 

Anyways we ordered the Reefbreeders v2+ 50. Im excited that it doesn't ramp up the colors on the hour, it is supposed to slowly ramp up throughout each hour. Logan gave us 10% off for being return customers and gave me a part for my old light for free. I think it came out to $643. But I'm a bit nervous since I've never seen the light on a tank (other than in pictures). It should be here at the end of the week so we'll see! 

[SuncrestReef]

Please post photos and a review of the Reefbreeders once you get things set up!

[xxkenny90xx]

Will do!