Chief Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Ok I’m calling on all the experts. I’m looking to upgrade the lighting on my 8x2x2 240 gallon mixed reef. I’m current running 4 reef star leds that are on their last legs. Some of the lights I have been looking at: cheaper: 5 ocean revive, 5 Noopsyche k7 pro mid range: 2 reefbreeder photon v2+ 48 upper range: 3 kessil A360x or 2 ap700 I’m open to suggestions. My budget isn’t unlimited but I want the most bang for my buck. I like the reefi but they are probably out of my price range for an 8 foot tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenbasketreef Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Noopsyche poor delivery and customer service, avoid!!! I would go with either Reefbreeder or AP700, better if you can go with Reefi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicyclebill Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 What about the reefbreeders with T5 hybrid? You'd need more than (3) Kessil 360s on an 8' length. Two with T5 hybrid was perfect for my 90G. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 I have no experience with any of these but the OR. Love them, but the photons look amazing to me, I have been watching them for years. The noopsyche looks great on paper / specs but questionable quality it sounds like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tandor69 Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Love love love my Reefi lights. (Reminds me I need to post some pics of my new setup). I think @danlu_gt said he was extending his promotion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted April 20, 2020 Author Share Posted April 20, 2020 5 hours ago, Tandor69 said: Love love love my Reefi lights. (Reminds me I need to post some pics of my new setup). I think @danlu_gt said he was extending his promotion. Unfortunately even though it is a great deal, my wife would kill me if I spent $2600 on lights. That is the struggle of a large tank. I am leaning towards the reefbreeders if I can find them in stock. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg123 Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 I would recommend getting two of the 48 inch t5 hybrids Then just save up and get LEDs later you’ll get good enough par to keep everything going 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markvo Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 If you want the most bang for the bucks, buy used. But you are limited to what quality lights are available used. Sets of 4' T5s are probably the most likely choice, with LEDs added now or later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Chief said: Unfortunately even though it is a great deal, my wife would kill me if I spent $2600 on lights. That is the struggle of a large tank. I am leaning towards the reefbreeders if I can find them in stock. You could probably get away with 3 ReeFis for your tank. 4 would be better, but 3 is doable. Put your sps right under that lights. With a 3 yr warranty, you'll be running them a long time and you could add a 4th later. Reefbreeders are decent lights, from what I have heard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilmca Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 I have (2) AP700 over a 6' x 2' x 2' tank and i think you would need (3) over an 8' tank. I'm also running (2) 6' VHOs. thanks to Markvo... I really like the AP700s. i found new ones on the RC for significantly less than the price of new. the AP700s don't seem to be as popular as a lot of the other lights so they don't sell very fast and if the seller is motivated you can save some money. also, if you are wondering how old lights are in the classifieds and you have the serial number i've had good luck getting manufacturing dates from the manufacturer so you know how long they have been in circulation. you might not know how many hours they have been run but it's better than nothing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBret Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 (edited) I have reefbreeders on some of my tanks and love them. If you end up wanting to go that route give me a buzz. I have an account with them. 48" V2 estimated delivery date is May 7th i am told Edited April 21, 2020 by MrBret 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadams7 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 I am running the AP700 over a 4' tank and am debating adding a little something to hit the corners, so for an 8' tank I would suggest 3, or 2 with some supplemental lighting mixed in somewhere (T5's, smaller kessils, etc). Love the AP700 though, cant speak highly enough about it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 45 minutes ago, jadams7 said: I am running the AP700 over a 4' tank and am debating adding a little something to hit the corners, so for an 8' tank I would suggest 3, or 2 with some supplemental lighting mixed in somewhere (T5's, smaller kessils, etc). Love the AP700 though, cant speak highly enough about it. The colors in your tank certainly looked great under this light! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumby Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 I like all the options everyone suggested. Since you mentioned you were on a budget, maybe ocean revives might be an option. I am running my old ones over my frag tanks. I replaced almost all the whites with 3 different nanometers of blues and uv. They do a great job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matteo Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 Interesting to see many local reefers haven't heard of Nanobox yet. I have seen or had almost every light on the market and these are the best hands down. Mine is T5/Hybrid which I always recommend doing a hybrid on a mix reef especially if sps are there. So I agree with above posters that doing a combo somehow would be best. Spendy though... but Dave can always build a custom light. I.e two 3 or 4 footers with how ever many pucks you want. The Reefi are cool but at their asking price for what it is I'm not convinced yet. They still use cool whites and Ambers which are not really that useful. I would have put more blues and warm white/neutral whites in for more par. http://nanoboxreef.com/index.html If you go on R2R or NanoReef you will see a bazillion setups using Nanobox. They're diodes are far better than most on the market. They're Instagram also has many tanks using them so you can get an idea. Otherwise I like the two A700 ideas. If you could also throw T5s in with the two A700 you'd be golden pony boy 😎👉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted April 27, 2020 Author Share Posted April 27, 2020 Now I’m thinking 4 radion XR15w G4 Pro’s. I will probably add some t5’s also. I’m not keeping sps currently. If I did they would go directly under the lights. I would probably add another in the future. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxkenny90xx Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 I just got my reefbreeders v2+ 50 (47.5") in the mail last week and it is awesome. Way better colors and features then my old reefbreeders light. It said backordered when I bought it but it shipped the next day. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matteo Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 On 4/26/2020 at 8:24 PM, Chief said: Now I’m thinking 4 radion XR15w G4 Pro’s. I will probably add some t5’s also. I’m not keeping sps currently. If I did they would go directly under the lights. I would probably add another in the future. If that is your budget I would contact Dave at NanoBoxReef. He can build you a custom light like this one. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fs-nanobox-led-fixture.165407/ I remember when this was on sale on NR for like $700 shipped. https://www.instagram.com/nanoboxreef/?hl=en Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerixx Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 Now I’m thinking 4 radion XR15w G4 Pro’s. I will probably add some t5’s also. I’m not keeping sps currently. If I did they would go directly under the lights. I would probably add another in the future. If you go that route, I’d go with XR30 G3 pro’s and save some money. The G3’s are great lights, I’ve seen XR30’s for $275-$300 on R2R. That’s a lot of light for that price Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted April 30, 2020 Author Share Posted April 30, 2020 On 4/26/2020 at 8:24 PM, Chief said: Now I’m thinking 4 radion XR15w G4 Pro’s. I will probably add some t5’s also. I’m not keeping sps currently. If I did they would go directly under the lights. I would probably add another in the future. G4’s are sold out everywhere. After doing more research I think I’m sold on AI Hydra 32HD’s. Honestly I don’t think I can go too wrong with AI, Kessil, Or Ecotech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefrun Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Have you checked out the Aquatic Life hybrid? You get 4 T5s and it’s modular do you can use your own LED lights and adjust the placement, quantity, brand as you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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