Led lights what brand to buy

[Reeferluke]

I'm looking for a led light for my 72gal. I run 2 400watt xm 20k now also blue led for my antic. Found some cheap 120 watt led lights on eBay just some no name brand. Are they worth it or should I just buy new bulbs for my lights? Or if anybody knows a better option any info is good. Thanks

[spit.fire]

What kind of tank? Mixed reef? Sps? Softies?

[Werbo]

Need to know your tank goals? SPS need alot of light and a cheap LED will probably not meet the needs of SPS.

Are you having temperature issues with the 400W metal halides? Are you able to keep up with evaporation? Hydro bills a concern? If you answered no to the above then stay with the MH and maybe buy 400W Radium bulbs (you won't regret it).

[Reeferluke]

It's a mixed reef more lps then sps. Heat is not a prob it's in a basement with a fan on the sump.

[wickedfrags]

vertex illumina - love mine

[Aquattro]

vertex illumina - love mine

Might be a bit more than the cheap Ebay lights :)

[nrosdal]

Of the less expensive fixtures available we have Evergrow and they have been fantastic with both performance and warranty(rather then going with a generic ebay fixture with a questionable warranty/output). As for the popular more commercial fixtures it seems Mitras get best reviews with Radions and sols are usually fighting it out for 2nd and 3rd place.

JMO

[xenon]

Best bang for the buck would be the AquaIllumination Hydra's.

They are full spectrum and at a damn good price too.

[Madreefer]

IMO you will get better colors out of your corals with MH supplemented with T5s. I switched over to LEDs 2 years ago and would never switch back. I'm happy with my AIs. It was alot of tweaking and playing around with them on the switchover. I run Sol Blues and just recently picked up some Hydras.

[AdamsB]

You can get cheap 6-8 bulb t5 ho units on eBay, if its mostly lps those would likely be fine. Although I was going to go that route for my 90 I decided on the ever grow it2080. Didn't like it at first because I've only ever had t5 and led is definitely different. But now I love it after some tweaking. My sps are currently booming and i only run my lights at a max of 60% with a sunrise sunset added in. Reviving a bonsai and green monti and getting huge expansion on my candy cane. I obviously can't comment on the more popular brands but for price and performance it's hard to beat.

[Magma]

I bought the Evergrow D120s (the cheap ebay fixtures) from Nick at Reefsupply Canada and I have to say after 6 months of use the corals are doing AMAZING.

Highly Recommend them. I have them growing SPS corals at all depths in my tank no problems, my LPS corals are doing amazing and my Softies are growing faster than ever.

[mohammadali]

Maxspect Razor LED the 160w would be good there is some on ebay around $530
fits your 72gbf

[Reef Supplies]

Best bang for the buck would be the AquaIllumination Hydra's.

They are full spectrum and at a damn good price too.

+ 1000

The new Hydra Fifty Two is coming out real soon at an expected $599*, the competition will be gathering around the conference table more often!

[Ron99]

+ 1000

The new Hydra Fifty Two is coming out real soon at an expected $599*, the competition will be gathering around the conference table more often!

Meh. More opportunity to burn your corals or pay for a fixture you can only run at 30 to 40% power. Too many LEDs in too small a space in my opinion.

[mseepman]

If you are currently running two 400w plus blue LED, I would be looking the IT2080 to give you coverage and control.

http://www.reefsupplycanada.com/it2080-controllable-full-spectrum-led-32-light/

I have the smaller IT2040 and find it a great light over my frag tank.

[Coasting]

Im going to +1 for the evergrow lights. Whatever fixture from them would work. I bought mine right from them, rather then some retailer over here. Couldn't be happier about what I paid vs what I'm getting...

[Reeferluke]

Ya I'm thinking the evergrow it2080 would prob work. my concern is the tank brace and how much of a shadow it would cast.

[nrosdal]

Here is a link to a video i made quite some time ago with a 2080 over my tank. You can see the shadow a bit in the video(the camera does show it a bit darker then in life. But it is there). I have had some people strip off a couple rows of the optics (1 on either side of the brace) to get rid of the shadows. Some have also replaced the brace with acrylic (scares me a bit) or have gone with 2 pendant style for better coverage(but cost is a bit higher).

http://youtu.be/Y24E0WGHLNU

Just for reference, here is a video of tank at same time with 2 x d120 fixtures to show the coverage (the d120s are not programmable but it gets the point across).

http://youtu.be/mDpyHmfYjwM

[mr.wilson]

You can't go wrong with the Evergrow fixture. Radion and Hydra look sexy, but not worth paying more than double the price. I believe it's a 3yr warranty as well.

[Seriak]

I am going with the D120 myself or completely DIY over my frag tank as I really don't care what it looks like. Great for the price.