Lighting Upgrade Options

sbash · 12/17/2014, 06:48 PM

I am looking to upgrade my lighting in order to support LPS and SPS corals. My current lighting is a 7000K LED bar (cheap) and a MarineLand Reef LED system.

My tank is fairly new, almost a year old now. It is a 65G, which is 3' long, 2' deep and 18" wide. I have a few soft corals (torch, hammer, mushrooms, zoas) which seem to be growing a little.

I have received several recommendations for an affordable lighting system and have narrowed my selection down to three candidates. However, I would like a little more input on the three listed below, hopefully there are some folks out there who have used these. I am not looking to spend a whole lot, however I do not want to get into a cheaper model which does not perform well enough (such as the MarineLand light I have).

My LFS recommends the Maxspect R420R (RAZOR) LED Lighting System. The local price is about $550 CAD and the display system they have this light over is quite nice looking. The tank has many different corals and is well established. This light also has good reviews online.

The lowest cost option is the Arctic-S026 LED Aquarium Light. I can get two of these shipped to me for less than $350. The specs look good and I like the simplicity of them.

Lastly, the most expensive option will run over $600 is the Build My LED 14000K REEF SPECTRUM - XB SERIES. I have heard a couple good things about these lights, but I think the cost will add up once I start adding the 'accessories' just to use them.

Any thoughts, comments, reviews will be more than helpful. Thanks for reading!

jayball · 12/17/2014, 09:42 PM

You could keep the marineland and add a BML in front of it, angled back just a hair. A manual dimmer and the light should run around 300.

This does not take into account aesthetics although you can recover some of your cost already sunk into the marineland

sbash · 12/19/2014, 09:59 AM

That is not a bad idea... Aesthetics are not much of an issue, as I will eventually build a hood to cover all that stuff up...

12/17/2014, 06:48 PM	#1
sbash Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Ottawa Canada Posts: 98	Lighting Upgrade Options I am looking to upgrade my lighting in order to support LPS and SPS corals. My current lighting is a 7000K LED bar (cheap) and a MarineLand Reef LED system. My tank is fairly new, almost a year old now. It is a 65G, which is 3' long, 2' deep and 18" wide. I have a few soft corals (torch, hammer, mushrooms, zoas) which seem to be growing a little. I have received several recommendations for an affordable lighting system and have narrowed my selection down to three candidates. However, I would like a little more input on the three listed below, hopefully there are some folks out there who have used these. I am not looking to spend a whole lot, however I do not want to get into a cheaper model which does not perform well enough (such as the MarineLand light I have). My LFS recommends the Maxspect R420R (RAZOR) LED Lighting System. The local price is about $550 CAD and the display system they have this light over is quite nice looking. The tank has many different corals and is well established. This light also has good reviews online. The lowest cost option is the Arctic-S026 LED Aquarium Light. I can get two of these shipped to me for less than $350. The specs look good and I like the simplicity of them. Lastly, the most expensive option will run over $600 is the Build My LED 14000K REEF SPECTRUM - XB SERIES. I have heard a couple good things about these lights, but I think the cost will add up once I start adding the 'accessories' just to use them. Any thoughts, comments, reviews will be more than helpful. Thanks for reading!

12/17/2014, 09:42 PM	#2
jayball Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,671	You could keep the marineland and add a BML in front of it, angled back just a hair. A manual dimmer and the light should run around 300. This does not take into account aesthetics although you can recover some of your cost already sunk into the marineland

12/19/2014, 09:59 AM	#3
sbash Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Ottawa Canada Posts: 98	That is not a bad idea... Aesthetics are not much of an issue, as I will eventually build a hood to cover all that stuff up...