What's the Best affordable leds?

[Slaterj42]

Straight up, I can't afford the hydra's or Kessil type brands. So, I have to resort to the cheaper brands. What's the best programmable affordable led light?

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[Kayvon]

Ocean revives or reefbreeders

 

[JuanGutz]

Check out Noopsyche

 

[flagg37]

Have you looked into buying used?

 

[TheRealChrisBrown]

Honestly, I think most of the 165w "black box" LED's are primarily the same. I've heard people say the MarsAqua is good @ $116 on Amazon (although I don't know if it is programmable or just on/off). I owned the OceanRevive T247 for a brief time, it has a timer and seemed to work fine, but is like $190 on Amazon.

If I was doing LEDs on a budget I'd get some of the simple on/off style that you can adjust the intensity with a little control knob on top. Plug those into a simple light timer, and let them go to town. I don't know how much of a believer in ramping up and down I am, or other LED gimmicks like thunderstorms, cloudy days, things like that.

 

[Slaterj42]

I appreciate everyone's input and advice. I think I'm going to try out the Mars Aqua 165w.

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[Bdk1786]

+1 to Reef Breeders.

 

[Andrew_bram]

Check ebay. They had multiple mars aqua for dirt cheap. Like if you buy 2 or 3 they drop to 80 bucks each.

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[flagg37]

I had a used reef breeders light for a while and was satisfied with its value.

I use one of the Mars grow lights in my fuge. It works like it’s supposed to as well.

 

[jda123]

Programmable and cheap are not going to collide in the same sentence. Photon V2 is a good mix of both, but it is not cheap. The Chinese black boxes can work well, but they are not really programmable.

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

Are you tied to led? The best value for lighting might be t5... halides work well too. It your tank is smallish the halide might be a heat issue for you but really is the best if you can handle the temp. T5 are great without the temp issue. If I wanted to keep price down I’d go with one of those choices.


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[neoalchemist74]

Check out SB Reef lights. An American company that worked with Chinese light manufacturer to tweak the light spectrum and add wireless functionality. I've been running a set of SB pro's at near 100 percent for 2 years and have no regrets, sps dominated tank grows fast and colors are off the chain.
Also, I know it can be hard to decide on these because there's a lack of examples and pictures that accurately represent the overall look of a tank with less popular fixtures. So if you seriously consider these lights you are welcome to stop by and see a pair in action. I'm in Longmont.