How good are these lights?

[Mattyice008]

Ok so I just got a free 70gal tank and it also came with some lights.
I couldn't find the exact fixture online, but its CustomSeaLife.
It has 2 power compact bulbs on each side.

Each one contains 1 white and 1 blue bulb. (so 2 white and 2 blue total)

On each end of the power compacts, it says 65w. So 130w total

 

[Waddi]

PC Lights aren't great. Upside is they were free and they work. But I suggest maybe upgrading to T5's or maybe even some DIY LEDs?

 

[little_fish]

Those arent going to be enough light to keep any sort of corals, but they will work just fine to view fish!

 

[Mattyice008]

PC Lights aren't great. Upside is they were free and they work. But I suggest maybe upgrading to T5's or maybe even some DIY LEDs?

Ok I was just wondering if they would be powerful enough.
I'm most likely going to upgrade to another LED fixture.

I have the Marineland reef capable for up to a 36in tank, on my 30gal and I love it.

So if you have any ideas for an LED fixture, here are the dimensions for the tank

48.5inches long
18in wide(front to back of tank)
21in high (About 18-19inches if you just count the top of the tank to where the sandbed will be)

Price range: 175-375$. Looking for LED's with ways to time the lighs. (Right now, I have to do mine manually)

 

[little_fish]

I cant think of any quality LED fixtures in that price range, but you might be able to DIY some in that price range. Check out rapidled.com

 

[Waddi]

IMO You will be able to keep some shrooms close to the top ect. But, not really gonna thrive.
Maybe look into this:

EVO Quad 48 LED Reef Bright

Oddysea are a decent lighting company, cheap, and they work. Never seen those LEDs I just linked you too though.
You could also get this (Might be overkill)
Odyssea 48 inch Metal Halide Fixture 2x250W HQI + 4x54W T5 +6xDual LED

Or this (Which is kinda ok, I also suggest changing bulbs due to them being cheapy)

Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting

Again, there are so many options out there, just take a cruise around.

 

[Mattyice008]

I cant think of any quality LED fixtures in that price range, but you might be able to DIY some in that price range. Check out rapidled.com

Just edited my price range

Im willing to pay up to 375$ for a nice fixture. But if there's one that looks a lot better for me, I'm willing to go up to 425$

 

[Mattyice008]

IMO You will be able to keep some shrooms close to the top ect. But, not really gonna thrive.
Maybe look into this:

EVO Quad 48 LED Reef Bright

Oddysea are a decent lighting company, cheap, and they work. Never seen those LEDs I just linked you too though.
You could also get this (Might be overkill)
Odyssea 48 inch Metal Halide Fixture 2x250W HQI + 4x54W T5 +6xDual LED

Or this (Which is kinda ok, I also suggest changing bulbs due to them being cheapy)

Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting

Again, there are so many options out there, just take a cruise around.

I'm going to do some research on that first EVO Quad fixture.

 

[little_fish]

ya, the low end of the quality lights is about $400 per fixture and I think you would need two over your tank, so I would either go with the DIY LEDs or some sort of metal halide or t5 fixture

 

[Mattyice008]

I gotta be missing something here..
EVO Quad 48 LED Reef Bright

Because that's pretty much this Marineland Reef LED Light Fixture

But a lot cheaper.


But now I'm also leaning towards t5 lighting. What are the downsides to these compared to LED's? I know that they give off more heat, and a few other small things, but do they not give off as much light? Can you still grow the same things? And how often do you have to change the bulbs?

 

[little_fish]

the bulbs need to be change at least once a year, you want a 4-6 bulb fixture with individual reflectors.

I personally really like t5 light because of all the color combinations you can create with the different bulbs, but it does get expensive replacing the bulbs. Metal halide seems to be the best for overall growth, but you almost always have to pair them with t5 bulbs to get a good color going.

You can create the same color spectrum with the high quality LEDs but they are super pricy ones.

 

[Mattyice008]

the bulbs need to be change at least once a year, you want a 4-6 bulb fixture with individual reflectors.

I personally really like t5 light because of all the color combinations you can create with the different bulbs, but it does get expensive replacing the bulbs. Metal halide seems to be the best for overall growth, but you almost always have to pair them with t5 bulbs to get a good color going.

You can create the same color spectrum with the high quality LEDs but they are super pricy ones.

I personally like the look of LED's over t5 lights. And now I remember about replacing the bulbs. That's why I went with LED in the first place...It would be annoying to replace them every year

But I still dont see a difference in these 2..
It looks like the first one is better for me, but cost so much less?




EVO Quad 48 LED Reef Bright

Marineland Reef LED Light Fixture

 

[little_fish]

It seems like the EVO has more LEDs but I dont really know what to look for when shopping for and LED fixture.

And if you like the look of LEDs go for it :) I would PM Northstar about these lights, he seems to be the LED expert.

 

[Northstar24]

It seems like the EVO has more LEDs but I dont really know what to look for when shopping for and LED fixture.

And if you like the look of LEDs go for it :) I would PM Northstar about these lights, he seems to be the LED expert.

When did I become the LED 'expert'?

I did respond to the posters PM with some advice though :)