# Real world reviews on LED lighting ?



## fubu56 (Aug 23, 2008)

Like the title stated where are the aquarist reviews of LED lighting. I know that the Marineland LED lights are kind of popular even though the reality is they still don't provide sufficient light quality unless you are keeping low light fish. I think you will find this view to be true if you take the time to really look into these fixtures. The reef capable is getting better reviews, however I have talked to a few aquarists that have ended up returning these fixtures because they are too expensive for the amount of light they put out. On the other hand there are plenty of other options with regards to new LED fixtures. 
You can spend as much or as little as you prefer, in my searching I have found lights starting at around $150 and unbelievably ( for those with deep pockets) prices at $1,500 and higher, need a tan ? I'm sure there are probably some decent fixtures out there at this point but finding REAL WORLD tried and tested reviews in any significant numbers is nearly impossible. 
There seems to be no shortage of very positive reviews from manufacturers and retailers alike but when you want to get real reviews from owners using these fixtures in their aquariums there are very few if any real solid reviews available. So I guess the real reason for this thread is to see if any other hobbyists have managed to come across any LED lights that are indeed BRIGHT enough to really light up something like a 125 gl Tropheus tank without breaking the bank. I have seen some fixtures that look pretty nice but once you weed through all the promo info you end up realizing the fixture is only going to do the job if you buy 4 fixtures or more so it ends up being very expensive. Even some fixtures in what I would consider the high end range between $1,000 to $1,500 are not stand alone units meaning you will need to supplement this expensive light source in order to obtain the amount of lighting you may desire. 
At any rate I got tired of the LED run around and I'm hoping someone in the know will point me towards some real decent LED light fixtures including good solid reviews , that put out some real light and not just another sleekly designed gimmick. 
This is only my personal opinion and it is not meant to offend anyone using any of the various brands of LED light fixtures


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## jackskellington101982 (May 16, 2011)

Well I dont have an led light per-say. I have a set up that im going to try that has cost me in the range of 200 to 220. And was very simple. I have a false canopy on my 125 that I have been trying to figure out a lighting system on. And what i have come up with is 4 8.5 in metal flood light housings painted the outsides black. and 4 GE led spotlight bulbsat about $48 each. the 8.5 flood light housing was 8.89 at walmart. I I dont know how bright it will be once the water and decor and fish are in but Im going to give it a try. Ill keep you updated. You can check out my 125 journal http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... highlight= and check out the progress of the tank. But the way i figure it if I can make it myself as bright as I need to gor under 300 than why can the people with the big corporations. It just doesnt make sence.


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## fubu56 (Aug 23, 2008)

Because the big corporations have become accustomed to building things as cheap as they can to maintain the biggest profit margin they can. Haven't you noticed the increasing reduction in product quality followed by recalls because of safety concerns by large company's that make plenty of profit but it's just not enough to satisfy their GREED ! A good example is the terrible quality control regarding the aquarium heaters that we depend upon to keep our fish ALIVE.
This will continue until we wake up and realize that we should be making a lot of the products we depend upon rite here in our own country and help to create the jobs that are so sorely needed here in America.


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## jackskellington101982 (May 16, 2011)

fubu56 said:


> Because the big corporations have become accustomed to building things as cheap as they can to maintain the biggest profit margin they can. Haven't you noticed the increasing reduction in product quality followed by recalls because of safety concerns by large company's that make plenty of profit but it's just not enough to satisfy their GREED ! A good example is the terrible quality control regarding the aquarium heaters that we depend upon to keep our fish ALIVE.
> This will continue until we wake up and realize that we should be making a lot of the products we depend upon rite here in our own country and help to create the jobs that are so sorely needed here in America.


+1 :thumb:


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## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

fubu56 said:


> Because the big corporations have become accustomed to building things as cheap as they can to maintain the biggest profit margin they can. Haven't you noticed the increasing reduction in product quality followed by recalls because of safety concerns by large company's that make plenty of profit but it's just not enough to satisfy their GREED ! A good example is the terrible quality control regarding the aquarium heaters that we depend upon to keep our fish ALIVE.
> This will continue until we wake up and realize that we should be making a lot of the products we depend upon rite here in our own country and help to create the jobs that are so sorely needed here in America.


The beauty of the free market is that as long as we have a choice of what to buy, and what to build ourselves, the manufacturers will have to work for our business. The problem will self correct if we just give it time. It's good old capitalism.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

While we encourage our members to be active participants in the various forums, we ask that discussions be kept to aquaria related topics only. This site is dedicated to the promotion and enjoyment of keeping fish, and while we understand our members have opinions on numerous other topics, we ask that those topics not be discussed here. Thanks for your consideration in this matter; we appreciate our members.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

The issue with the led fixtures you mention is that the manufacturer was after plug and play simplicity and looks for the avg hobbyist.

Now if you move away from those google searches...

Ecoxotic stunner strips and panorama modules... Medium cost, easy to setup, look great and run cooler

3w cree led... Run hot, cheap if you buy a retrofit kit, as bright as metal halide!

3w cree par bulbs: medium price, screw in base so easier to use, bright as you could ever want.


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## kodyboy (Dec 9, 2007)

I have a beamswork 48" 11 watt freshwater bright led that is very nice for $70 shipped. It illuminates a 55 very well. The more powerful 54 watt beamswork reefbright illuminates a 90 very well and grows plants. Two of these illuminates a 6 foot tank very well. 
If you want to grow difficult plants or corals these will not work, but for viewing fish they are great.


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## fubu56 (Aug 23, 2008)

I will look into the lights you mentioned too, hopefully there will be enough consumer reviews available to make an informed decision prior to making any purchase.
Thanks for your insight


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## paradigmsk8er (Apr 13, 2009)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... rel=-10000

that is my initial build thread.

I have been running AI Sols for 8 months now, with great results. Being able to tailor the spectrum to my liking, as well as output, has proven immensely enjoyable. Right now I am running 65% blue 35% white so a slightly blue output on my Sol Whites in order to alleviate some algae/focus on the plants...my plant growth is absurd. 95% amazon swords but they reproduce like it's funny. My tank is sort of unorthodox--semi-planted hap/peacock tank (with a few exceptions) but the programming is useful as well.

Two fixtures light my 60" 100 gallon perfectly. Overkill on output but useful.

There are newer, more advanced reef fixtures coming out that will work for fresh but they are unproven as of now.


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## Vephove (Dec 7, 2011)

paradigmsk8er said:


> http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?printertopic=1&t=228819&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&finish_rel=-10000
> 
> that is my initial build thread.
> 
> ...


I love it


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## Twenty2 (Nov 25, 2011)

I spent about $25 bought led's (both white and blue), resistors and a switch. I used a power supply from an old external hard drive. I work at a sheet metal shop so I made my own enclosure and powder coated it for free. It has been on my tank for 3 months now and the only plant I've lost was due to losing power for a week from a freak October snow storm, the water temp went down to 45 degrees. Both before the power out and after every plant has been growing and spreading roots without problem. The cichlids all have great color and are active. I even noticed 2 of my labs trying a little bit of "le sexy time" a few nights ago. I think they are still too young to mate but they were going through the motions.

I should add I did mess up when ordering the led's and got them with a 15 degree beam. I am in the process of ordering a 55 degree beam and replacing them.


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## Ron R. (Oct 21, 2003)

Pics of my 2 36" Marineland Double Bright LEDs can be found here:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... highlight=

There are even some pics with a former light set-up I was using. My tank is 24" deep and these lights penetrate all the way to the bottom. I love them because they do the job of lighting my tank and they didn't cost me that much.

I know I could have spent more, but these were a great upgrade to what I already had. I keep all my lights on auto-timers which makes it easier and more enjoyable. The lighting keeps my wc moba colony on a routine as well.

I also supplement my early morning and late night lighting with 2 sets of moonlights made by digikits. These are on an auto-timer as well.


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## jd_7655 (Jul 23, 2004)

I have x2 36" marineland led double bright fixtures on my 125 gallon and I love them. I love the shimmer effect. My anubias and cryps are happy. I think they put out as much light as normal output t5 fixture. Maybe less light then 2 t8 bulbs. By no means is my tank dark. I think it's plenty of light for my cichlid aquairum. I don't think I'm gonna raising any SPS corals with them though. I'd rather have my current lights instead of T5 HO lamps. I don't need my tank to be an algae factory.

Heres a video of my tank with the LED fixtures. The water is stained brown from the wood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6p9MuhK ... ideo_title


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## lexi73 (May 2, 2008)

I second this above. I just put on my Marineland Double brights last night on my 125 also.

Just got mine and they look great! My video below looks much darker than they actually are, but the white sand helps the lights. I LOVE them so far... I'm planning on hanging mine somehow, although not sure yet. I'm probably going to build a some type of frame that they will sit in.

The Night LED's are cool too, but like others i WISH that they were on a separate timer. It would be fantastic if marineland put in a digital timer on these to control light, night, and off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tePh0nh- ... ture=g-upl

I'll take another video when it's dark out so you dont get window reflections.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

jd_7655 said:


> I have x2 36" marineland led double bright fixtures on my 125 gallon and I love them. I love the shimmer effect. My anubias and cryps are happy. I think they put out as much light as normal output t5 fixture. Maybe less light then 2 t8 bulbs. By no means is my tank dark. I think it's plenty of light for my cichlid aquairum. I don't think I'm gonna raising any SPS corals with them though. I'd rather have my current lights instead of T5 HO lamps. I don't need my tank to be an algae factory.
> 
> Heres a video of my tank with the LED fixtures. The water is stained brown from the wood.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6p9MuhK ... ideo_title


 That is one cool psc of wood!!! Is it all one psc?


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## jd_7655 (Jul 23, 2004)

JimA said:


> jd_7655 said:
> 
> 
> > I have x2 36" marineland led double bright fixtures on my 125 gallon and I love them. I love the shimmer effect. My anubias and cryps are happy. I think they put out as much light as normal output t5 fixture. Maybe less light then 2 t8 bulbs. By no means is my tank dark. I think it's plenty of light for my cichlid aquairum. I don't think I'm gonna raising any SPS corals with them though. I'd rather have my current lights instead of T5 HO lamps. I don't need my tank to be an algae factory.
> ...


No it's about 15 different pieces stacked up. It's all screwd together with stainless steel screws. I have enough of the stuff to fill 3 tanks this size.


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## paradigmsk8er (Apr 13, 2009)

Updated pictures from today..

















pardon the poor iphone quality. Plant growth is great with minimal flourish excel dosing, no CO2


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## lexi73 (May 2, 2008)

Here are two more videos...

Regular lights on:
http://www.youtube.com/user/imullarney? ... Byi4yp3nrQ

Lunar lights:
http://www.youtube.com/user/imullarney? ... QB-gMLq7UE


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

looks nice! 
It just pushed me over the edge to order one of those Beamworks led lights, went with the reef bright for 149.00 free shipping.

I went with the 48" to put on a 6' X 2' deep tank 54 LEDs 46ea @10,000k and 8 acitnic for a total of 3340 lumens. Should light it with no problems.

I felt it was a better deal for what you get vs the Marineland ones.


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## papasmurf (May 21, 2003)

I am probably going to do the same on my 125 (order two 36" reefbrights) to replace a 216W T5 unit from the same website. The beamworks has quite a bit more lumens output it seems for about the same cost and more led's. I am not sure what the temperature rating is of the marineland fixtures but I thought I read somewhere that it was 6500k and the beamworks is 10k which is more of what I am wanting to achieve.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

I will let you know on Tuesday when I get mine. [email protected] 48" reef bright going on a 6' tank. Was going to go for [email protected]" or [email protected]" I thought 1 48"@ 3340 lumens should light that tank?

I will do a quick review with some pics!!


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

i have bought these LED ribbon strips that are encassed in clear rubber ...you buy them by the meter ... i have four 1.5m strips powered by two 12v old laptop power supplys ... the light levels are huge and the tank illuminates the whole room at night.


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## stevenp (Oct 13, 2011)

zazz said:


> i have bought these LED ribbon strips that are encassed in clear rubber ...you buy them by the meter ... i have four 1.5m strips powered by two 12v old laptop power supplys ... the light levels are huge and the tank illuminates the whole room at night.


Post sum pics of wat yours looks like


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## jackskellington101982 (May 16, 2011)

stevenp said:


> zazz said:
> 
> 
> > i have bought these LED ribbon strips that are encassed in clear rubber ...you buy them by the meter ... i have four 1.5m strips powered by two 12v old laptop power supplys ... the light levels are huge and the tank illuminates the whole room at night.
> ...


+1


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

LEDs are easy to get to light up a tank....it's when you start looking to grow corals that PAR can becomes an issue. The cheapest way to go LED is to DIY a fixture. You can buy a DIY kit at www.aquastyleonline.com or you could piece one together on ledgroupbuy.com or rapidled.com. I'm about to build a huge LED fixture for my 210 reef using bridgelux LEDs and DIY drivers.


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## lexi73 (May 2, 2008)

As an FYI, I've got a 125 gallon so i needed two lights to cover the tank. I ended up hanging my lights so that i can have an open top. Here are some images of the hanger i ended up making.


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## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

Trying to decide bw the marineland double bright 36"-48" or the beamworks 48" reef bright for my 55. I think the beamwork might be too bright. Any thoughts?


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

TrashmanNYC said:


> Trying to decide bw the marineland double bright 36"-48" or the beamworks 48" reef bright for my 55. I think the beamwork might be too bright. Any thoughts?


 I don't think the reef bright would be to bright. My tank is 24" deep and it seems ok to me.

Here are a few updated picks of my 165 bowfront Tropheus tank.




























Thats with one 48" and 1 24" beamworks reef bright light.


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## papasmurf (May 21, 2003)

I am a bit perplexed why you LED fixture has such a "coning" effect of the light beam. Are there any lens' over the LED's? Perhaps the marineland units use a lens over the LED's? (I don't think they do) as I have not seen other people have that effect with their lighting.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

papasmurf said:


> I am a bit perplexed why you LED fixture has such a "coning" effect of the light beam. Are there any lens' over the LED's? Perhaps the marineland units use a lens over the LED's? (I don't think they do) as I have not seen other people have that effect with their lighting.


 Yes there are lenses over the LEDs I have looked at the Marineland ones at the LFS and they are identical. It comes and goes with the clarity of the water, ever time I have taken a picture it was shortly after a water change. (bit of cloudiness) Also the lights are right on the glass top raised just a bit by the legs that come with them. If I raise them say 2" the beaming goes away and I get more shimmering. I plan on building a top for the tank at some point and will mount the lights up and off the glass top.

If I raise the lights now the LEDs stand out like a sore thumb from underneath and it's pretty bright and annoying. That's one difference with these vs a regular light fixture there is no hangover or hood to hide the actual lights themselves. Still very happy with them!!


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## FeelingFishly (Dec 15, 2011)

What would you all recommend for my new cichlid setup. I currently have 2 Nova Extremes T5s (6 bulb and 8 bulb). I had a reef tank so these seem to be a little overkill for cichlids...

I've been reading some pretty good things about the reef bright and BeamWork lights. It appears Aquatraders also carries the BeamWorks LED now too. I not very handy and don't have a cabinet so DIY is probably not an option unless I can be persuaded.

Do you all think a 78" Fixure would be enough light to grow some plants if I decide to get some?

Thanks in advance!


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