Marineland Reef Capable LED Lighting System [Archive]

Michigan Mike

01/10/2013, 08:53 PM

Why are people still spending good money on this light with all the bad reviews about it?

Stop your order now!
A 24" ge6500 t5ho puts out that many lumens.
130 PAR @ 12" ? What a joke. You do know that SPS coral requires the very minimum of 200 up to 700+PAR.
T5 fixtures are way better.lol

Ghstwolf

01/10/2013, 11:50 PM

I was originally looking at those lights when I first started getting prices for my setup.. WAY too many bad reviews on them and I don't mean minor bad reviews.. For every 1 good comment I was seeing 3 or 4 comments like... "Half the LED's stopped working after less than a month" or "This is my 3rd one and it hasn't lasted 2 months".

If you can cancel the order I suggest you do it (in my opinion).. For about 1/2 the price you could probably get a good T5 setup off of Ebay.. Yes you have to replace bulbs every 6 months or so, but it beats buying this light then finding out it isn't very good and having to buy a new light assembly..

Dapg8gt

01/10/2013, 11:59 PM

Waste of money. Return it as soon as you get it. Don't even bother opening it. Softees MAYBE but prob not. Those par numbers are horrible..

D1105

01/11/2013, 12:21 AM

I am using 2 x 48" Marineland reef LED on my 180 gallon tank that started as a FOWLR when I started the hobby. Now that I added some softies and LPS, I am replacing it with 3w LED fixture. The marinelands kept my corals alive but not thrive. Even when my tank was a FOWLR, the Marinelands looked yellow and I needed to buy extra blue LEDs strips.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

nystang

01/11/2013, 06:54 AM

I had those lights 24"-36" over my 29g tank for about 8 months. The fixture looks nice and modern and this is basically the only advantage of those lights. I didn't know too much about lights when I started and I have to admit I ignored many pieces of advice. Corals look yellowish and a a lot of blind spots as someone else mentioned. When you add corals you will be wondering around the tank to find a good spot.
My advice is the same as previous poster. Stop the order or return for refund after receiving.

mossyfish

01/11/2013, 07:30 AM

Thanks everyone! Lesson learned, I should have come here first! Unfortunately it's supposed to arrive today, so to late to cancel. Can anyone recommend a better LED light for around the same price? I don't want T-5s, I would rather spend the money on LEDs instead of changing bulbs every 6 months and also save on my electric bill :eek1:

BigAl2007

01/11/2013, 08:08 AM

Unfortunately you're probably not going to get a decent LED fixture for that price. They used very cheap components in order to get the price that low.

You have to understand LED is still a "toddler" and new technology costs more. Even if you went DIY and did all the research and work yourself I don't think you'd come close to "that" price.

Lighting is one of those places where you want to go ahead and get a quality unit up front. Buy cheap and you'll buy several times. I learned this lesson the hard way about 7 years ago.

mossyfish

01/11/2013, 08:38 AM

Ghstwolf

01/11/2013, 10:49 AM

You could look into the TrueLumen Pro series of lights.. They arn't supper cheap but not bank breaking either.. Ecoexotic's from what I remember would good lights but sorry I don't remember the prices off the top of my head..

gbru316

01/11/2013, 12:47 PM

Ok... I've done some more research and found the TaoTronics TT-AL03. The Lux ratings are: 80cm = 11000lux to 100cm = 8125lux and I've attached the PAR graph.

I hear you BigAl, but unfortunately I don't have that kind of money to spend. Maybe farther down the road I will invest in that kinda unit.

1. Lux isn't important.

2. I'd be highly suspicious of any company that used improper units in sales literature. PAR isn't a unit of measure; it's an acronym. Furthermore, graphs can be misleading. Were those measurements even taken underwater? Additionally, 120 degree optics are a bit wide, you'll have penetration issues if your tank is deeper than a foot.

3. This is an expensive hobby. Considering lighting is the life source for your inhabitants, going cheap is a poor decision. You're basically saying that you're willing to provide a less than optimal (and perhaps straight up improper, in some cases) habitat for a living organism in order to save a buck. Have some patience and save up for something worthwhile.

4. LED lighting, as stated before, is still rather new. As such, good quality LED lighting is prohibitively expensive, unless you DIY. In that case, expect to spend many, many hours researching. I'd HIGHLY recommend choosing another lighting source.

Dapg8gt

01/11/2013, 01:17 PM

Look at the Chinese led thread. Plenty of good lights from evergrow. D120 is awesome and cheap. May need more than one but it's a good start with one.. Reefbreeders is a sponsor now so look at their economy fixture. A little more than evergrow for the same thing but a us reseller. Don't go cheap without knowing what your getting.

mossyfish

01/11/2013, 02:46 PM

Thanks Dapg8gt - but I noticed in your signature you have "120 watts of widely hated black box Chinese LED's.." what does that mean and are these the Chinese LED's your trying to turn me onto?

Thanks everyone for all the comments! I understand that LEDs are still rather new maybe to the reef world, but they have been around for quit some time now, and they have made great advances in the technology side if it. Also, I truly want to get a good quality light that will both sustain fish and coral, but I can't see spending $400+ on a nice T5 unit and then have to spend an additional $80+ every 6 months to replace the bulbs, not to mention the amount of electricity it consumes to run it for 10-12 hours a day!

I guess I need to do some more research!

Thanks again!

gbru316

01/11/2013, 03:03 PM

I understand that LEDs are still rather new maybe to the reef world,

This is the issue. LED's are proven in other applications, but their use in aquaria is still in its infancy. Every 6 months - 1 year, a new "concept" comes out which yields better results.

For some, LED lighting just doesn't work. For whatever reason, they cannot apply the technology to their tanks. Livestock suffers and they are forced to spend MORE money to buy another fixture.

You can implement a metal halide fixture for a fraction of the price of a high quality LED array. It's a proven technology and you should have minimal problems. Replace the bulb once a year, and you're set.

I built my own LED array for my 10g nano. I'm happy with my decision, but I spent the equivalent of several days researching lighting. If my tank was much bigger, I'd throw a 175w halide (or larger, depending on tank size) and call it a day. Much easier, costs less and is almost guaranteed to yield good results.

FWIW, you shouldn't need to run your lighting for 10-12 hours a day.

blue98ls1

01/11/2013, 03:50 PM

I have a pair of 48" I scored locally for $75 for both. I use them as supplementation ONLY to my T5HO fixture.

By themselves, I wouldn't bother with corals and even their retail price is horrible considering what you can get with the competition.

blue98ls1

01/11/2013, 03:52 PM

Dapg8gt

01/11/2013, 03:55 PM

Yeah I am refering to the D120 in my sig. That's kinda just a pun at all the people who say they are crap and you have to buy a $500 LED fixture to have success. Just look through the Chinese led thread and it's all pretty much success stories. some people just hate that either your buying from china others doubt there performance due to the price. But the simple fact is at least for me and others participating in that thread it works awesome. I came from a 150watt halide to a120 watt LED running at 60%. But the power saving in my case is a wash as it just has my heaters running almost constantly LOl. Just saving on bulb swaps which really isn't much..

I have had it on my frag tank for abou 6months and have had great results. There is a learning curve with them. Pretty much start low or else you will bleach your corals. They do what everybody is trying to achieve, grow coral.. The name brand LEDs are awesome with a lot of great features. But if you just want a light for a good price and are dead set on LEDs for a reef tank these are a great deal and have great performance. Plus you can change the colors pretty cheaply by soldering in other LEDs to mimic most other top brand fixtures.

I also agree with you can't go wrong with halides. I have halide /T5 combo on my DT and it works great. But to say LEDs don't work is a total lie. In my opinion most led horror stories are due to other things and improper acclimation.

joshPensacola

01/11/2013, 07:27 PM

reef capable at about the same rate it is capable for me to live on bread and water.

CBrady001

01/11/2013, 08:47 PM

I have the 48" ...

http://www.thatpetplace.com/marineland-reef-capable-led-light-48in-60in

No issues yet, corals and clam are :) so far

I will probably add another blue strip or 2 though.

Cheers!

CBrady001

01/11/2013, 08:48 PM

I have the 48" ...

http://www.thatpetplace.com/marineland-reef-capable-led-light-48in-60in

No issues yet, corals and clam are :) so far

I will probably add another blue strip or 2 though.

Cheers!

gbru316

01/11/2013, 10:46 PM

I also agree with you can't go wrong with halides. I have halide /T5 combo on my DT and it works great. But to say LEDs don't work is a total lie. In my opinion most led horror stories are due to other things and improper acclimation.

I wasn't implying that LED's cannot work, I was saying that they don't, for some. Sure, it's probably the user or another factor and not the fixture, but if the OP is trying to light his tank on the cheap, it would be far better to choose a lighting source that is tested, tried and true that gives a little more margin for error. The time to "experiment" with new technology is when you have the funds to do so. When you're trying to save money, you opt for reliable, proven performance. In application, LED's have not surpassed MH in that department yet.

artbrunson

01/11/2013, 11:50 PM

I have the 48 on my 110 gal. 6 months in here's the deal. Softies, trees, zoas, shrooms and xenias are all doing great and growing spreading like mad. I have a torch that's not doing well, no color although he has grown 1/4 inch in that time. I'm not going any further and the light is really nice for what I want, in fact I'm going to find a used one so the whole tank is covered. But don't get this for anything but what I mentioned. If they do a 3 watt in this package with he timer- that may be a winner.

sharkks

01/12/2013, 06:32 AM

I am experimenting with an 18 inch reef capable along with an 18 inch double bright over my 27 cube. I actually like the light quite a bit and that built in timer is great. The color is a nice clean white but it's a bit yellow with the double bright on so I am thinking about adding a dimmable blue strip.

It is too early to tell with the corals and I am really more into softies but the light seems well made. I have an affinity for using the things everyone else hates. I run a bakpak on this thing too and have fun with that maligned piece of equipment as well.

tvoydan

01/12/2013, 06:45 PM

I have a couple of the Marineland LED lights you're looking at. I also have the BeamWorks Chinese knock-off (a Chinese clone of a Chinese fixture, go figure). They look identical, but I swea,r the BeamWorks clone is not quite as bright and the Marineland fixture. I've been using these for over a year now in fish only tanks.

I also just picked up a 48" BeamWorks quad row 1w fixture. I have to say I like all of the fixtures and have not had any problem with mine (so far). For fish only, they're a great inexpensive lighting option.

Not sure if they're going to put out enough light for corals. Softies maybe. SPS, I don't think so. A friend ran them on a 29ga softie tank and liked them. He was running 2 fixtures. One in the front and one on the back to cover the entire tank front to back.

One other thing, the BeamWorks supplier is pretty much know to give you the 30ft, 30 second warranty. Tons of feedback all over the web regarding them. So if you want some kind of warranty or service, stick to the Marineland LEDs.

Tom

blynch002

01/17/2013, 09:35 PM

I have the 48" fixture on my 75gal reef setup. I also run a dual T5 fixture that I am experimenting with using different bulbs. So far, my softies, shrooms, and zoas are growing well, and my hammer coral seems happy but hasn't started growing yet. I haven't tried any SPS yet, but I will soon.

that Fish Guy

01/18/2013, 12:37 AM

Please take a look at the picture in this link.

It shows just how Yellow the Marineland is.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2163114&highlight=aquaticlife+led+marineland

The light next to the Marineland for comparison is much much better for the same price but it is still a terrible light.

Take a look at the Kessil A350 and the Razor.

Those are nice lights that are not much more than the Marineland.

that Fish Guy

01/18/2013, 11:09 PM

So apparantly people are still buying this terrible light.

Please take a look at the picture and see just how yellow it is.

If we keep buying inferior products like this Marineland LED then companies will have no need to develop better products.

People must be informed.

Please Please only buy quality LED lights (Kessil, Razor, AI Vega, Radion, etc).