# led lighting for 60 gallon cube??



## bud091 (Dec 25, 2012)

what would you guys/gals recommend for a 60 gallon cube that has a foot print of 24x24x25 right no i have a current us marine orbit 18" 

if anyone knows some good sites to check out please post them 

thanks brad


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## Lilphil26 (Sep 15, 2015)

How bout a 400w halide haha. That outta do it. Good news you won't need a heater!


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## bud091 (Dec 25, 2012)

Lilphil26 said:


> How bout a 400w halide haha. That outta do it. Good news you won't need a heater!


Sounds good but I can do with out the huge hydro bill and cost of bulbs every six months


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## Lilphil26 (Sep 15, 2015)

I replaced the bulbs every year and it costs about twice what a radion does. A radion is almost 200 watts i think.


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## bud091 (Dec 25, 2012)

I'm thinking about trying the jeabo kessil knock off


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## sohal tang (Oct 26, 2011)

*Kessil knock of super!!!!*

I just bought 3 x Kessil knock offs from Big Show...worth every dime at 299 each...

Hard to tell the difference between these and kessils....they are gorgeous 
and alottttttttttttttt more doable for a price tag.....
One of those with maybe a couple of actinic blue reef brites would be cool...

Tim


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*leds*

dude ... best bang for your buck is a Chinese led ... u can step it up and get one that is programmable 
jm2c


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## juyun1 (Apr 7, 2012)

Do you have a link to the Chinese LED?


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*led lights*

there a quite a few of these suppliers out there . I purchased mine from reefsupplies .I have seen them on e bay and amazon . the only fault I had was they are not controllable ,but they do have a few that are controllable .in saying that for under 200 bucks what do u want .there is quite a long thread on reef central on positives and negatives ...these were my goto lights since I had no interest in spending huge money on lights ..
good luck


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## sohal tang (Oct 26, 2011)

*I'm from Missouri !*

YA..well...I believe you get what you pay for in this hobby..and I do not 
believe there are some cheap LED lights that will grow corals in decent fashion....I owned a cheap LED light fixture..remote control...sweet sweet but could notttttttttt grow corals worth a damn....

SO...be careful...buyer beware of cheap solutions....

When dealing with REEF and animals...I have found very few true shortcuts.

Just my 2 cents.

Best of luck
Tim
I would like to see a picture of the tank that has lights under 200 dollars on it ...lets see the beautiful reef they are growing.... lol


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*u get what u pay for ....*

well I am a firm believer of this term.... but I have three over 3 tanks and I am getting wicked growth.. yes I do believe that had I had the cash to spend 1200 bucks each I would , but to get me started I got the Chinese leds and the sufficed me just might fine .. remember its not all about money and yes u get what u pay for ...not understanding how u think the lights would jepordize the animals in tanks ....


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## sohal tang (Oct 26, 2011)

*get what you pay for*

Hi Tom,

I am not saying the cheap LED lights will hurt the animals...just the one that I used or *pair* that I used on my 280 gallon 8ft tank would not grow corals worth a darn...in fact I *lost* corals using them... The minute I switched them out my corals bounced back almost over night...it was incredible growth difference... I am just saying I believe truly that you get what you pay for in life and its the same with lights for our reefs... You can pay now or you can pay later... Having said that I bought the cheap imitation kessil Nelo lights and I love them..so *YOU CAN* save money...but...even those were 300 per light plus tax on sale. Perhaps post some pics of your reefs you have growing under the cheaper LED lights...perhaps we can all learn a lesson on costing.? Proof really is in the pudding etc...
Cheers,
Have a Happy New Year
Tim


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*proof in the pudding ...*

I am not disagreeing with u but there is always buts....

I will post some pics ...when I get a chance

there are many variations of the "cheap Chinese leds "
I purchased mine from reefsupplies .
there is a huge thread on reef central about good and bad on these lights 
some love em , some hate em .... some are growing like crazy ..
I believe there are ways to make things work.
now 3 years ago when I ordered my leds , there were no knock offs of kessils 
lights have come along way and the Chinese market keeps getting better .
now that said if u order from these ebay places u prob will get a one year warranty don't know what its like to collect on them , I know when I had probs with mine from reefsupplies they were repaired with no issues ..
other then that no issues at all ...
anyways have a great day


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## default (May 28, 2011)

Nothing wrong with cheaper LEDs, I've used a few not primarily for growing corals, but to try and they are pretty decently built nowadays and like Tom said, there are different brands and variations - there are always going to be totally terrible makes, goes for anything in life.

I've seen tanks with 'cheap' (lets be honest, nothing is cheap in this hobby) LEDs that could grow almost anything, but they do lack some features you wouldn't get in premium brands, but it's really up to the user's budget and goals. If you have the budget nothing beats Ecotech, Kessils, AIs, and whatever the newest toys are, the controllability is fantastic. Just recently picked up two Kessils for a Paludarium build and they are fantastic units. However, my personal preference for a reef would be AIs, the integrated Wi-Fi is what appeals to me the most.


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