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Black box LED comparison
- Thread starter Roca
- Start date
I use to use the Viparspectra on my 20g. It was a good light. Was able to keep everything up to an anemone. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the size and color spectrum with the lack of being able to control it
I am looking forward to this. the early black boxes were no where near what the current ones are. The best one I've used was one of the very first black boxes that incorporated UV and was still a manual knob to adjust intensity but it grew corals like crazy. never found one with the same layout since. regretted selling it.
I have had a few black boxes.
I set them up temporary when I moved and I was surprised at the par I was getting.
my go to box at the moment is this one
Relassy. It doesn’t have a timer but the spectrum and spread on a frag tank is great.
Relassy Aquarium Led Light 800W, Dimmable Coral Reef Light for Saltwater Aquarium Fish Tank, Full Spectrum LED Aquarium Plant Light with Daisy Chain Function https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082CWDPVC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pVasFbY6ZQWXM
I set them up temporary when I moved and I was surprised at the par I was getting.
my go to box at the moment is this one
Relassy. It doesn’t have a timer but the spectrum and spread on a frag tank is great.
Relassy Aquarium Led Light 800W, Dimmable Coral Reef Light for Saltwater Aquarium Fish Tank, Full Spectrum LED Aquarium Plant Light with Daisy Chain Function https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082CWDPVC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pVasFbY6ZQWXM
The relassy has a knob on top for white and blue. It also has a uv channel.
I saw there but back then not much info.
Well I have to say they didn’t due any justice to the black boxes.
They took the lights apart. They have never ever taken apart any other light. They also
Didn’t show any of the par numbers.
usually they also compare the spectrum to t5
They didn’t test the ocean revive which is one of the best black box light.
this was a Complete waste of time.
They set the lights at 24” from the top of the tank. That’s too high
They took the lights apart. They have never ever taken apart any other light. They also
Didn’t show any of the par numbers.
usually they also compare the spectrum to t5
They didn’t test the ocean revive which is one of the best black box light.
this was a Complete waste of time.
They set the lights at 24” from the top of the tank. That’s too high
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Jamie S
NJRC Member
I’m not sure that they’ll ever give them much credit. They really don’t like the fact that they’re not UL listed nor do they come with much of a warranty (if at all).
This is one of the things I believe is very wrong about this hobby.
most electronics we buy don’t have UL listed logo. i think they just don’t get it. People can’t spend 3k lighting a tank.
they need to provided a lower price economy light. Kessil and ecotech have no interest In providing a cheaper light.
so the black boxes serve a purpose.
my tanks are in the basement nobody is going to see my tanks. So I don’t need fancy lights. I just need the light to turn on and off and grow corals. From my Expirience they do.
BRS comparing them to $400 ecotech is just not a fair comparison. I have expensive lights kessil over my main tank and I have to say When they die I will replace them with the Ocean revives.
These high end lighting companies Are in deep ****. Every year the black boxes get better. Same thing with high end wave makers. Jeabo that I use in my tank are running with no problems. For a 75% less than eco tech
most electronics we buy don’t have UL listed logo. i think they just don’t get it. People can’t spend 3k lighting a tank.
they need to provided a lower price economy light. Kessil and ecotech have no interest In providing a cheaper light.
so the black boxes serve a purpose.
my tanks are in the basement nobody is going to see my tanks. So I don’t need fancy lights. I just need the light to turn on and off and grow corals. From my Expirience they do.
BRS comparing them to $400 ecotech is just not a fair comparison. I have expensive lights kessil over my main tank and I have to say When they die I will replace them with the Ocean revives.
These high end lighting companies Are in deep ****. Every year the black boxes get better. Same thing with high end wave makers. Jeabo that I use in my tank are running with no problems. For a 75% less than eco tech
+1 on the jebao, I haven't used black box lights yet but I've had the same pair of jebao wave makers for 2 years now without a single issue, they are slowly stepping up their quality . I have an mp40 and an mp10 which are also very nice but I can't justify the price of these when the performance is pretty much the same
Jamie S
NJRC Member
Most electronics we buy aren’t exposed to saltwater therefore we can be a bit more lax on whether it had the UL listing IMO. I’ve had the black box lights in the past and I chose a used Hydra over them for the ease of use. Also I’ve heard of complete replacements on the big brands when things go wrong as opposed to the black box having very limited warranties, if at all. Don’t get me wrong, they’re definitely more economical but for me, and everybody is different, it’s a piece of mind I’m also buying.
That's a neat light @amado
I think their overview was just about what could be expected. At the end of the day they provided some useful numbers and spectrum readings to compare these boxes but obviously at the end they would push the narrative to buy the higher end lights for the longevity, quality, controllability, and support available. For me the support and warranty are the main reason to avoid black boxes but I still have two in the closet for emergencies.
Also definitely would rather get jebao pumps. My first wave maker , an RW, has been running strong 24/7 for almost 5 years now. I have a couple SLWs now too and love them. Probably will buy a couple more later. DCP return so dead silent that when I plugged it in the first time and heard no noise I thought it was broken haha Looking around you could get 5 jebao pumps for about as much as a single mp40 new... It's crazy...
I think their overview was just about what could be expected. At the end of the day they provided some useful numbers and spectrum readings to compare these boxes but obviously at the end they would push the narrative to buy the higher end lights for the longevity, quality, controllability, and support available. For me the support and warranty are the main reason to avoid black boxes but I still have two in the closet for emergencies.
Also definitely would rather get jebao pumps. My first wave maker , an RW, has been running strong 24/7 for almost 5 years now. I have a couple SLWs now too and love them. Probably will buy a couple more later. DCP return so dead silent that when I plugged it in the first time and heard no noise I thought it was broken haha Looking around you could get 5 jebao pumps for about as much as a single mp40 new... It's crazy...
I also have kessil lights over my main display.
They are good lights. The problem is that
People feel that the only way to grow corals is to pay for high price lights and that not true. You can have success with $100 lights or 1,000 lights. The same way you can drive to work in 100k car or 3k car they both work
I found the review to be informative in every way. They gave all of the data we look for. PAR, spectrum and spread as far as mounting heights. They raised them to squeeze as much out of light as they could. Build quality is a factor. And for comparison they showed the guts of an AI prime. I say well done. Very Informative and they don’t even sell them. We know these things will grow coral. I have a few over some tanks. Frankly build quality aside. They work well. But the one thing I don’t like. Is the power supply hanging over the tank. I’m not super comfortable with that and would like if they would do that one aspect a little differently
actually I don’t think they did a fair comparison.
The 1st thing they did was not test ocean revive one of the top black box lights.
2) they set the lights at 24” that’s too high.
They have never put lights at 24” from the tank. Nobody will install those lights that high.
3) usually when BRS test spectrum they put it against the t5 spectrum. This time they decided not to compare.
4) they open the light up they have never done this to any other light. They spend 30min talking about the build.
5) they didn’t show us a par graph like we have seen with every other light at different
Levels in the tank. This time they didn’t do that.
All I can say is they sell lights at retail that they buy at wholesale, in most cases thats close to 100% markup.
I can imagine lighting sales is as big a profit driver for aquarium shops as beer and liquor are for restaurants.
'OK. these black boxes lights are mounted 48" above the tank, we've smeared peanut butter on them, and set them at 20% and you can clearly see it doesn't have anywhere near as much PAR as a set of 3 Radions mounted 18" off the water... Surprisingly, we recommend the Radions hands down...'
BRS, or any shop, is not our buddy, they're a for profit business.
I can imagine lighting sales is as big a profit driver for aquarium shops as beer and liquor are for restaurants.
'OK. these black boxes lights are mounted 48" above the tank, we've smeared peanut butter on them, and set them at 20% and you can clearly see it doesn't have anywhere near as much PAR as a set of 3 Radions mounted 18" off the water... Surprisingly, we recommend the Radions hands down...'
BRS, or any shop, is not our buddy, they're a for profit business.
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lol that’s funny I think peanut butter might cause them to start a fire !!
it’s ok to disagree. That’s the point of these things.
I understand were you are coming from. But they were very clear. That they raised the lights. Higher than they felt most people would mount them. But explained why. And there reason was to give the lights there best outcome.
they mentioned and compared the spead and spectrum to T5. Several times. As far as what brands they tested. They claimed to have chosen them on popularity. I can’t say wich ones are more popular but Clearly they can’t test them all. As far as Par. They have diminished the role of par on several Recent light talks. And lean more towards spread and spectrum. But nevertheless still gave the PAR at every mounting height. In there normal grid/ring fashion. And build quality is absolutely in question with a lot of these units. And it would be highly suspect to not demonstrate that. I mean let’s be serious. There is no comparison as far as quality of the build between a high end light and a black box. Wether or not you feel the quality and features are worth the extra money. That’s 100 percent personal And I understand the argument. But to say or suggest they didn’t give the lights a fair shake. Or supply us with enough clear reasonable data I don’t feel that representative of the facts. But. Like I said. That’s the point of these forums. To take apart and discuss the info we are given and run it through the mill.
I have personally seen almost all the light test BRS has done. They have followed a format. They test every light the same.
This is the only time I have ever seen them move away from that format
We can watch that video in a zoom meeting and I can break it down for you lol
Perhaps because they are comparing apples to oranges. But they gave every fact we needed. Can’t see were they lied gave false or misleading information. In fact. I felt they were generous with there information given the fact that they don’t support sell or profit from them. At least as far as I’m concerned I now have the data to make an informed decision But even without that data. We know the lights grow coral 
And in the end. That is what matters.
And in the end. That is what matters.