Marineland Gets Reef Capable with New LED Lamps

Well, I finally made the switch to these Marineland Reef Capable LED's from my 72" Marineland Pro LIghting unit. I used 2x 36" units over my tank and they work great. While the lighting is not as bright as the ProLighting, overall I am very happy not to deal with the bulk, bulb replacement, and energy bill of the old unit. It's still pretty good for a deep tank like mine (72"x24"x24"), althought you really need like 4 of these fixtures if you want to grow anything more than softies. Pictures below for comparison sake.

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After:


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I don't have a chart for the Double Bright, but I do have that light on a Freshwater setup. I went from a 36" Nova Extreme Pro to the DB and it was a huge let down. I knew it wouldn't be as bright, but on a tank 24" deep, the light penetration is no where near where the NEP was...not to mention the the sharp cut-off light angles as each bulb is being projected takes some getting used to.

Saying that, it's totally silent, and the NEP certainly wasn't that. With all of the lights turned on with the NEP, thus enabling both fans to run, you'd of thought a small plane was about to take off in the next room! Considering my tank is in my living room, it made watching TV hard and I'd often shut the lights off so I could hear properly.

Would I buy the Double Bright again? No.
Do I wish I got the Reef Capable for the extra light output? Sure do!
Will I keep the lights on the tank? Yes, for now I will.

The shimmer effect looks pretty nice, and the moon light combined with the total silence of the unit makes it worth keeping over dropping another $90+ on bulbs for the NEP.

Just my $0.02



Thanks,
BritishGuy

 

my lfs had them on there nem tank when i picked up my BTA this weekend with no whites on just the blues and all the news looked amazing and they told me they never turn on the whites but as far as coral i dont think they will work for a main light.