Best black box light?

[dawson reynolds]

I was going to get the viraspectra but I have been told that the bloomspect is the same light. Any one have any input or other recommendations

 

[lapin]

If you did the research and decided the V-spectra was what you want, why second guess yourself ? You will always find someone that likes something else better. The light you want will work.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I was going to get the viraspectra but I have been told that the bloomspect is the same light. Any one have any input or other recommendations

I'm not sure the Bloomspect and Viparspectra LEDs are the same. The Viparspectra gives pretty exact spectrum ratings while the Bloomspect only gives average ranges of spectrum per diode.

If they do both truly use the same LEDs, then Viparspectra is lying with their product description. If they're different, which I suspect is the case, the Bloomspect probably uses cheaper LEDs with a looser bin. Not that this is necessarily bad, but this would account for the difference in cost.

Personally, I would think of Viparspectra and SbReefLights as sort of "premium" black box options. Both of these are examples of fixtures that have had a lot more thought put into their diode layout and spread than other LED black boxes. That's not to say the cheap stuff doesn't grow corals. Just that there's a reason for the price difference.

Full disclosure, I have the Viparspectra and am very happy with it.

 

[dawson reynolds]

If you did the research and decided the V-spectra was what you want, why second guess yourself ? You will always find someone that likes something else better. The light you want will work.

They just increased the price, it’s $40 more than the bloomspect

 

[dawson reynolds]

I'm not sure the Bloomspect and Viparspectra LEDs are the same. The Viparspectra gives pretty exact spectrum ratings while the Bloomspect only gives average ranges of spectrum per diode.

If they do both truly use the same LEDs, then Viparspectra is lying with their product description. If they're different, which I suspect is the case, the Bloomspect probably uses cheaper LEDs with a looser bin. Not that this is necessarily bad, but this would account for the difference in cost.

Personally, I would think of Viparspectra and SbReefLights as sort of "premium" black box options. Both of these are examples of fixtures that have had a lot more thought put into their diode layout and spread than other LED black boxes. That's not to say the cheap stuff doesn't grow corals. Just that there's a reason for the price difference.

Full disclosure, I have the Viparspectra and am very happy with it.

I’ll probably go with it then they just increased the price to $140 though

 

[lapin]

I’ll probably go with it then they just increased the price to $140 though

Tariffs..........

 

[Kevin Beadle]

I have an ocean revive light that is awesome. Grows anything. Under 200 bucks and 2 channels that are dimmable?

 

[dylana407]

They were $129 when I got them almost 2 years ago. Overall, I like them as a budget reef light.

 

[Ron Reefman]

There is no 'best' black box fixture. Well, the best is most certainly in the eye of the user/owner.

Almost any of the black box fixtures will grow healthy coral. So it comes down to how much quality you want to pay for and what extra features you want.

The range of more inexpensive or economical ‘black box’ fixtures runs from very basic $100 units to $400 with lot of features (even better looking cases than the basic black box). The name ‘black box’ refers to the fact that the case is just a rectangular box and not exactly aesthetically pleasing. That's OK inside a canopy, but some may not care for the look so much when it's just sitting on the tank. Most are either steel or aluminum (better) and painted or powder coated (better).

To be sure, I have missed or left out some brands here. This isn’t an effort to review every brand, just to give some basic understanding of the features available and some basic costs. Two features I didn’t cover are how many power cords each fixture uses, some have 1 and some have 2. Or the fact that basic fixtures have manual only controls, but those with more features may have remote controls, or wifi, or apps.

MarsAqua ($100): The case is the very definition of a black box. It is the least expensive and has the fewest features, 2 channels of leds, one blue & violet and the other all white with a couple of red and green tossed in. It has 2 manual dimmer knobs and no timers. As with all the true black box fixtures, it uses Bridgelux or Epistar leds. They work just fine and they cost less than Cree leds. Each channel also has a manual dimmer to control the intensity of the light. They also drive their leds at a 15% to 20% lower power level than all the others. So it doesn’t produce as intense a light as the others do, but it’s adequate for 24” deep tanks. It comes with a hanging kit but no legs or rear bracket mount. SB Reef Lights ($140) has a very similar version with legs and run at higher power levels equal to all the other brands other than MarsAqua.

The SB Reef Light ($200) is a better fixture that is almost the same but have built-in timers and digital dimmers with a remote control and both have adjustable legs. There are Viparspectra and Galaxyhydro brands (various sizes and prices) that are just like this but they don't have legs.

A better looking version of the 3 above is the OceanRevive T247B ($200). I owned one of these. It's well made with an aluminum case, good fans and heat sinks. Like the RB SuperLux above, it has built-in timers and digital dimmers and adjustable legs. But instead of the standard black box case, it has a more modern looking case that is thinner and the upper surface is curved at the front and back edges so the top curves down to meet with the bottom surface. The spread of leds in this fixture is better as well.

If you like the idea of having a sunrise/sunset/moonlight controller and a standard black box case (with rounded corners), look at the Euphotica led ($265). Or the SB Reef Light version in a standard 30” long black box with legs ($400). They look to be very similar to the EverGrow made Reef Breeders Photon original design (not to be confused with the Photon V2 which is a much nicer fixture).

Probably the least expensive Chinese made fixture that comes in a much better looking case is the Reef Breeders Photon V2 ($340) and the EverGrow version (common outside the US). This is what I have over my display tanks now. It's only 1" thick, very streamline and modern looking and has adjustable legs. It also has lots of extra features that cost more, but the light for the tank is about the same (actually, a little better) than all the true black box fixtures as it uses 3 and 5 watt leds by Cree and OSRAM. It has the sunrise/sunset controller, but it also is the least expensive fixture to have 6 channels of led control (a channel for each color of led) that can ramp up & down separate from each other. This gives great control of the exact color in the aquarium, if that’s important to you? Just to be clear, your corals are happy with lots of blue, half as much white and maybe a dash of red.

 

[dantimdad]

There is no 'best' black box fixture. Well, the best is most certainly in the eye of the user/owner.

Almost any of the black box fixtures will grow healthy coral. So it comes down to how much quality you want to pay for and what extra features you want.

The range of more inexpensive or economical ‘black box’ fixtures runs from very basic $100 units to $400 with lot of features (even better looking cases than the basic black box). The name ‘black box’ refers to the fact that the case is just a rectangular box and not exactly aesthetically pleasing. That's OK inside a canopy, but some may not care for the look so much when it's just sitting on the tank. Most are either steel or aluminum (better) and painted or powder coated (better).

To be sure, I have missed or left out some brands here. This isn’t an effort to review every brand, just to give some basic understanding of the features available and some basic costs. Two features I didn’t cover are how many power cords each fixture uses, some have 1 and some have 2. Or the fact that basic fixtures have manual only controls, but those with more features may have remote controls, or wifi, or apps.

MarsAqua ($100): The case is the very definition of a black box. It is the least expensive and has the fewest features, 2 channels of leds, one blue & violet and the other all white with a couple of red and green tossed in. It has 2 manual dimmer knobs and no timers. As with all the true black box fixtures, it uses Bridgelux or Epistar leds. They work just fine and they cost less than Cree leds. Each channel also has a manual dimmer to control the intensity of the light. They also drive their leds at a 15% to 20% lower power level than all the others. So it doesn’t produce as intense a light as the others do, but it’s adequate for 24” deep tanks. It comes with a hanging kit but no legs or rear bracket mount. SB Reef Lights ($140) has a very similar version with legs and run at higher power levels equal to all the other brands other than MarsAqua.

The SB Reef Light ($200) is a better fixture that is almost the same but have built-in timers and digital dimmers with a remote control and both have adjustable legs. There are Viparspectra and Galaxyhydro brands (various sizes and prices) that are just like this but they don't have legs.

A better looking version of the 3 above is the OceanRevive T247B ($200). I owned one of these. It's well made with an aluminum case, good fans and heat sinks. Like the RB SuperLux above, it has built-in timers and digital dimmers and adjustable legs. But instead of the standard black box case, it has a more modern looking case that is thinner and the upper surface is curved at the front and back edges so the top curves down to meet with the bottom surface. The spread of leds in this fixture is better as well.

If you like the idea of having a sunrise/sunset/moonlight controller and a standard black box case (with rounded corners), look at the Euphotica led ($265). Or the SB Reef Light version in a standard 30” long black box with legs ($400). They look to be very similar to the EverGrow made Reef Breeders Photon original design (not to be confused with the Photon V2 which is a much nicer fixture).

Probably the least expensive Chinese made fixture that comes in a much better looking case is the Reef Breeders Photon V2 ($340) and the EverGrow version (common outside the US). This is what I have over my display tanks now. It's only 1" thick, very streamline and modern looking and has adjustable legs. It also has lots of extra features that cost more, but the light for the tank is about the same (actually, a little better) than all the true black box fixtures as it uses 3 and 5 watt leds by Cree and OSRAM. It has the sunrise/sunset controller, but it also is the least expensive fixture to have 6 channels of led control (a channel for each color of led) that can ramp up & down separate from each other. This gives great control of the exact color in the aquarium, if that’s important to you? Just to be clear, your corals are happy with lots of blue, half as much white and maybe a dash of red.

Thanks for the in depth reviews!

I was hoping someone with experience and specs would chime in on this.

 

[dawson reynolds]

There is no 'best' black box fixture. Well, the best is most certainly in the eye of the user/owner.

Almost any of the black box fixtures will grow healthy coral. So it comes down to how much quality you want to pay for and what extra features you want.

The range of more inexpensive or economical ‘black box’ fixtures runs from very basic $100 units to $400 with lot of features (even better looking cases than the basic black box). The name ‘black box’ refers to the fact that the case is just a rectangular box and not exactly aesthetically pleasing. That's OK inside a canopy, but some may not care for the look so much when it's just sitting on the tank. Most are either steel or aluminum (better) and painted or powder coated (better).

To be sure, I have missed or left out some brands here. This isn’t an effort to review every brand, just to give some basic understanding of the features available and some basic costs. Two features I didn’t cover are how many power cords each fixture uses, some have 1 and some have 2. Or the fact that basic fixtures have manual only controls, but those with more features may have remote controls, or wifi, or apps.

MarsAqua ($100): The case is the very definition of a black box. It is the least expensive and has the fewest features, 2 channels of leds, one blue & violet and the other all white with a couple of red and green tossed in. It has 2 manual dimmer knobs and no timers. As with all the true black box fixtures, it uses Bridgelux or Epistar leds. They work just fine and they cost less than Cree leds. Each channel also has a manual dimmer to control the intensity of the light. They also drive their leds at a 15% to 20% lower power level than all the others. So it doesn’t produce as intense a light as the others do, but it’s adequate for 24” deep tanks. It comes with a hanging kit but no legs or rear bracket mount. SB Reef Lights ($140) has a very similar version with legs and run at higher power levels equal to all the other brands other than MarsAqua.

The SB Reef Light ($200) is a better fixture that is almost the same but have built-in timers and digital dimmers with a remote control and both have adjustable legs. There are Viparspectra and Galaxyhydro brands (various sizes and prices) that are just like this but they don't have legs.

A better looking version of the 3 above is the OceanRevive T247B ($200). I owned one of these. It's well made with an aluminum case, good fans and heat sinks. Like the RB SuperLux above, it has built-in timers and digital dimmers and adjustable legs. But instead of the standard black box case, it has a more modern looking case that is thinner and the upper surface is curved at the front and back edges so the top curves down to meet with the bottom surface. The spread of leds in this fixture is better as well.

If you like the idea of having a sunrise/sunset/moonlight controller and a standard black box case (with rounded corners), look at the Euphotica led ($265). Or the SB Reef Light version in a standard 30” long black box with legs ($400). They look to be very similar to the EverGrow made Reef Breeders Photon original design (not to be confused with the Photon V2 which is a much nicer fixture).

Probably the least expensive Chinese made fixture that comes in a much better looking case is the Reef Breeders Photon V2 ($340) and the EverGrow version (common outside the US). This is what I have over my display tanks now. It's only 1" thick, very streamline and modern looking and has adjustable legs. It also has lots of extra features that cost more, but the light for the tank is about the same (actually, a little better) than all the true black box fixtures as it uses 3 and 5 watt leds by Cree and OSRAM. It has the sunrise/sunset controller, but it also is the least expensive fixture to have 6 channels of led control (a channel for each color of led) that can ramp up & down separate from each other. This gives great control of the exact color in the aquarium, if that’s important to you? Just to be clear, your corals are happy with lots of blue, half as much white and maybe a dash of red.

Thanks for the help!

 

[cvrle1]

I'm not sure the Bloomspect and Viparspectra LEDs are the same. The Viparspectra gives pretty exact spectrum ratings while the Bloomspect only gives average ranges of spectrum per diode.

If they do both truly use the same LEDs, then Viparspectra is lying with their product description. If they're different, which I suspect is the case, the Bloomspect probably uses cheaper LEDs with a looser bin. Not that this is necessarily bad, but this would account for the difference in cost.

From what I could find, both use 3W Epiled/BridgeLux LEDs. They are almost the same unit. 3 things that I could find that are different:
- Bloomspect have 2 UV lights, while Viparspectra do not. This mean that Bllomspect has 2 less blue lights than ViparSpectra does
- Red LEDs are in slightly different positions between the 2 units.
- Bloomspect has longer heatsinks inside it, and there are 3 of them. Viparspectra has 2 smaller ones.

Bloomspect:

Viparspectra:

Other than that, they are the same as far as I can tell.

 

[MaxSmart]

There is no 'best' black box fixture. Well, the best is most certainly in the eye of the user/owner.

Almost any of the black box fixtures will grow healthy coral. So it comes down to how much quality you want to pay for and what extra features you want.

The range of more inexpensive or economical ‘black box’ fixtures runs from very basic $100 units to $400 with lot of features (even better looking cases than the basic black box). The name ‘black box’ refers to the fact that the case is just a rectangular box and not exactly aesthetically pleasing. That's OK inside a canopy, but some may not care for the look so much when it's just sitting on the tank. Most are either steel or aluminum (better) and painted or powder coated (better).

To be sure, I have missed or left out some brands here. This isn’t an effort to review every brand, just to give some basic understanding of the features available and some basic costs. Two features I didn’t cover are how many power cords each fixture uses, some have 1 and some have 2. Or the fact that basic fixtures have manual only controls, but those with more features may have remote controls, or wifi, or apps.

MarsAqua ($100): The case is the very definition of a black box. It is the least expensive and has the fewest features, 2 channels of leds, one blue & violet and the other all white with a couple of red and green tossed in. It has 2 manual dimmer knobs and no timers. As with all the true black box fixtures, it uses Bridgelux or Epistar leds. They work just fine and they cost less than Cree leds. Each channel also has a manual dimmer to control the intensity of the light. They also drive their leds at a 15% to 20% lower power level than all the others. So it doesn’t produce as intense a light as the others do, but it’s adequate for 24” deep tanks. It comes with a hanging kit but no legs or rear bracket mount. SB Reef Lights ($140) has a very similar version with legs and run at higher power levels equal to all the other brands other than MarsAqua.

The SB Reef Light ($200) is a better fixture that is almost the same but have built-in timers and digital dimmers with a remote control and both have adjustable legs. There are Viparspectra and Galaxyhydro brands (various sizes and prices) that are just like this but they don't have legs.

A better looking version of the 3 above is the OceanRevive T247B ($200). I owned one of these. It's well made with an aluminum case, good fans and heat sinks. Like the RB SuperLux above, it has built-in timers and digital dimmers and adjustable legs. But instead of the standard black box case, it has a more modern looking case that is thinner and the upper surface is curved at the front and back edges so the top curves down to meet with the bottom surface. The spread of leds in this fixture is better as well.

If you like the idea of having a sunrise/sunset/moonlight controller and a standard black box case (with rounded corners), look at the Euphotica led ($265). Or the SB Reef Light version in a standard 30” long black box with legs ($400). They look to be very similar to the EverGrow made Reef Breeders Photon original design (not to be confused with the Photon V2 which is a much nicer fixture).

Probably the least expensive Chinese made fixture that comes in a much better looking case is the Reef Breeders Photon V2 ($340) and the EverGrow version (common outside the US). This is what I have over my display tanks now. It's only 1" thick, very streamline and modern looking and has adjustable legs. It also has lots of extra features that cost more, but the light for the tank is about the same (actually, a little better) than all the true black box fixtures as it uses 3 and 5 watt leds by Cree and OSRAM. It has the sunrise/sunset controller, but it also is the least expensive fixture to have 6 channels of led control (a channel for each color of led) that can ramp up & down separate from each other. This gives great control of the exact color in the aquarium, if that’s important to you? Just to be clear, your corals are happy with lots of blue, half as much white and maybe a dash of red.

Great list - any idea where you can buy any of these nowadays? I have a Viparspectra and that seems to be the only one I see for sale anywhere that gets good reviews, and I want a different one.

Side note: I don't like the Viparspectra because:
1. It is a pain to program and blinds you while doing so
2. It loses the time when power goes out
3. You can't program the light intensity to more than one level (like doing blues on low for a moonlight effect)
Tempted to get one with separate plugs for blue/white and use a smart timer, if I can't get one where you can program the intensity, because at least I can program that with my phone and it won't lose the time if power kicks out.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Great list - any idea where you can buy any of these nowadays? I have a Viparspectra and that seems to be the only one I see for sale anywhere that gets good reviews, and I want a different one.

Side note: I don't like the Viparspectra because:
1. It is a pain to program and blinds you while doing so
2. It loses the time when power goes out
3. You can't program the light intensity to more than one level (like doing blues on low for a moonlight effect)
Tempted to get one with separate plugs for blue/white and use a smart timer, if I can't get one where you can program the intensity, because at least I can program that with my phone and it won't lose the time if power kicks out.

Consider the Reef Breeders Photon. They have gotten more high tech as the years go by, and that keeps jacking up the cost. But I've had great success with mine. They take some time to program, but then I rarely every change it after that. It keeps time when the power fails. It's very programable. And it well made. I'm still using one I've had for 8 years and it's PAR levels have barely changed at all.

 

[billyocean]

The brand new vipars apparently only have controller knobs that increase intensity by 10% Increments. It used to be 1% increments. You can find them on ebay auctions for used but look brand new for the 1% increment ones still. I run sps dominate with 3 vipar 300s. The white spectrum on vipars suck but I run heavy blues anyways. Grows coral like a champ.