Led lights what brand to buy
 

I'm looking for a led light for my 72gal. I run 2 400watt xm 20k now also blue led for my antic. Found some cheap 120 watt led lights on eBay just some no name brand. Are they worth it or should I just buy new bulbs for my lights? Or if anybody knows a better option any info is good. Thanks

What kind of tank? Mixed reef? Sps? Softies?

Need to know your tank goals? SPS need alot of light and a cheap LED will probably not meet the needs of SPS.

Are you having temperature issues with the 400W metal halides? Are you able to keep up with evaporation? Hydro bills a concern? If you answered no to the above then stay with the MH and maybe buy 400W Radium bulbs (you won't regret it).

It's a mixed reef more lps then sps. Heat is not a prob it's in a basement with a fan on the sump.

vertex illumina - love mine

Might be a bit more than the cheap Ebay lights :)

Of the less expensive fixtures available we have Evergrow and they have been fantastic with both performance and warranty(rather then going with a generic ebay fixture with a questionable warranty/output). As for the popular more commercial fixtures it seems Mitras get best reviews with Radions and sols are usually fighting it out for 2nd and 3rd place.

JMO

Best bang for the buck would be the AquaIllumination Hydra's.

They are full spectrum and at a damn good price too.

IMO you will get better colors out of your corals with MH supplemented with T5s. I switched over to LEDs 2 years ago and would never switch back. I'm happy with my AIs. It was alot of tweaking and playing around with them on the switchover. I run Sol Blues and just recently picked up some Hydras.

You can get cheap 6-8 bulb t5 ho units on eBay, if its mostly lps those would likely be fine. Although I was going to go that route for my 90 I decided on the ever grow it2080. Didn't like it at first because I've only ever had t5 and led is definitely different. But now I love it after some tweaking. My sps are currently booming and i only run my lights at a max of 60% with a sunrise sunset added in. Reviving a bonsai and green monti and getting huge expansion on my candy cane. I obviously can't comment on the more popular brands but for price and performance it's hard to beat.