I purchased the 18-24" unit here on Amazon for $150 a bit cheaper than I have found anywhere else on the web. The unit was sold by Monster Pets who shipped it out pretty quickly and my only complaint with them is that they did not post the tracking number I had to ask them for it.
The unit itself is small about 19" long 5" wide and stands a total of 2" tall (the actual unit is about an inch thick and stands an inch off the surface.)
Light output is excellent. I choose the Reef model over the double bright units for 2 reasons first of course is the amount of light it produces (almost 3x) and 2. The fact that these are rated for 50000 hours where as the double brights are rated at only 17000 hours.
"Technically" the reef system might run 11 years at 12 hours per day vs the double bright only 3.87 years (I don't think the other components will last that long but the main reason still stands its much brighter.)
I posted two pictures, This tank is still not up and running as I stopped having fish about 5 years ago and am just now getting around to getting it going again.
I do wish to point out that the unit generates a good amount of heat. The top of it is hot to the point where you can not put your hand on it. The LED side however stays pretty cool and you can touch the LED's and they only seem warm to the touch.
I am going to order 1 more unit as one thing that disappoints me is that the light does not disperse as much as I had hoped with the fixture towards the front of the tank the back seems poorly light up.
I may just do a 24" double bright for the back but may just end up with 2 of these.
My 1 major complaint is of course the same complaint everyone else has. Why are there not 2 power cords? one for the blue led's and one for the white ones? There is only 1 3 way power switch its either all on, all off or blue only.
I'll update the review with the temperature of the unit as soon as I find my temperature scanner.
First, let me say that I am pleased with the astetics of the light fixture and its sleek low profile design which easily fits under my low profile SeaClear Acrylic Canopy. I also like the three peice design (fixture + power cord + wall plug) the power adapter was designed so you can run a small adapter cord up from a box that sits under your aquarium instead of a bulky power cord from the unit to the wall.
Second, let me say that I am pleased with the looks of the light, it is much brighter than my Compact Flourencent Light fixture that was in use prior to installing the Marineland Reef Compatable LED's. I was most happy to see the shimmering effect that they gave which is every bit as good as the Metal Halides in use at the local fish store which has a tank that shimers quite nicely.
Third, this is why I marked off one star. The light is quite narrow, only about Five Inches wide, and all of the LED lights face straght down. This results in very dim areas in either the front or the rear of your aquarium and along the sides. This could have easily been fixed by providing a 15 degree angle forward on the first row and 15 degree angle to the rear on the last row as some other companies do. The sides could have been fixed by making the fixtures in foot and a half sizes knowing most tanks are in even foot sizes for example a 4-foot tank would use a 3.5 foot light instead of a 3-foot light, this would give 3 mor einches of lighting on both sides. I will have to buy some LED strips for the front and ends of my aquarium which will also solve my other problem.
Fourth, this is why I marked off the seond star. The fixture has a switch on the side so you can turn off the white lights and only use the blue for dusk and dawn. The only problem is they are on the same power source and there is no programmable timer of any kind on this light. So unless your going to by next to your tank 24-7 to lift off your canopy and switch these on and off the switch is a total waste. There is no way to make use of this switch. I will have to purchase some Blue LED Strips and set them up on a seperate timer for my dusk and dawn effects.
Fifth, This is a good light but you will have to buy some strips to make things work right. Marked two stars off for poor planning on their part, Light can use some improvement and then it would be perfect. I would have gladly paid the extra ten-twenty bucks for a programmable timer option and canted lights. Hope this review helps.
UPDATE: Originally I reviewed this product and marked it as having Three Stars -Now after only six months the light fixture is toast. I woke up this morning to the smell of something burning. I went out in the living room where the smoke was coming from under my aquarium canopy. I removed the canopy and found a melting light fixture which had shorted out. I am glad that I am runing both Seachem Matrix Carbon and Seachem Purigen or my tank may have died from toxic fumes. Now I just need to figure out how to light my tank or all my corals will die. So I am taking two more stars off now, one for the fire hazard and one for leaving me with no light.
Buy Marineland Reef Capable LED Lighting System Now
First, let me say that I am pleased with the astetics of the light fixture and its sleek low profile design which easily fits under my low profile SeaClear Acrylic Canopy. I also like the three peice design (fixture + power cord + wall plug) the power adapter was designed so you can run a small adapter cord up from a box that sits under your aquarium instead of a bulky power cord from the unit to the wall.
Second, let me say that I am pleased with the looks of the light, it is much brighter than my Compact Flourencent Light fixture that was in use prior to installing the Marineland Reef Compatable LED's. I was most happy to see the shimmering effect that they gave which is every bit as good as the Metal Halides in use at the local fish store which has a tank that shimers quite nicely.
Third, this is why I marked off one star. The light is quite narrow, only about Five Inches wide, and all of the LED lights face straght down. This results in very dim areas in either the front or the rear of your aquarium and along the sides. This could have easily been fixed by providing a 15 degree angle forward on the first row and 15 degree angle to the rear on the last row as some other companies do. The sides could have been fixed by making the fixtures in foot and a half sizes knowing most tanks are in even foot sizes for example a 4-foot tank would use a 3.5 foot light instead of a 3-foot light, this would give 3 mor einches of lighting on both sides. I will have to buy some LED strips for the front and ends of my aquarium which will also solve my other problem.
Fourth, this is why I marked off the seond star. The fixture has a switch on the side so you can turn off the white lights and only use the blue for dusk and dawn. The only problem is they are on the same power source and there is no programmable timer of any kind on this light. So unless your going to by next to your tank 24-7 to lift off your canopy and switch these on and off the switch is a total waste. There is no way to make use of this switch. I will have to purchase some Blue LED Strips and set them up on a seperate timer for my dusk and dawn effects.
Fifth, This is a good light but you will have to buy some strips to make things work right. Marked two stars off for poor planning on their part, Light can use some improvement and then it would be perfect. I would have gladly paid the extra ten-twenty bucks for a programmable timer option and canted lights. Hope this review helps.
UPDATE: Originally I reviewed this product and marked it as having Three Stars -Now after only six months the light fixture is toast. I woke up this morning to the smell of something burning. I went out in the living room where the smoke was coming from under my aquarium canopy. I removed the canopy and found a melting light fixture which had shorted out. I am glad that I am runing both Seachem Matrix Carbon and Seachem Purigen or my tank may have died from toxic fumes. Now I just need to figure out how to light my tank or all my corals will die. So I am taking two more stars off now, one for the fire hazard and one for leaving me with no light.
Read Best Reviews of Marineland Reef Capable LED Lighting System Here
This is one of the first mainstream LED fixtures that came to market last year. I needed a LED fixture for my nano reef 35gal hex tank! The 18-24 small size worked so I ordered it! After about 2 months, it stopped working; I think it had something to do with the power plug-in! So I called Marineland and they were fantastic with sending me a replacement which I received in 2 days, however, the wrong size (24-36), but they quickly sent me the right one! I noticed on the new lights, that they had replaced the electrical plug-in with a permanent electrical cord, which would remedy the problem that I had in the first model. It's advertised as a reef compatible LED, but I don't think it does well on the corals IMO. It does ok with the low light corals, but I didn't or wouldn't try to do anything like SPS's! To date, it uses only one watt LEDs, and the newer generations from other makers use 2-3 watt LEDs and the marineland LED's are not replaceable! So fish only and low light corals is what I recommend, not for the serious Hobbyist!
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i used to use a 96watt 50/50 pc bulb over my three foot mini reef. the bulb was in need for a change and the cost of one of these PC bulbs works out to 1/3 the cost of this new LED system. PLUS i would have to change the bulb again in another 6 monthsand the this LED system lasts about 10 YEARS (12 hour cycle). So buying this lighting system saved me muchos dinero in the long run. and paid for itself in 1.5 years. it just made "cents". haha.
The LED lighting has renewed my enthusiasm for the tank. The spectrum has made my polyps pop out with all these crazy colours that i had never seen before.Glowing greens when the daylight is on, and fluorescent oranges when the night lights are on. My grogonians instantly reacted to it, pushing out their polyps and looking healthier right away.
The LED unit runs about 50% cooler than the PC system and the temperature in my tank has dropped a few degrees, which is perfect as i suspected the warmer temps were affecting the soft corals.
The shimmer effect of the LED's puts a glistening refection on the wall that the tank is against, making it look like a reflection off the ocean.
My only suggestion if you have a 3 foot tank. WAIT till the 36" model is available. Pay the extra money and dont think with "expandable to 36 inches" you wouldn't mind loosing 6 inches on each side of full lighting. trust me. you want this light to cover your entire tank.
oh did i mention the very slim, low profile housing is extremely sexy?
I'm off to the pet shopto go buy some more coral. hmmmm... maybe i don't really save money after all:-)
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I wanted to update now that I've learned more about proper betta care and have seen the transformation in my own fish from a few simple tweaks in the way I take care of them. I posted before implying that a heater isn't needed if you keep your house warm. I've since learned that bettas really need to be in water around 80 degrees F for their health and wellness. So I would get a heater and monitor the temperature with a thermometer. Also, I HIGHLY recommend you buy a filter for this bowl. There are several on the market that would work great in this tank. I highly recommend the Red Sea Art Deco Filter, which is what I've used. Anyway, while I now keep my betta in a 6.6 gallon bookshelf aquarium made by Petco, I still recommend this bowl for anyone who finds the smaller size appealing. Just make sure to get a heater and filter too. :)
