5 Best Reef LED Aquarium Light {Reviews 2019} & Guidelines

LED Aquarium Lights are the look enhancers of the current generation. If you have chosen to use LED Aquarium lights for your aquarium, then it is probably because you want your aquarium to sweep people off their feet. Such amount of appreciation towards one’s aquarium is a clear reflection of how much the person loves it. However, as humans, it is very common to err. In choosing the best  Aquarium Lights, you might be misguided sometimes.

Why does this happen? Probably because of the immense amount of revolutionary changes and technical advancements the last few centuries provided us. The LED market is extremely huge with more than one new products being released almost every single day. With such huge varieties of options to choose from, it would be a surprise only if a person doesn’t get confused makes the right decision on his first go.

But, things take a serious turn when you start searching for LED aquarium lights that suit corals. The invertebrates, namely Large Polyp Stony (LPS) and Small Polyp Stony (SPS) and other soft corals have specific light needs that have to be met at any cost.

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If you have all these types of corals in your Reef Aquarium, then make sure that you very carefully choose that particular LED which is potentially capable of meeting all of their requirements. This article helps you narrows down your options and help you choose The One.

These happen because each of the ViparSpectra is fitted with 55 pieces of wonderful 3 Watt LEDs. These lenses are specialized so that none of the nook or cranny is left without getting the glare of the light from these LEDs.

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This model of LED is the most preferred type because of its exceptional PAR output. This is greater than that offered by any other light model in the market, making it the king of the game. These are ideal for all types of corals including the high-level light ones.

Analyzing its PAR values, one fixture of ViparSpectra LED is more than enough for a reef tank hosting 20 to 30 gallons of water. But, when you own a 55-gallon reef tank, then the 300 Watt LED aquarium light from ViparSpectra would be the suitable one. To ensure better coral growths, more than one fixture might be needed for tanks with a larger capacity.

Channel 1 – The blue channel. This channel operates in the range of 420 nm to 480 nm. At 420 nm, violet/indigo colors are produced. 450 nm provides us with royal blue color and blue is obtained at 470 nm.
Channel 2 – The white channel. This channel operates in the range of 520 nm to 660 nm giving us a different array of colors starting with green, yellow, orange and red. At 6500 K, neutral white color is formed and at 12000 K, cool white LED is obtained.check out 

To adjust the intensity and to on/off time of either of its two color channels separately, a built-in timer with remote control comes along with the pack. The controller this LED aquarium light demands to be programmed and this programming job is as easy as falling off a log.

To start with, the clock must be synced with the actual time according to your respective time zone. This can be done with the ‘clock’ option and the arrow buttons. To finish the setup, you will have to press the ‘OK’ button. The rest of the buttons control the intensity levels and to on/off time.

C1 – ON: The time when you want to turn on channel 1
C1 – OFF: The time when you want to turn off channel 1
C2 – ON: The time when you want to turn on channel 2
C2 – OFF: The time when you want to turn off channel 2

This cooling system is a thermodynamically well-built unit which is of utmost importance to prolong the lifespan of the LED up to 100,000 hours.

One striking point to notice is that the lifetime offered by this brand of LED is almost double than that offered by the other brands in the market. The pack also comes with two adjustable hanging kits so that it makes it easy for the user to set the light above his tank without even having to encounter the smallest of problems.

To adjust the intensity and to on/off time of either of its two color channels separately, a built-in timer with remote control comes along with the pack. The controller this LED aquarium light demands to be programmed and this programming job is as easy as falling off a log. To start with, the clock must be synced with the actual time according to your respective time zone.

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This can be done with the ‘clock’ option and the arrow buttons. To finish the setup, you will have to press the ‘OK’ button. The rest of the buttons control the intensity levels and to on/off time.

C1 – ON: The time when you want to turn on channel 1
C1 – OFF: The time when you want to turn off channel 1
C2 – ON: The time when you want to turn on channel 2
C2 – OFF: The time when you want to turn off channel 2

The effective cooling system maintains the temperature at the optimum level of 90 – 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The pack also comes with two adjustable hanging kits so that it makes it easy for the user to set the light above his tank without even having to encounter the smallest of problems.

This Orbit marine can be used for marine fish, inverts, live rock, and soft/LPS corals that only need low light to grow. This machine has a preset automatic lighting cycle that has mind-shattering lighting effects. Daylight, moonlight, sunrise, and sunset are all beautifully replicated by this light setup.

The best thing is, the effects are not manual but are fully automated. The pack also comes with two adjustable hanging kits so that it makes it easy for the user to set the light above his tank without even having to encounter the smallest of problems.

The current USA marine pro will provide sufficient amount of light to make these photosynthetic creatures grow vigorously if you have a high light coral in your reef tanks. 36 inches, 48 inches, and 72 inches are the three available sizes for the current USA orbit marine IC pro. To fit with the size of the aquarium perfectly each and every fixture comes with adjustable docking mount.

The LED chips of a Kessil unit are closely packed together, unlike the other aquarium LED light products with single LEDs along each fixture, which according to a patented technique shows that the results of closely packed kessil units have better penetrating light and a wide coverage area.

For the purpose of better growth and colouration the kessil LED aquarium lights give out the true light with a proprietary blend of ultra violet light. The emitting light colours are very well blended and uniform and sustained thanks to Kessil technologies. 

Just by rotating the two dial controls on the unit the colour of the light and intensity of the light can be easily altered. In order to match the different types of corals from shallow to deep, the colour temperatures can be chosen in a range from 10,000K to actinic.

The light is able to give a beautiful shimmering effect. A shimmering effect is one that replicates the natural look of the ocean under sunlight that you are unable to see with the other LED aquarium lights.

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For the purpose of heat dissipation the side of the Kessil unit is designed with holes. The kessil A160WE LED aquarium light for deep tanks operates so quietly since the heat management system doesn’t use noisy fans.

We strongly recommend this controller. The light follow an twenty four-hour lighting cycle, is automatically easily controlled by the controller that which is issued by the kessil, that is adjustable about time points and intensities.

The controller is very easy to operate as it has many vivid color displays and has very sensitive touch navigation buttons which makes it consumer friendly.

For a nano reef tank up to 20 gallons each kessil unit is essential. For larger tanks, one more unit for every 24-inch length is required. Use two to three units for every 24-inch length, if you have high light corals.

One of the best budget reef aquarium lights in the market is the Mars Aqua LED coral reef light. For better purpose of penetration (up to one meter), wide coverage and perfect color blending these LED chips are covered with a high-quality acrylic 90-degree optical lens.

For the purpose of easy customization which are powered by two separate power cords the LED chips are categorized into two lighting channels which are white and blue

Channel 1: Violet (420nm), Royal Blue (450nm), Blue (470nm).
Channel 2: Green (520nm), Red (660nm), Neutral White (6500K), Cool White (12000K).

The mars aqua dimmable 300W full spectrum coral reef offers 3 lighting modes and the fixture comes with two on and off switches for turning on and off each channel separately.

Enough light for a reef aquarium up to 55 gallons is produced by a single fixture. For larger reef tanks, you are supposed to use more than one fixture in order to get a better

The product, mars aqua LED coral reef lights features an aluminum heat conducting plate since aluminum is a good conductor of heat and it also gives high performance and it also uses high speed quiet fans to protect itself from heat damage and also by cooling the system and extend its lifespan up to 100,000 plus hours.

One of the best things offered is that you will get a complete three year authentic warranty for consumer satisfaction when you chose to buy this great product.

This Aquamana AQ LED for coral reef and saltwater fish aquarium light is very simple and easy to use. It has two light intensity control knobs and it also has two on and off switches on the back side of the light which are used is for controlling each of two color channels separately. In order to get the full spectrum turn on both the channels.

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The intensity of each of the channels can be adjusted just by rotating one of the dimmers present there. The dimmers can also be adjusted by you in order to stimulate natural lighting effects such as sunrise in your aquarium and sunset in your aquarium.

The fact that this type of reef light does not include a timer for automatic lighting cycle and that you would have to buy the timer if you do not want to turn it on and off on a daily basis by your hands would be the one and only drawback of this Aquamana AQ LED reef light.

I strongly recommend the usage of one light fixture for a 20-30 gallon high light or 20-55 gallon low light reef aquarium. For larger tank sizes, in order to get a better performance you should use more than one fixture.

Safe to Use

Compared to the older metal halide and T5 fluorescent tubes, these LED model of lighting is very easy, convenient and safer to use. The reason behind his is that LED aquarium lights lack metal filaments and do not produce any noxious gases. Technical teams all over the world are also working their best to make LEDs water-resistant too.

Brightens Up the LED Aquarium Light

The sole purpose of installing LED aquarium lighting for Fish Tank is to show off! LEDs are ideal tools to boost the pride of your perfectly set and well looked after the aquarium. It does not matter what color your light shines in or what effect it produces, just the mere presence of LEDs get overwhelming welcoming responses. They also have the flexibility to adapt to any kind of effect the user desires and never fails to be an eye-catcher.

Most of the light systems nowadays come with a remote control to facilitate the users to make respective adjustments so as to reproduce whatever is in their mind. Thus, with a press of a button, all your fantasies can be made into reality. Thanks to all the technological advancements, as hobbyists, we are on cloud nine.

Better Growth of Plants and Marine Animals

Light is undoubtedly a source of energy for all living beings. But it is important to understand that light energy matters more to smaller organisms than the regular sized creatures, meaning us. Plants are the most important category of species to rely on light. Without light energy, or more specifically photons, no activity goes around inside the plants.

Light is the bread and butter for the proper healthy survival of plant life because of a critical process called photosynthesis. As the name states, it is the process by which food is synthesized by plants for their own purpose which is then passed on to the levels of the food pyramid.

LED Aquarium Light: They Generate Less Heat

All sources of lighting are bound to generate heat. So, it is obvious that heat generation from LEDs can also be expected. But there is a surprise factor. The amount of heat generated by the LEDs is nothing compared to what usual light fittings emit. Thus, worries about the increase in the nominal temperature of the water in the tank can be totally shed off. And adding to this, the power consumption of these sources of exotic lighting also put us in awe as they very hardly increase a few dollars on the electricity bills.

Mostly Compact

LEDs are to make life easier and simpler and more luxurious. Hence they are obviously designed to be more compact and to incorporate quick adjustments. What we mean by compact is that these LEDs can be placed almost anywhere around the aquarium and still get the same mind soothing effect.

As already discussed, manufacturers around the globe are working on ways to make LEDs water-resistant so that underwater mounting could become possible. This is potentially changing the entire way aquariums have been maintained and used so far.

Right Color Temperature

As proposed by De Broglie, light has dual nature. In clearer terms, light is composed of both waves and particles. Now the light from the sun just like the light from any other source is made up of several small packets of energy called photons. These photons are the entities of light that act like the particles.

The same light that contains photons also has electromagnetic waves that have a specific characteristic spectrum. Analyzing the spectra of natural light from the sun, one can observe several different frequencies and entirely different characteristics associated with the change in frequencies.

Among the different regions of the spectrum, the one that is visible to the human eyes is called the visible range of light. This band of spectrum is made up of the colors of the rainbow, which combine to give white color which is how the light from the sun looks like.

Now as we all know the earth has several kilometers of air extending upward, which makes up the different layers of the atmosphere. Each of these layers has its own optical properties and thus it is not practically possible to send 100% of light at one end and receive it with the same intensity on the other end.

So, when the light rays from the sun enter pierce and pass through different layers of the atmosphere, a lot of light is lost. Speaking more specifically, different wavelengths are lost. The light gets filtered on and on and finally when it is left only the blue wavelength is left behind which is why our sky appears blue!

So, all you have to understand is that, when light passes through different layers with different optical properties, it tends to lose its significant colors and only those in the lesser wavelength range is left behind. Now being taught the science about light transmission, let us apply it to the case of aquariums.

Choosing a Suitable Light Source

Aquariums have gallons of water in them. It is important to know that certain properties get altered as one reached further depths. This applies to the optical properties as well and thus as we go deeper and deeper, it becomes difficult for light to traverse such depths.

Just like what happens in the atmosphere, few wavelengths are filtered out and in the depths that host corals, only the blue wavelength of light enters. This has been happening ever since corals or as a matter of fact, the earth got created.

So, through millions of years of the evolutionary process, corals are accustomed to using the blue-part of light and it does not show a significant reaction to other ranges of wavelength.

This is a fact that must be realized by all reef tank owners so that they use the correct source of light to make sure that their reefs stay in the pink of health. Hence it is advisable to use blue light sources that have Kelvin ratings of 8000K to 20,000K.

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However, there is another check made by Mother Nature. Not all corals need the blue region of light. Few corals that are formed in shallow waters require different Kelvin rating of light. Therefore, it is the prime responsibility of the owner to choose a suitable light source so that all the corals are benefited from the light made available to them.

Provide Enough Light – PAR Values

PAR or fully called Photosynthetic Active Radiation is the most exact and popular parameter used for choosing LED aquarium light for photosynthetic creatures like plants and corals.

For example corals like zooanthids, mushrooms and low light LPS require less intensity of light which lies in the PAR range of 35 to 100. LPS, anemones, clams, and low light SPS require light of medium intensity with PAR range of 100 to 200.

Finally, PAR ranges of 200 to 500 are applicable to high light intensity desiring corals like SPS, Acropora monipora and hard corals. Aquascaping your reef tank with by the application of PAR would help you create the perfect environment for all types of corals in which each of them are supplied with a sufficient amount of lighting to flourish.

Other factors to consider LED Aquarium Light

Apart from choosing the light that best ensures the health of the corals, in general, it is necessary to consider a few of these factors too.

Visual effect
Dimmable intensity
Timer/controller
Heat dissipation system
LED bulb lifetime
Power consumption
Initiating and operating costs.

So, it must have been made very clear that corals require blue light for their survival. But viewing an aquarium under blue light is not something our eyes would like.

Just because corals thrive in blue, doesn’t mean that they will perish under other colors of light. So, make your aquarium more attractive and vibrant by adding more colors and bringing it to more life. Focus on the visual effects is also an art all aquarium owners must master else both the organism and the tank will lose its motive and essence.