Who’s in the Final Four? Check to see in the 2011 Aquarium LED lighting showdown

Posted on January 6th, 2012 by 10

So who made it down to the final four in the last vote off in the Reef Builders Reader’s Choice aquarium LED lighting showdown? Our latest round of votes was tabulated and we have the Maxspect Mazzara and Kessil A150W going head-to-head and the Ecotech Marine Radion XR30 going against the Nano Box (click here for a full-size image of the bracket).

Update: No cheating! We had to remove entries from someone trying to game the system.

The whole point of this contest is to allow the readers to use their voice to chose their favorite LED products that were launched in 2011. We poured over all the stories we posted and picked the top 32 across the broadest spectrum (no pun intended) of LED products. Is it anything more than a popularity contest? Probably not since it is illogical to think that anyone could put these products to the test all at once. The contest is just a way for our readers to voice their opinion on what they thought was the most exciting LED product released last year and covered on this site. So vote and have fun until the polls close Saturday, January 7 at 5 p.m. PST.

Maxspect Mazzara vs. Kessil A150W

There are some robust features of the Maxspect Mazarra making this one a top contender. The Kessil A150W is definitely one pendant to keep your eye on — different colors, proprietary chips and a great price!

Ecotech Radion XR30 vs. Nano Box

The Ecotech Radion XR30 hit the LED with plenty of buzz and so far the reviews have been pretty favorable for the XR30 as Ecotech Marine starts venturing out more. The NanoBox is one nice looking modular, entry-level fixture with four controllable channels of light plus active cooling.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Matt-Meadows/100001064246230 Matt Meadows

    Ecotech Marine Radio? (first paragraph). Is that in case you fall in your tank and need to call SOS signals?

  • Anonymous

    Yeah I think there has been some working of the system from the beginning LOL I noticed if you use different browsers from the same IP it would let you vote multiple times, I think having an LED poll on a forum like RC or R2R would atleast make it tougher since it would be screen name based…….its a nice idea though!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Gary-Bauch/100002926661508 Gary Bauch

    How can you not include any of Orphek’s lighting products in this bracket? 

    It would take at least two or three of some pendants to cover my 46g bowfront. Orphek offers a 120 degree lens with their pendants, so I really need just one.

    I purchased an Orphek pendant and was lucky enough to receive a free Orphek pendant when they were not available in all models in the US.

    I think they are great and my corals love them.

    Thanks,

  • Anonymous

    I run 24 Cree LEDs over a standard 60G tank and can grow any type of coral.. how many LEDs do you think is needed to cover a 46G tank? I think even the Nano box light would be more than enough for a 46G tank.

    http://tinyurl.com/7abv96q
    http://tinyurl.com/77w8du3

    Here is a 26 LED light I made for someones 60G cube
    http://tinyurl.com/7bds2gn
    http://tinyurl.com/7z5emfj
    http://tinyurl.com/822nylb

    Also, I thought the Orphek light came out in 2010, not 2011, at least that is what year all the reviews I see on the light were written in.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=622465486 Ryan Thompson

    I don’t remember Orphek releasing anything in 2011. Maybe the PAR bulbs but I can’t recall. Not to mention Orphek is a shady @$$ company that uses “specially designed” diodes that are really just Chinese junk.
    Hopefully Jake chimes in on the Orphek stuff. That is always a fun read.

  • Anonymous

    why does the first one have 600 votes and the other have 1200 LOL hmmmm

  • John Oxnard

    Would be somewhat(totally?) biased though since a forum setting tends to support an active forum sponsor regardless of the product though eh?

  • Tim Watson
  • IntheReef

    I was so Happy to get Ecotech Radions XR30 but they SUCK!!The idea of them is very nice but they just simply do not hold up to all the hype. I was greatly disappointed I expected so much more from them but when they can not even turn off and on when programmed not to mention that they don’t actually do anything you program them to do. Well then they are just a really expensive nice looking piece of shit! Way over priced for all the stress and headache they will give you. I was really hoping they would work right and really did not even imagine they would not work since we have Ecotech powerheads and love them. But after a few problems right from the start with their Configuration Utility like the clock always resetting its self and the lights actually never switching to natural mode and we had to use artificial. I was still giving them the benefit of the doubt. But after four days of reprogramming and babysitting the lights since they did what ever they wanted other then what they where programmed to do. After all the frustration they where causing I returned them. Frankly I now really think all the good reviews I have ever seen of the Radions are from people paid off by the company.  So I will be going back to Kessil’s. Hopefully Kessil will come out with programmable lights someday. 

  • IntheReef

    We did talk to Ecotech’s customer service, They walked us through what we have already been doing for days, then ended with telling us “oh’well” We returned them to the store. The store owner who owns the same exact lights and knows how to work them and never had a problem with his, hooked ours up and they did the same exact things to him they where doing to us.. Both lights where defective. He then gave us a full refund. I love the idea of the radions but after how we where treated we are not going to get another pair. Turns you off to the company when you get treated like you are an idiot from their costumer service when we really did have bad lights!!