Anybody know anything about these lights?

[loans_n_fishes]

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-500-Watt-Low-Heat-Coral-and-Aquatic-Grow-Light_W0QQitemZ7774395401QQihZ018QQcategoryZ46314Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Saw these on ebay...kinda small. Seems like I would need 4 to span my 75 gal tank. Somehow 2000 watts seems excessive. :o

Are these really ok for reef tanks? :unsure

[subber]

Look at the K rating of the light (6500K) which is way down on the K range that is usually used for corals. It is probably great for plants but for corals....I think not. Most reef lights are in the 10K - 20K range, the higher the more blue. As for the power, they are 65 watts, which the seller claims is the same as 500 watts. Many light manufacturers make big claims but few ever reach the expected levels stated. Stick with what is known to work. or raise plants, your choice. I for one wouldn't use them.

[brewercm]

It's just a 65watt 6500K power compact which will be very yellow for a reef tank without a good amount of actinic suppliment and not a very good light IMO.

[Ed]

The color temp, 6500K is great for growth. It is closer to natural sunlight (~5500K) than the 10K - 20K bulbs. As Cliff said, the downside is that it will be more yellow and require more actinic to make the color more pleasing to your eyes. Whether these would actually produce as much light as claimed is debatable. I would go with T5s or MH instead of these.

[Jeff]

i had bought oneas an experiment a year ago, it is not that bright but is does makea pretty good fuge light.

[urban79]

you can look and see that its not even lighting the bottom of the tank

[Brett Wilson]

Lights Of America! hahahahahahahahha
I remember those. I used to use them for refugium lights.

Get them from home depot and SAVE your receipt. you may end up going through a few of them depending on how you mount them.
They are not very safe over salt tanks, their circuit boards are unprotected and may eventually get enough salt buildup to short out (which can lead to sparks/electrical fires). just a word of warning.

[GaryP]

I've never had as good of growth as I had with Iwasaki 6.5K. That's what Sanjay uses. Of course back then I didn't know that purple corals were supposed to be purple. The yellows and browns completely washed out the purple from the actinic VHOs. 6.5K is great for a frag tank. You're better off with a good 10-12K for a reef tank though.