# SB Reef Lights sBox 16" Basic Fresh Water Plant LED



## 2drtahoe4x4 (Oct 14, 2009)

Anyone running one of the SB reef lights freshwater LED fixtures? Thinking about running two of their 16" basic models over my 75 gallon. Was hoping for medium light by hanging and using the dimmers, would that be attainable? Also just any info and feedback on the lights would be great. Here is the particular model I am looking at https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-fw-plant-lights/21-basic-fresh-water-plant-led-light.html.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

They use teal and violet. But that is all I can say for now.


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## Kampo (Nov 3, 2015)

Your desired light levels are easily attainable on one of these. They are essentially a Chinese black box with different LEDs. Those lights get pars of 200+ easily in a 24inch area


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Need to figure out exactly what they mean by "a" "b" and both????

other than that, looks like something I'd build... w/out the green


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## Kampo (Nov 3, 2015)

Yeah the channels are kinda awkward. I wish they truly split it warm/ cool light wise but it's not controllable via a ramp timer stock so maybe they have some other theory in the light layout considering there are not many situations you would want to run that thing full blast.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

OK had my coffee.. so they mean:
ch"A" blue/teal/violet/red/warm/neutral
ch"B" green/10k/red/warm/neutral 

doesn't help my ego that it is clearly labelled..


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## Kampo (Nov 3, 2015)

honestly if they were to roll out of a version of these with pwm dimming they would be amazing. I know you can hack them to dim them with an analog dimmer contorller but thats a lot of added expence.


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## eanastasio (Feb 12, 2017)

I have one of these. Running at 50% channel B and 30% channel A generally. It's really bright over a 29g high. New tank so I'm seeing algae directly under the light. I'm needing to add lights on the end is my only issue it's on a stand 7" above the water and the last 4 inches on the sides are somewhat dim. Just adding 30watt 5400k photography CFLs on the ends see how that goes. So on a 75 two should be fine, especially hung. But for better spread I'd go with maybe the 30" or three lights if you find it's not the best spread on your 75. 


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## SingAlongWithTsing (Jun 11, 2015)

I have 3 of em on my 135 gallon, running 10% channel "a," 30% channel "b." drilled some 1/8" thick angle iron to mount the 3 fixtures together.


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## Kampo (Nov 3, 2015)

eanastasio said:


> I have one of these. Running at 50% channel B and 30% channel A generally. It's really bright over a 29g high. New tank so I'm seeing algae directly under the light. I'm needing to add lights on the end is my only issue it's on a stand 7" above the water and the last 4 inches on the sides are somewhat dim. Just adding 30watt 5400k photography CFLs on the ends see how that goes. So on a 75 two should be fine, especially hung. But for better spread I'd go with maybe the 30" or three lights if you find it's not the best spread on your 75.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


over a 29 I'd just pull the lenses off you will get better spread you don't need the penetration on a 29.


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## Raizinhell (May 26, 2017)

Hows the growth using the sb reef lights? Are they better than finnex ray2s or fluval 2.0pro?


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## sevendust111 (Jul 15, 2014)

Raizinhell said:


> Hows the growth using the sb reef lights? Are they better than finnex ray2s or fluval 2.0pro?


I am curious about user experiences with this light as well.


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## Kampo (Nov 3, 2015)

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Raizinhell said:


> Hows the growth using the sb reef lights? Are they better than finnex ray2s or fluval 2.0pro?


spec wise they will blow both of them out of the water. these lights are designed to grow sps coral in a 24x24x24 cubic area they just changed the spectrum to be fresh water friendly. there is no way you could run one of these full blast over an aquarium with gobs of c02. just would be to bright.


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## stussy28 (Mar 17, 2016)

Kampo said:


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I know a guy that runs 4 over his 125. Gets crazy growth on his plants. His pogo Kimberley look amazing. So do all his other red plants. He also has about 60 cardinals in there, but goes through tons of co2 like you said. 

Everyone I've talked to about them recommend going with two 16inch over the 32 inch. You can spread them apart to get all the corners of the tank. Also none of the light will be right above the center brace.


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## zanson (Jul 16, 2017)

Kampo said:


> ```
> 
> ```
> spec wise they will blow both of them out of the water. these lights are designed to grow sps coral in a 24x24x24 cubic area they just changed the spectrum to be fresh water friendly. there is no way you could run one of these full blast over an aquarium with gobs of c02. just would be to bright.


I have one of these over my 46 bowfront, sitting about 6" above the tank on 90% both channels and just use excel for the last month. it's just amazing so far, growth is awesome, and now im finally getting algie that my plecos munch on.

also had some red root floaters, and this has so much power it can grow them and still have enough light to grow everything under them. i took the red roots out for a bit though, i wanted to try and grow a carpet in my tank


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## Botia dude (Feb 6, 2005)

I run a 16" on my 17g about a foot above the tank. Every plant that can get color gets amazing color. None of my old planted tanks did as well with any other light type I've used. PC Fluorescent, halogen, cfl, T8's etc. I keep it about 30% white/red and 10-15% blue with the "moon lights" on during the middle of the photo period. Auto dimming would be awesome. They'd be perfect then. 

That said, i kinda wish I'd gotten the Twinstar light from Buceplants.com. I like the color temp on that one better. I'll probably get a bigger tank and swap lights out down the line.


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## Tommywantfishy (Jun 29, 2017)

Botia dude said:


> I run a 16" on my 17g about a foot above the tank. Every plant that can get color gets amazing color. None of my old planted tanks did as well with any other light type I've used. PC Fluorescent, halogen, cfl, T8's etc. I keep it about 30% white/red and 10-15% blue with the "moon lights" on during the middle of the photo period. Auto dimming would be awesome. They'd be perfect then.
> 
> That said, i kinda wish I'd gotten the Twinstar light from Buceplants.com. I like the color temp on that one better. I'll probably get a bigger tank and swap lights out down the line.


Can auto-dim with the 16" extreme. Most customizable light I have ever seen. Ordering one Monday for my 29 standard hi-tec. Currently running twinstar 450e on my hi tec uns 9.3, and 2x finnex 24/7 P+ on my 29 lo tec. Excited to see what these things can do. Look at these par readings. 
https://youtu.be/n0TsPP2enVI









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## Botia dude (Feb 6, 2005)

Tommywantfishy said:


> Can auto-dim with the 16" extreme. Most customizable light I have ever seen. Ordering one Monday for my 29 standard hi-tec. Currently running twinstar 450e on my hi tec uns 9.3, and 2x finnex 24/7 P+ on my 29 lo tec. Excited to see what these things can do. Look at these par readings.
> https://youtu.be/n0TsPP2enVI
> 
> 
> ...


I just learned about the auto dimming in the last few days and am considering getting the 32" Extreme version for a new UNS 90U tank. When I bought the 16' Timer version the extreme wifi wasn't available for FW setups yet. I wish it had been. I think you'll really enjoy this light on a 29g.


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## Tommywantfishy (Jun 29, 2017)

Botia dude said:


> I just learned about the auto dimming in the last few days and am considering getting the 32" Extreme version for a new UNS 90U tank. When I bought the 16' Timer version the extreme wifi wasn't available for FW setups yet. I wish it had been. I think you'll really enjoy this light on a 29g.


I am really excited about it. I think 1 16" will cover my 29g (30" long), if I have them ship it without the lenses on the corners. The cool thing is that all of the lights can be highly customized. They are literally built to order. I emailed them Sat. Night and had an email response within 12 hrs. Impressed already. 

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## zsxking (Feb 22, 2013)

Coming from reef, I would not recommend this light for planted tank, because of its tiny focus beam. This 



 will give you a good idea what I mean, note the difference in PAR from center to the edge. The exact PAR number will not be the same, but since they use the same optic, the spread will be basically the same. With such PAR hotspot, it will give you algae problem right under the light while not giving enough PAR for the edge.

Another reason is that, in freshwater tank, it doesn't need as much as PAR, 50~100 PAR is highlight already. There are plenty LED strip light that are cheaper, offer better coverage and more even spread, and cost less, like those from Finnex. It's not like in reef you need 300+ PAR. High end reef LEDs are $500 ~ $900 range, that's why black box light get a good opportunity in the $100 range market. But here a Finnex planted+ 24" is only $80, I really don't see a reason to go for black box. I would rather go for an AI Prime freshwater for $200 if I really want more high end LED with richer controllability. You can see the PAR test 



, note how much more even the distribution is.


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## Tommywantfishy (Jun 29, 2017)

zsxking said:


> Coming from reef, I would not recommend this light for planted tank, because of its tiny focus beam. This BRS test will give you a good idea what I mean, note the difference in PAR from center to the edge. The exact PAR number will not be the same, but since they use the same optic, the spread will be basically the same. With such PAR hotspot, it will give you algae problem right under the light while not giving enough PAR for the edge.
> 
> Another reason is that, in freshwater tank, it doesn't need as much as PAR, 50~100 PAR is highlight already. There are plenty LED strip light that are cheaper, offer better coverage and more even spread, and cost less, like those from Finnex. It's not like in reef you need 300+ PAR. High end reef LEDs are $500 ~ $900 range, that's why black box light get a good opportunity in the $100 range market. But here a Finnex planted+ 24" is only $80, I really don't see a reason to go for black box. I would rather go for an AI Prime freshwater for $200 if I really want more high end LED with richer controllability. You can see the PAR test here, note how much more even the distribution is.


They have a new FW designated fixture. I have 2x 30" Finnex 24/7 P+ on my 29g. They are more suited to mid-level plants in my exp. I love my Twinstar 450e that goes on my UNS 45. It was expensive and has zero ability to be customized...just a wall timer...even Nicrew lights have that. With the finnex 24/7 P+ you are paying a lot for crap you don't need. Im looking at you thunderstorm...ha

& Last but not least these are made 4 hrs. From my house in Pensacola, Fl. Not in China, for example. I would wager that customer service would have a huge leg up considering the fact that we speak the same language (nothing against China). Also doesn't hurt that I have a condo in Destin so its on my way to the beach. 
https://youtu.be/n0TsPP2enVI

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## SingAlongWithTsing (Jun 11, 2015)

Tommywantfishy said:


> Last but not least these are made 4 hrs. From my house in Pensacola, Fl. Not in China, for example. I would wager that customer service would have a huge leg up considering the fact that we speak the same language (nothing against China). Also doesn't hurt that I have a condo in Destin so its on my way to the beach.
> https://youtu.be/n0TsPP2enVI
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920R7 using Tapatalk


nah, pretty sure they made in Hong Kong or China. When I ordered 3 lights back in December 2016 for my 135 they shipped directly from there. SBReef just recently finished setting up some warehouses in LA, CA and Tampa, FL. they're converting their warehouse in Penascola to be a QT system for their corals iirc.



zsxking said:


> Another reason is that, in freshwater tank, it doesn't need as much as PAR, 50~100 PAR is highlight already. There are plenty LED strip light that are cheaper, offer better coverage and more even spread, and cost less, like those from Finnex. It's not like in reef you need 300+ PAR. High end reef LEDs are $500 ~ $900 range, that's why black box light get a good opportunity in the $100 range market. But here a Finnex planted+ 24" is only $80, I really don't see a reason to go for black box. I would rather go for an AI Prime freshwater for $200 if I really want more high end LED with richer controllability. You can see the PAR test here, note how much more even the distribution is.


LED choices are super scape dependent. Yeah I agree there are better choice if the height between your substrate and LEDs are 20" or lower. Anything that's 30"+ between substrate and LED I don't think I have much of an option and would have to go with SBReef FW/black boxes.

and yeah PAR distribution kinda sucks but you can always just pop some lenses out and swap the 90s for 120s.


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## Tommywantfishy (Jun 29, 2017)

SingAlongWithTsing said:


> nah, pretty sure they made in Hong Kong or China. When I ordered 3 lights back in December 2016 for my 135 they shipped directly from there. SBReef just recently finished setting up some warehouses in LA, CA and Tampa, FL. they're converting their warehouse in Penascola to be a QT system for their corals iirc.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Was gonna pop some lenses. I am gonna go by their place in Pensacola. They claim all calls will go to that office. 

Im gonna give them a shot regardless. 

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## SingAlongWithTsing (Jun 11, 2015)

Tommywantfishy said:


> Was gonna pop some lenses. I am gonna go by their place in Pensacola. They claim all calls will go to that office.
> 
> Im gonna give them a shot regardless.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920R7 using Tapatalk


yeah the lights aren't bad. my only other complaint are the fans, 1 of the 3 lights fans are louder than the other 2. should ask em if you can test the FW lights over there if fan noise is a concern for you.


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## Tommywantfishy (Jun 29, 2017)

SingAlongWithTsing said:


> yeah the lights aren't bad. my only other complaint are the fans, 1 of the 3 lights fans are louder than the other 2. should ask em if you can test the FW lights over there if fan noise is a concern for you.


Another reason I am gonna go there...want to see & hear them in action. Will log this for sure..and record as much as I can. 

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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

SingAlongWithTsing said:


> nah, pretty sure they made in Hong Kong or China.


They are for sure made in China.


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## Tommywantfishy (Jun 29, 2017)

Nubster said:


> They are for sure made in China.


Well...what LED strips aren't?

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## zsxking (Feb 22, 2013)

Tommywantfishy said:


> They have a new FW designated fixture. I have 2x 30" Finnex 24/7 P+ on my 29g. They are more suited to mid-level plants in my exp. I love my Twinstar 450e that goes on my UNS 45. It was expensive and has zero ability to be customized...just a wall timer...even Nicrew lights have that. With the finnex 24/7 P+ you are paying a lot for crap you don't need. Im looking at you thunderstorm...ha
> 
> & Last but not least these are made 4 hrs. From my house in Pensacola, Fl. Not in China, for example. I would wager that customer service would have a huge leg up considering the fact that we speak the same language (nothing against China). Also doesn't hurt that I have a condo in Destin so its on my way to the beach.
> https://youtu.be/n0TsPP2enVI
> ...


Just from that video, the brightness different between the middle and the edge is very visible. Is it a 10 gallon, 20" long tank, like 6" or 8" above the tank? It's burning 165W, but how high do I need to put it to cover the full width of a 24" tank, 12"? 16"? 165W worth of LEDs can easily cover a 4 feet or even 6 feet tank, if the LEDs are arranged correctly, with proper lens. Pack all of them in a coverage less than 24" is just a waste of power and money. If they do want to make a light for planted tank, at least change the form factor to double the length and half the width to better suit the practical use case in a plant tank, other than simply replace the blue LEDs with white then pretend to be "optimized for planted tank".

Plants are probably better at adapting to too much light than coral. Blasting 500 PAR on the may not straight kill the plant like it would to many sps coral. But I am not sure if I want a light that will blast 500 PAR in the bottom center of the tank, where it's more likely to have hardscape that and wood that reach higher to the water, meaning resulting 1000+ PAR on the top of it, where I most likely put plants like moss or java fern, while it's only putting 50 PAR on the front corner of the substrate, where I desperately want the baby tear to carpet on. I definitively know when I mistakenly put a too powerful light that blasting 300+ PAR on top of my wood while only 30+ PAR to the substrate, how bad the algae became in matter of days.

A 2 or 4 bulb 24" T5 fixture would provide enough PAR, better coverage across the width of the whole tank, consume less energy, and cheaper. I usually don't favor T5 over LED, but I will pick a T5 over this one any day.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

First let me say I agree in being bugged by this "reef light" design attitude..but it's really the market.
@90 degrees a foot off works well for a 24" wide tank.
@120 7"..
END falloff is a bit odd though..Shoudn't be that extreme..Might have 90's around the perimeter.. 

Complication:


> 4. Why do you have split optics?
> 90* optics provide the best penetration for max PAR. 120* lenses give the best coverage and color blend. The trick is to use both, 90* to provide the PAR and PUR
> needed for growth, while using 120* for color blend and on single diodes that need to cover a larger area, like UV.
> All 14K, 20K whites plus all 450nm Royal Blues are 90*. All other diodes are 120* Since there are more Whites and blues, the light has tremendous PAR and PUR,
> ...


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## Patriot (Dec 22, 2010)

Since this light doesn't seem to cover the corners of the tank very well is there a runner up light to choose over this? 

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## khanzer22 (Jan 14, 2008)

Patriot said:


> Since this light doesn't seem to cover the corners of the tank very well is there a runner up light to choose over this?
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


Curious to know as well... Shopping around for LED lights (first timer!) for my 90P, thinking of replacing my Grand Solar 1


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

I'm not sure if I would call it a runner up due to cost, but I am currently running (2) Radion XR15 Freshwater lights on my 75g tank. These are the new models with the G4 lenses. In my opinion, each of these lights have no trouble lighting up an 18" x 24" area. I currently am running them at about 50% rated output and I am still getting over 80PAR on the floor of my tank. The coloring is VERY adjustable and the PUR rating with my Seneye sensor is above 63% which in my opinion is a vast improvement over the previous lighting.


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## khanzer22 (Jan 14, 2008)

Immortal1 said:


> I'm not sure if I would call it a runner up due to cost, but I am currently running (2) Radion XR15 Freshwater lights on my 75g tank. These are the new models with the G4 lenses. In my opinion, each of these lights have no trouble lighting up an 18" x 24" area. I currently am running them at about 50% rated output and I am still getting over 80PAR on the floor of my tank. The coloring is VERY adjustable and the PUR rating with my Seneye sensor is above 63% which in my opinion is a vast improvement over the previous lighting.


Thanks for your input... I've been eyeing on the Radion XR15FW as well and I think it's a good unit to consider as well, just have to shell out more money to get 2 of them  I've also looked into Orphek Atlantik V4 for FW, their unit is custom made and they build when someone ordered, so you have to wait at least 2 weeks before they can ship, and of course, it's also on the expensive side (more than ADA RGB price)


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## ChrisX (May 28, 2017)

You can pretty much build one of these for around $100 with whatever form factor you want. 

My next DIY (may) be based on this, except with heat sink bars that cover the entire 4' tank. 

Also, its pretty easy to separate the channels to whatever you want. That light has two channels, but wouldnt it be better to have five? It seems like both channels have redundant reds and overlapping whites. Many people run them at low percentage both sides, which means you could get away with many fewer leds...


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## khanzer22 (Jan 14, 2008)

This one is pretty much new, https://www.onfaqua.com/flatone... George Farmer just did a review on YT...

EDIT: unboxing, not really a review


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

khanzer22 said:


> This one is pretty much new, https://www.onfaqua.com/flatone... George Farmer just did a review on YT...
> 
> EDIT: unboxing, not really a review


Nice looking light!


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## Subjected (Feb 6, 2018)

Hi guys,

Here is my 50 gallon stem tank with 2x SBReef Lights 16" Basic Freshwater. Installed this weekend. Running at Channel 1 60%, Channel 2 20%.

It had 1x Sat Pro Plus and 2x T8 LED 26w tubes on it before:

















Here is the new lights:


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## plantedman (Feb 5, 2012)

Hello,

May i know what substrate and lighting you are using in your setup..

Thanks,


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## rajdude (Apr 13, 2020)

*updated version?*

Well, now SB reef lights company has an updated version of their freshwater light:
Costing $145 for a 18" wide version. Seen here.
https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-freshwater-plant-lights/71-18-basic-fresh-water-plant.html


I wonder if anyone has used them here at TPT?
I am considering buying two of these for my 75 gallon standard tank. But for two issues:



I am not too keen on the rounded side look.I like boxy things.
I want them in white color. I called them, they said they can do a custom, but will take months. I could paint them myself though.
By the way, I can get "generic black box" 165 watt LED reef aquarium lights for $70 shipped on eBay all day long. At double that price, I wonder how much difference does it make to get these "freshwater spectrum" LEDs?





PS: I am really looking for the box type look in white. I keep drooling over this look:
https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/...planted-tank-adventurama-21.html#post11328119
They are GHL Mitras. I not have the money for them.


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