The Internet is now flooded with information about the many varieties of LED lights now available.
Some cutting edge technology, some just OK (but with bells and whistles in an attempt to make these more attractive), and some nothing more than decorative lighting.
The technology is getting better all the time, however this comes at a price due to development costs, which in turn must be passed on to licensed users of the newest emitters & drivers for these LED fixtures.
This is similar to how a pharmaceutical manufacturer sells their newest "wonder Drugs" at substantially more than Generic drugs that are no longer patent protected.
However since there are only few high end developers of emitter technology that is applicable to aquariums (such as Cree and Osram), these license agreements are also generally exclusive (as this is how the developer makes the best return on investment).
This is where the problem with many LED Fixtures has come, as most LED Fixture manufacturers cannot get around this issue; they resort to gimmicks to sell their LED Fixtures (such as the Aqua Illumination SOL, AI Sol Blue).
The other approach is dozens (if not 100s of emitters) in shotgun approach to attempting to get enough useful light energy (aka PUR). An example here is the SkyLED.
Here are a few LEDs by Category of Useful Function;Basically Decoration
Lights useful basically for fish only or highlights*SkyLED
*TaoTronics
*Marineland Single or Double Bright
*Ecoxotic Stunner
Can be used for Planted Freshwater or Reef Application
Not the best, but can be used in some applications with poor to good results*Aqua Illumination SOL
*Ecotech Radion
*Marineland Reef Capable
*Stark (E.Shine)
This LED Fixture is somewhere between the first and second category, so be careful in use in any true reef application
Best in Planted Freshwater or Reef Application
Generally the best results, beating all Fluorescent lights (including T5) and competing favorably with Metal Halide for planted freshwater and favorable with MH for reef tanks generally under 30 inches in specimen placement*TMC AquaRay (probably the most options for small to large aquariums, freshwater to reef)
*Orphek (Pricey, primarily for large reef tanks only)
I strongly Urge Readers to read these much more in depth and constantly updated resources*Aquarium LED Lights, Lighting
*LED Light Review; TMC XG 1500, EcoTech, Double Bright, Blue Moon, AI Sol; More
*TMC GroBeam 1000 LED Review
