Best 72-inch LED lights for large tanks 100-210 gallon (reef/planted)

Updated: January 19, 2022 - By: - Categories: Equipment

If you own a 100/125/150/180 gallon tank (which is 72-inch long) and are finding an LED light fixture for the tank, you are in the right place. In this review, we will look at some of the very few lighting options for large tanks with over 100 gallons of water, both fresh- and salt-water.

Best 72 inch LED aquarium lights

Model Our rating PAR Ideal for Fixture sizes For tanks LEDs Modes Wattage
BeamsWork EA Full Spectrum editor's ratingBeamsWork EA Full Spectrum #ad 36 @ 12-inch depth (24″ fixture) freshwater fish, cichlid, low light plants 72 inches 100 gallons 52x 10000K, 12x Actinic, 6x Red, 8x Green Day/night 78 x 0.5W = 39 watts total
Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus editor's ratingCurrent USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus #ad 60 @ 12-inch, 26 @ 24-inch fish, low-medium light plants 72 inches 100-180 gallons 96 LEDs total with 6,500K and RGB multi modes, timer control 60W
BeamsWork DA FSPEC LED editor's ratingBeamsWork DA FSPEC LED #ad 96 @ 12-inch depth (24″ fixture) fish, medium-high light plants 72 inches (up to 210 gallons) 102 x 10000K, 32x Actinic, 22x Red, 26x Green Day/night 182 x 0.5W = 91 watts total
KZKR Aquarium LED Light editor's ratingKZKR Aquarium LED Light 60-72 inch #ad fish, low light plants 60-72 inches 100 gallons 107 White + 14 Red + 7 Green + 52 Blue Day/night 40 watts
Kessil A360WE Tuna Sun Controllable editor's ratingKessil A360WE Tuna Sun Controllable #ad designed for deep penetration deep planted tanks 24″ surface diameter coverage 3 units for a 72 inch planted tank customizable color and density 90 watts
Current Orbit Marine IC PRO LED Reef editor's ratingCurrent Orbit Marine IC PRO LED Reef #ad 100 @ 21-inch saltwater fish, low-medium light corals 72 inches up to 100 gallons 288 LEDs (dual blue, dual white, and RGB) multi modes, timer control 144 watts
NICREW HyperReef 150 editor's ratingNICREW HyperReef 150 #ad 305 @ 28″ most types of corals, even SPS maximum spread of 30″ x 30″ 3 units for a 72-inch reef tank 72 LEDs from 405 nm (UV) to 660 nm (Deep Red) blue and white channels, adjustable 150 watts

72-inch aquarium light reviews

BeamsWork EA Timer Full Spectrum

For first-time aquarists, it’s best to start with a low-tech tank that is easy to maintain. For such a tank, you need a light that makes it easy to view your fish and all the decorations you have inside the tank and grow some live plants if you choose to do so.

The BeamsWork EA Timer Full-Spectrum light has everything you and your tank need to get off to a good start. It comes preinstalled with 78 super-bright LEDs. These comprise 52 x 10000K white, 12 x 460nm blue, 6 x 620nm red, and 8 x 520 green LEDs.

Once you have the light installed, you can choose from two lighting modes. In the daylight mode, all the LEDs work at full power, while in the night mode, you will only have the blue LEDs working. In case you want to incorporate a timer, the light comes timer ready. You only need to purchase the timer, which is sold separately.

This is an excellent light for fish only and low light plants and is perfect if you’re running a low-tech or budget tank. It comes with extendable brackets to perfectly fit onto a 72-inch fish tank.

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Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus

This product comes with a full spectrum of light colors (white, red, green, and blue) that aquarium plants will use for photosynthesis.

Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED PlusCurrent USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus #ad

The PAR at 24-inch is around 26. So, if you use it for a 100-gallon planted tank with the dimensions of 72″ x 18″ x 20″ (L x W x H), the light will provide just enough light for low-medium light plants. You will need two to three fixtures if you want to keep high-demanding plants.

This product is built with an internal controller, which is easy to program with a remote. With the controller, you can switch on or off any of the light colors, and also adjust their intensity.

Remote controlRemote control #ad

What makes it specific? The light comes with many lighting colors and weather effects with audio sounds that you can’t see in other LED lights on the market these days. These preset modes are easy to use, just by a single click on the labeled button you want. The unit is also available with a memory slot (M button) to save a custom color built by you.

Timer controlTimer control #ad

The product comes with a digital-display timer for automatic control without your hands. You can program the timer with the remote. There are two timer modes for choice. One is for simply turning on/off, the other is for multi periods with sunrise, daylight, sunset, and moonlight with gradual intensity changes between two different colors.

It is very easy to set up the product. The timer is ready to be wired within the circuit with cables. It also comes with sliding legs to match the width of your aquarium.

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BeamsWork DA FSPEC LED for 72-inch planted tank

If you don’t want to place many light fixtures on your aquarium and are looking for a higher output light without stretching your budget, you should consider the BeamsWork DA FSPEC LED.

The light puts out 3100 lumens of light of 182 LEDs with a total of 91 watts. The LEDs are white and RGB, providing your plants with all the light spectrums they need to thrive and grow. The powerful light will also enhance the colors inside the tank and add a shimmer.

You can choose from one of two light modes that the light offers. Day mode has all the lights on, and night mode only has the blue LEDs on. The light comes timer ready, but you have to buy the timer separately.

The light is a good fit for 72-inch planted tanks with medium and high light plants to care for. However, based on how deep your tank is (100/125/150/180/210 gallon tanks have the same 72-inch length but with different depths), you will need one or multi fixtures to provide enough light for all the plants you keep inside the tank.

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KZKR Aquarium LED Light for large tanks 60-72 inch

This full-spectrum LED light features 8000K white light performed by dedicated white, red, green, and blue diodes. It’s an affordable choice for tropical fish tanks with/without live plants.

The light offers two color channels controllable with its inline controller. You can opt for the daylight mode with all the LEDs on or night mode with only blue LEDs on.

The KZKR LED aquarium light comes in an excellent design and an aluminum shell for improved heat management and durability. Its extendable brackets make the light compatible with large fish tanks from 60-72 inches.

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Kessil A360WE Tuna Sun Controllable Light

The A360WE Tuna Sun is specially designed for better penetration and does its best work for growing plants in a deep planted tank. This small light unit delivers more light than you would expect with plenty of features that will add value and colors to your planted tank.

You get an ultra-sleek design that doesn’t take attention away from the tank and excellent color blending that delivers accurate lighting and spectrum to provide vivid colors and support plant growth. It uses a single lens that disperses the light throughout the tank.

Because the lighting needs vary depending on the tank setup and location, this light unit has two control knobs on its back that allow you to change its intensity and spectrum. It is also compatible with an external controller from Kessil (buy separately).

kessil-tuna-blue

Image from Kessil

The controller features an automatic lighting cycle and some preset modes. The automatic lighting cycle is freely adjustable about the intensities of different times of a day. One controller can control multi light units. This feature is for installation flexibility, to match different needs of aquarists.

You don’t have to worry about the light overheating. It has a built-in heat sink and silent fan that ensures the casing of the light is warm utmost even after running for long hours.

You can install the tank by hanging or using a gooseneck (buy separately). The gooseneck option works for rimmed and rimless tanks and is the easier of the two to complete. For a 72 inch long tank, you might need about three units for effective lighting.

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Current Orbit Marine IC Pro 72-inch LED Reef Light

The Current Orbit Marine IC Pro LED light pulls out all the stops to meet all the lighting needs of a reef tank. With the PAR of 100 at 21-inch depth, this reef light is ideal for most low-average light corals including soft corals, anemones, mushrooms, LPS, and Zoanthids.

orbit-ic-pro-par

This full-spectrum light offers a fantastic color rendition bringing out the enriched and vivid colors in your tank. It is fitted with 288 LEDs total with dual actinic blue (72 x 445nm blue, 72 x 460nm blue), dual white LEDs (56 x 6700K white, 56 x 10000K white), and 32 RGB. The spherical 90-degree lenses disperse the light evenly inside the tank to ensure strong coral growth and equal lighting throughout the tank.

wireless LOOP controllerwireless LOOP controller #ad

The product comes with a wireless LOOP controller with a remote allowing to manage up to thee Current USA wavemakers #ad (buy separately) and lighting from the same panel. The LCD panel displays all the important details you need to know, including the time and the power levels of three wavemakers.

It also has a built-in biorhythmic lighting program that mimics and stimulates the natural sunrise, sunset, and moonlight inside the tank. With the remote, you can also customize the output spectrum and intensities of different times of a day, as well as play with various dynamic weather effects.

Use two light fixtures with tank mount brackets (buy separately)Use two light fixtures with tank mount brackets (buy separately) #ad

Although the fixture itself is ready to set up with its extendable metal brackets, the manufacturer also produces tank mount brackets #ad for another setup option. You can use two light fixtures for your reef tank if you have high demanding corals in the tank.

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NiCREW HyperReef 150

If the Current USA reef light is a little tight for your budget, the NiCREW HyperReef 150 is a worthy alternative. It provides full-color spectrum lighting complete with a UV channel for optimal coral growth and vibrant colors with a gentle shimmer.

PAR distributionPAR distribution #ad

HyperReef 150 spectrumHyperReef 150 spectrum #ad

The PAR output of this product is so impressive compared to its very affordable price, making it stand out from other existing opponents on the market. And so, with this PAR you can grow most types of corals under the light, even high demanding Acropora.

Three touch buttonsThree touch buttons #ad

Light channelsLight channels #ad

If you want to customize the spectrum, you can use the three touch buttons (W, M, B) on the panel front to adjust the white (W) and blue channels (B), which can be operated independently. The mode button (M) is for switching between different modes including turning on/off.

The light packs smart fans that prevent overheating so you can keep it on for as long as you want. For automatic control, the Nicrew single-channel timer pro #ad (sold separately) is compatible with this model. The drawback is that this timer is only for a single channel.

When purchasing the light, you will get a hanging kit included. You can also set up the light using a tank mount, but you need to buy it separately. Because the maximum spread of the light is 30 by 30-inch, you need about three units to cover all the areas of a 72-inch reef tank.

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Final thoughts

With these aquarium LED light reviews, you now can pick a light that matches your budget and the needs of your aquarium. Each of the lights is carefully designed to support the growth of photosynthetic organisms and ensure excellent color blending to bring out all the details inside your tank.

We enjoy keeping fish, and have for many years. We are trying to promote the hobby as much as possible. We want to see many others succeed in their fish keeping efforts and are committed to sharing our knowledge when we can.

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