Returning to the hobby - Any LED systems that look like metal halide?

[DanyL]

That noopsyche post was worse than anything that EcoTech did with their CoralLab nonsense. Any LED company complaining about other fixtures not being full spectrum is just hilarious - like any of them otherside of a few have any real UV or IR outside of the 400-700nm range.

Actually - Both the ReeFis and ATI Straton Pro do have actual, real UVA and enough of it to actually matter.

I cranked up mine to 100% a couple months ago (they’re mounted 20” above waterline, otherwise it’ll probably burn corals) and I’ve been noticing more and more signs of GFP developing on corals that never had them before, so that’s cool.

But yeah, all the others AFAIK either burn out, too weak or filtered by plastic coverings and don’t pass the spectrometer test.

 

[jda]

I thought that the Stratton had 405nm - violet. My apologies if they are actually below 400nm. Orphek had 380nm, but they burned out fast and made people mad. I am sure that some others have diodes in the high 300s, but I have not seen many.

 

[DanyL]

I thought that the Stratton had 405nm - violet. My apologies if they are actually below 400nm. Orphek had 380nm, but they burned out fast and made people mad. I am sure that some others have diodes in the high 300s, but I have not seen many.

When I looked for information about the Straton Pro (just from curiosity - because it looks amazing in real life) I came across a spectral test it went through and the results showed a spike between 385nm to 400nm for the 405nm diods IIRC.

My guess is that just like the ReeFi, the 405nm diodes are actually binned 380nm diodes that will produce UVA just fine, but aren’t meeting the highest requirements for it to be sold as a 380nm diode.

I guess what really matters is what it shows under the spectrometer, rather than what the Company officially says and it goes both ways (though usually leans to the other side).

Edit:

ATI Straton - IG-Meeresaquaristik

Einen schönen guten Abend Gestern habe ich mal wieder eine Packet erhalten. Eigentlich habe ich durch meine Selbstständigkeit kaum noch Zeit fürs Messen von LED Modulen, aber wen es Hersteller gibt, die mir so etwas zustellen mache ich dies noch…

ig-meeresaquaristik.de

Edit 2: ReeFi Uno 2.0 Pro

 

[jda]

If that spectrum exists in decent quantity (not some trace amount), then you likely will get some colors in time that usually only happen with MH or the tubes that are geared for this.

If they last for more than a year, then that will be good. These kind of diodes have been short lived in the past. If they last for like 3-5 years or the lifetime of the unit, this could be the largest improvement in LEDs since multicolored diodes were introduced. Now we just need some IR to help move energy between the photosystems.

 

[DanyL]

If that spectrum exists in decent quantity (not some trace amount), then you likely will get some colors in time that usually only happen with MH or the tubes that are geared for this.

If they last for more than a year, then that will be good. These kind of diodes have been short lived in the past. If they last for like 3-5 years or the lifetime of the unit, this could be the largest improvement in LEDs since multicolored diodes were introduced. Now we just need some IR to help move energy between the photosystems.

As I mentioned earlier I do see a real change in coloring with the ReeFi after I cranked them to 100%, and there’s enough of it to light the whole tank alone.

As for longevity - I have the first gen Unos over my main system for 3 years in February, and I’ve been running the channel at 70% for that whole time frame, I haven’t seen any signs of it going bad or yellowing.

Here are some UVA only pics I shot lately (and sorry for the bad quality - cameras are really struggling to catch the sheer amount of glow it produces)

Edit: I should’ve clarified - I increased the UVA to 100% on my ReeFi Uno 2.0 Pros over my frag tank, which is pictured above.
Main system is still set to 70%, although I’m tempted to increase it there as well.

 

[oreo54]

That noopsyche post was worse than anything that EcoTech did with their CoralLab nonsense. Any LED company complaining about other fixtures not being full spectrum is just hilarious - like any of them otherside of a few have any real UV or IR outside of the 400-700nm range.

Maybe someone can spend some $$'s and at least attempt a comparative study

 

[oreo54]

Actually - Both the ReeFis and ATI Straton Pro do have actual, real UVA and enough of it to actually matter.

Shhh...you'll ruin a good tale ..

 

[DanyL]

Maybe someone can spend some $$'s and at least attempt a comparative study

Where’s telegraham at?

 

[oreo54]

Where’s telegraham at?

I was referring to this ..

 

[BeanAnimal]

Seriously, go and look at some displays with Kessils. They give some people a near headache. Videos are not quite the same.

I don't care for the look. Shimmer and at the same time oddly dim. Want something to look like halide, then use halide is my take. I like the look of my halides far better than ANY led I have ever seen. I don't like the sudden on/off or elbow burns or the lack of control.

 

[DanyL]

I was referring to this ..

This is on a whole other level, but I doubt anyone would invest in a large scale research like this unless there’s some real $$ involved.

 

[PeterErc]

No more LED here, I used a couple budget Smatfarm G5 and took them down. Put a 175w halide over a 36g and a 150w over a 20g.
Took some hunting around to find the pendants but worth the effort. Picked up some 175,150w bulbs easy enough for now.
Another vote here for halide.

 

[AquaLogic]

As I mentioned earlier I do see a real change in coloring with the ReeFi after I cranked them to 100%, and there’s enough of it to light the whole tank alone.

As for longevity - I have the first gen Unos over my main system for 3 years in February, and I’ve been running the channel at 70% for that whole time frame, I haven’t seen any signs of it going bad or yellowing.

Here are some UVA only pics I shot lately (and sorry for the bad quality - cameras are really struggling to catch the sheer amount of glow it produces)

Edit: I should’ve clarified - I increased the UVA to 100% on my ReeFi Uno 2.0 Pros over my frag tank, which is pictured above.
Main system is still set to 70%, although I’m tempted to increase it there as well.

Really beautiful shots. I suspected that the Noopsyche stuff was baseless trash talk, but always good to get more opinions before investing. I like the look of the Reefi lights from what I have seen in photos and on youtube. As far as how pleasant they are to view, I find them second only to kessil for me. Now I haven't seen any of these lights in person other than Radion, so I have to base it on videos unfortunately. When I look at Radions I dislike them. They just look like T5. If I wanted my tank to look like T5 I would just use T5. I would definitely choose Reefi of Radion.

On top of that, I've soured on Ecotech. I think their pricing is exploitive.

 

[AquaLogic]

No more LED here, I used a couple budget Smatfarm G5 and took them down. Put a 175w halide over a 36g and a 150w over a 20g.
Took some hunting around to find the pendants but worth the effort. Picked up some 175,150w bulbs easy enough for now.
Another vote here for halide.

What pendants did you use?

 

[DanyL]

Really beautiful shots. I suspected that the Noopsyche stuff was baseless trash talk, but always good to get more opinions before investing. I like the look of the Reefi lights from what I have seen in photos and on youtube. As far as how pleasant they are to view, I find them second only to kessil for me. Now I haven't seen any of these lights in person other than Radion, so I have to base it on videos unfortunately. When I look at Radions I dislike them. They just look like T5. If I wanted my tank to look like T5 I would just use T5. I would definitely choose Reefi of Radion.

On top of that, I've soured on Ecotech. I think their pricing is exploitive.

Thank you, these were the only shots out of many that I was able to somewhat capture the look of the UVA, although in real life it is so much more bright and dramatic.

While many compare the Uno to the Radion to present it as an alternative (and admittedly I do fall into this category as well), they aren’t the same thing.

It is the fact that the ReeFi has a wider range, a lot more power and multiple spreading options which makes it able to also mimic the feel and look of the Radion, but it can also be configured vastly differently from it as well.

Im my frag tank setup I aimed for a bright full spectrum look because I personally like it and to prevent “blue hands” when I take frag shots, and I doubled the mounting height to make it easier for me to access the tank, the high surface turbulence was created to give enough high flow in a mostly SPS focused frag tank - I never aimed to create a shimmer with it, but it was a pleasant by product which today I’d try to mimic in all my future tanks because I fell in love with it.

That being said - the only concern I have for your planned Nano is light spill, because as you go up in height, the spread increases as well. A 60deg reflectors should both alleviate this problem and increase the shimmer even more, but I don’t know how it’ll end up looking.

I highly suggest to shoot a message to Daniel Lu and explain what are you looking to get from this light, he’s honest and never tried to push anything just to make a sale from my experience and he may potentially even setup a test for it.

As you can see lightning discussions can go south really fast - there are many opinions, and lots of different options available to choose from, but I think the options presented to you here are solid and they are based on real life experiences.

Kessil do have the most exaggerated shimmer from them all, and the ReeFi is a great bang for the buck and can be used to create a beautiful though more subtle shimmer under a certain configuration.

And lastly - like I said before, you could always go back to actual MH, because you already know it’ll be exactly what you’re looking for.

 

[Bruttall]

Have you looked at my reply? Have glance

The sheer amount of power the Uno has actually allows you to mimic the looks of a MH, just by mounting higher than usual and cranking up the wattage

Put it together with a full spectrum, and you’re getting very close to a MH look and feel.

And yeah - I didn’t even mention all the other benefits you mentioned here, it does cost half as much as the competitors, comes with a 3 year warranty and produces a fat wide spectrum like no other light has done before.

But for most, just the sheer amount of possibilities with this light are usually enough to make the call.

6 months growth under Reefi, seriously I can't say enough good things about these lights!

 

[PeterErc]

What pendants did you use?

Hamilton Bali sun mogul on the 36g, found one brand new for 50$. And an old aquatic life 150w pendant in great shape with ballast for 80$ shipped. Also found two select a watt ballast for 70 shipped.
Posted in the wanted to buy on this website and found some other stuff.

Reef Brite is available brand new but I am too cheap. Pricing may be similar to LED except you get interchangeable, replaceable, somewhat repairable gear that should last. I saw a thread recently stating that the reef brite xho are burning out in +- 3 years or so. They are pricey as well and I have used them so I don’t know. I am waiting for the LFS to get an order in .
I ordered popular grow 54w LED bars from Ali, haven’t received them yet so ne feed back there.
I have always done DIY LED, so playing no playing with the big boys for me. I find that LED makes great supplemental lighting especially with T5. I prefer larger arrays with lower amperage, diode’s don’t get as hot and burn out as quickly. Inexpensive chips work fine IME. Refugium lights with LED work well too.

I prefer the look of MH, so that is my choice. Only live once and any day could be game over, ya never know. As I get older I am realizing this more and more. I used to be indestructible but **** hurts now lol

 

[PeterErc]

One month growth 250w Ushio 14k,
Different angles and but noticeable growth on some frags
Nov. 18
Dec. 19

 

[dhnguyen]

6 months growth under Reefi, seriously I can't say enough good things about these lights!

Now if only they would catch up with the time and actually write a decent UI for the application. I cringe and involuntarily twitch every time I see the Reefi UI

The 90's called and want their Netscape UI back. LOL

 

[dhnguyen]

@OP no LED lights can match MH in shimmer and growth. I really miss running those Radium MHs back in the day.

I myself run the Noo-psyche LEDs now and they are decent especially given the price point. The shimmer isn't like MH but it's good enough for my eyes.