4 choices narrowed down

[VintageReefer]

The markup on them is way up there too

there was 4 years of r/d, testing, fabrication, and app development put into the meridians. It’s a 100% original from the ground up design. the optics alone cost over a million dollars to develop. RB is a small private company not a conglomerate owned entity. Prices also went up due to tariffs, something out of their control. The margin is actually low, and the owner hasn’t cut himself a paycheck for months and drives a civic or accord. Their isn’t a huge markup on this light. It cost a ton to get it into existence, and it’s honestly a fantastic light that is slimline, silent, water resistant, has its own spectrum and custom led layout, and features nobody else has. And the whole system is modular and can have addons, and daisychaining. The app is great also and more features are in development for future release.

 

[minus9]

Which is?

They sell them to LFS and vendors for a drastically lower price to advertise. Which I get, but the difference to the customer is pretty drastic. But maybe that’s just the cost of marketing?

 

[minus9]

there was 4 years of r/d, testing, fabrication, and app development put into the meridians. It’s a 100% original from the ground up design. the optics alone cost over a million dollars to develop. RB is a small private company not a conglomerate owned entity. Prices also went up due to tariffs, something out of their control. The margin is actually low, and the owner hasn’t cut himself a paycheck for months and drives a civic or accord. Their isn’t a huge markup on this light. It cost a ton to get it into existence, and it’s honestly a fantastic light that is slimline, silent, water resistant, has its own spectrum and custom led layout, and features nobody else has. And the whole system is modular and can have addons, and daisychaining. The app is great also and more features are in development for future release.

Really? Doesn’t seem like they would have any money left to bring them to market. The optics are that revolutionary? How? Sorry, I’m not trying to be difficult, but I want to understand how the optics cost that much to develop? I’ve seen them in person and there’s nothing there that would warrant that much R/D costs. Again, just curious on how this light is different from any other panel style light out there?

 

[wickedxreef]

I use Meridian wit the 14k edge bars. The spectrum is unlike anything Ive seen before. It’s worth it and you can always add the bars down the line.

My coral colors are popping better than ever

I second this! I love the shimmer and pop I'm getting running the meridian. Having come from Ecotech xr30s, I've been extremely pleased as the performance of my meridian. I love the sleek profile, plus the ability to plug the bars directly into the main fixture allowing for one power assembly.

 

[mbsloan]

Don’t care for the influencers that push Quanta

Reefbreeders is a long, private story. Tons of hobbyists have great success with them. Of your 4, this is what I would pick if I had nothing other options.

Orphek is a trash company IME. Came to market full of lies, got caught in those lies, and then threatened anyone that pointed out those lies. This included a phone call from the US rep to me threatening myself and my family.

It’s definitely not Nicrew or bust for me. There are a lot of great lights on market these days. The Nicrew are just fantastic lights for the price IMO.

The new ATI Straton flex lights look awesome. The Giesemann V12 is absolutely gorgeous but pricey. Best looking light on market IMO.

The Blades are fantastic lights IME as well. Ran my 250 peninsula with them for 9 months. So sleek and easy to mount.

I know I’m new to the saltwater side coming from freshwater and Cichlid tanks… but I’ve done a lot of research and you can’t trust everything you see Online. But I’m really surprised about the quanta comment.

When looking on influencer pages Quanta is probably one of the least represented. In addition, I reached out to them myself and Luca personally emailed me back. The customer service is phenomenal. I just wish for the price point. There were more features that the other companies have. From what I’ve seen that’s just their business model. They feel like the industry has too many “unneeded features”

As far as your other comments, not really sure about any of them. I think that if we really dug into any of the companies, there’s probably less than desirable things you would find out. Very few companies in this day and age have an impeccable track record, high-end owner, or CEO, or doesn’t outsource to slave countries heck even a lot of the German companies that dominate the world today have **** roots.

My opinion is unless it’s personally happened to you or there’s a widespread known issue getting into the politics of it all is not really worth it because all companies have crap

 

[VintageReefer]

They sell them to LFS and vendors for a drastically lower price to advertise. Which I get, but the difference to the customer is pretty drastic. But maybe that’s just the cost of marketing?

Are you sure of this? Or is it an assumption. Honestly I haven’t heard of this and don’t know if it’s true or not. I know the owner of medium size vendor (a wholesaler actually) that purchased a few and liked them so much they converted several more reef tanks to them out of pocket. The prices were cheaper during prerelease/early reservation time and pretarrifs

 

[Hooz]

So... I am a proud gear geek, and a spectrum junkie. I am not an influencer by any means. I am also a proud supporter of "the little guy", especially when they do it better than anyone else.

All that being said, I think that the Quanta Helix has the best spectrum of any strip-type LED bar available. If it was me, I'd probably do a 5 bar setup (I'm also a fool for symmetry), with 3 Meso Blues and either 2 Reefcrest Daylight or the new Tropic Sun, depending on how white you want the tank to look. This is a buy it once and run it forever kind of setup too. Chances of needing to add more lights down the road are basically nil (already edge-to-edge coverage), and you'll be able to grow anything you want in that tank.

The mounts they have are nice, but on a big peninsula, I would hang them if at all possible for a clean look. I really think the Helix (or Orphek OR3) type bars benefit a lot from being mounted a bit higher. IMO, 10-12" off the water would be perfect. If you orient them all the same way, all the cords will come out the same end and you can bundle them for less "spaghetti" and a cleaner look.

If you have a $1500 budget, the 5 bar Helix combo ($850) would leave you plenty of money to invest in a controller of some sort. That would be a worthwhile investment as you could then dim/ramp each bar to really customize the look and even out the coverage. Depending on your controller choice, you could also get lunar scheduling and other nifty features like that. On a tank like that, you'll end up wanting a controller anyway, and Hydros, Apec and GHL all have options for controlling the lights.

I think the "Quanta influencers" hate is mostly due to ONE outspoken influencer who professes to love Quanta lights. In fairness, that one guy has a line of haters for a variety of reasons other than his outspoken support for Quanta. That doesn't change the fact that the Helix is probably the best bar out there right now.

At this point I'm not sure if I'd run a free Orphek light. There are just too many better options for less money. I'm not a huge fan of Reefi, either, although I would rate them higher than Orpheks FOR SURE.

My jury is still out on the Meridian. The spectrum is improved over the Photon v2, the options of changing lenses for wider or narrower spread is cool, and the future possibility of custom LEDs pucks is REALLY interesting. But, I feel like they lost the one thing that made the Photon v2 such a popular light... Price.

 

[Troylee]

Any of the lights you picked in your top 4 are solid.. we could go on for days about this lol… my personal favorite of the 4 are meridians and reefi uno.. I’ve used both and they perform well! They fit my style better also.. being your gonna set up a mixed reef you can’t go wrong!

 

[mbsloan]

So... I am a proud gear geek, and a spectrum junkie. I am not an influencer by any means. I am also a proud supporter of "the little guy", especially when they do it better than anyone else.

All that being said, I think that the Quanta Helix has the best spectrum of any strip-type LED bar available. If it was me, I'd probably do a 5 bar setup (I'm also a fool for symmetry), with 3 Meso Blues and either 2 Reefcrest Daylight or the new Tropic Sun, depending on how white you want the tank to look. This is a buy it once and run it forever kind of setup too. Chances of needing to add more lights down the road are basically nil (already edge-to-edge coverage), and you'll be able to grow anything you want in that tank.

The mounts they have are nice, but on a big peninsula, I would hang them if at all possible for a clean look. I really think the Helix (or Orphek OR3) type bars benefit a lot from being mounted a bit higher. IMO, 10-12" off the water would be perfect. If you orient them all the same way, all the cords will come out the same end and you can bundle them for less "spaghetti" and a cleaner look.

If you have a $1500 budget, the 5 bar Helix combo ($850) would leave you plenty of money to invest in a controller of some sort. That would be a worthwhile investment as you could then dim/ramp each bar to really customize the look and even out the coverage. Depending on your controller choice, you could also get lunar scheduling and other nifty features like that. On a tank like that, you'll end up wanting a controller anyway, and Hydros, Apec and GHL all have options for controlling the lights.

At this point I'm not sure if I'd run a free Orphek light. There are just too many better options for less money. I'm not a huge fan of Reefi, either, although I would rate them higher than Orpheks FOR SURE.

My jury is still out on the Meridian. The spectrum is improved over the Photon v2, the options of changing lenses for wider or narrower spread is cool, and the future possibility of custom LEDs pucks is REALLY interesting. But, I feel like they lost the one thing that made the Photon v2 such a popular light... Price.

Great insight. The only issue is it isn’t $850, it is $1150-$1399. The $850 is for 24 inch tank, mine is 60. Luca said I would need the 47” ones and to hang center of the overflow box/front. Which is $1149, Plus a controller. Which is doable. I will eventually get a hydros anyways. On another note I have heard great things about the Atlas but maybe I am alone in this, but I HATE the giant dome shade. I think it looks so big and bulky.

Any reason on the negative view of Orphek? I have not seen a ton of bad reviews or issues. I have heard people having great long term success with them, am I missing something? I will admit, not a huge fan of the Reefi either. Just from what I have seen.

The Meridian 45 is $1499. Which is basically what it is going to cost regardless of light if I want to be able to control it.

This is a rimless peninsula in my living room.

#1 priority is wife happiness…has to look good and clean. It is a “divider” between my living room
And dining room.

#2 is functionality and growth/visual appeal

#3 is control ability.

 

[mbsloan]

Any of the lights you picked in your top 4 are solid.. we could go on for days about this lol… my personal favorite of the 4 are meridians and reefi uno.. I’ve used both and they perform well! They fit my style better also.. being your gonna set up a mixed reef you can’t go wrong!

I agree, Honestly based on all the people on this forum and on YouTube have proved that you can grow coral with all of them including the ones I don’t want.

My biggest concern before pulling the trigger is honestly looking for something I might have missed. I was 100% sold on Quanta but wanted more controllability so I migrated to the RB and Orphek.

Unless something major changes it will be one of those 3 options. And honestly might come down to the day I buy them.

As I said in my other post, I need it to be clean and “pretty” so the wife is happy with it being in the living room above a rimless tank.

All my other tanks are out of sight not this one.

Need to be mindful of growth, light spill, visual effects, but I know enough about the general hobby is I don’t need to spend $5k on radeons.

 

[FishLvR]

I am running the Reefbreeders V2 Pros and will probably run them until they die. It started with my 45 gallon, had to buy a second when I upgraded and run them side by side. App is OK. It works well enough. People add bars to them, but I don't see why that would be necessary par wise since it's crazy even at sand level. They were the cheaper option too. So I have been more than pleased. I used their old par34 on my Fluval when they still made them. Just overall a good company with good products. HOWEVER orpheks have always been my second favorite. A tank here in town runs them and they look great. Better color in my humble opinion than my V2 but twice as expensive.

 

[rtparty]

If looks are key, the Blades would be my first choice. Or the Giesemann V12 if you have the cash

3 Blades (2 Grow and 1 Glow) will grow anything you want in that tank and they can be mounted elegantly.

I totally understand the wife factor and that was priority #1 on my new build. The new tank is right at the bottom of our stairs in the basement. You see it immediately. She told me it’s the best looking setup I’ve ever done. I used a Giesemann Spectra halide setup for this one but if going LEDs I would very likely use 3 Blades like my 250

 

[minus9]

Are you sure of this? Or is it an assumption. Honestly I haven’t heard of this and don’t know if it’s true or not. I know the owner of medium size vendor (a wholesaler actually) that purchased a few and liked them so much they converted several more reef tanks to them out of pocket. The prices were cheaper during prerelease/early reservation time and pretarrifs

Yes, I know first hand but don’t want to jeopardize the relationship between RB and LFS’s.

 

[VintageReefer]

But, I feel like they lost the one thing that made the Photon v2 such a popular light... Price.

I’ll agree with you on this as well, as a multiple photon owner in the past. And you have to understand that while the photon and photon v2 were great lights, they were rebranded from other companies and had a custom spectrum and better warranty with USA representation.

The meridian is a completely original design by RB and that costs a lot more than customizing someone else’s design and tweaking an existing product.

I wasn’t going to upgrade to meridians and I talked directly to RB about the cost over the photon and I was schooled

The meridian 35 is the replacement for the photon 48. The optics are so much better, you don’t need full length panel like they did with the photons.

What really got me on board was the owner telling me this “the photon is a highly successful light and we didn’t want to release a successor unless it was worthy. There isn’t one thing that the photon does better then the meridian. We tested. We checked. Not one thing.”

The optics and power is better. I replaced this - a photon 48v2 with a 48” led bar and a 24” led bar…

Replaced with this

Just two of the meridian 11 panels.

I was skeptical that two panels could outperform my prior rig. Well. It does. I have better spectum, better coverage, and better par.

When radion went from gen3/4 to gen5/6 people complained about the significant par loss due to the new optics which were designed for more spread and better blending. Well, reefbreeders didn’t have to sacrifice one for the other. They improved coverage but retained the power.

I can turn up my whites for a brighter tank, but not loose the beautiful coral colors. For the first time, I can get intense color pop with the whites up

The optics were expensive to develop because they are custom designed and can have huge coverage, and still send usable par down to tanks 32” deep

It’s still hard for me to believe these two small panels replaced my 4 foot panel, but they do the job better and this was a worthwhile upgrade. The colors I’m pulling are fantastic

 

[Hooz]

If looks are key, the Blades would be my first choice. Or the Giesemann V12 if you have the cash

3 Blades (2 Grow and 1 Glow) will grow anything you want in that tank and they can be mounted elegantly.

I was SO excited about the Blades when they came out. It would've been my perfect light, I loved everything about them, and I would've run them on everything... but... as I've said before, I'm a spectrum nerd, and the Blade's spectrum (even in a Glow/Grow combo) has some pretty big holes in it.

Will they grow coral? Absolutely! Will the coral look as good as it possibly could? Ehhh...

Blades were a swing and a miss for me.

 

[TelegrahamTested LLC]

Don’t care for the influencers that push Quanta

I wonder if that "influencer" is the hobbyist who's fan of Nicrew, ReeFi, and Quanta. Or maybe it's someone else?

Option one: Quanta Helix 4 light bar combo. Pros is that it is pretty much plug-in. Play not a ton of set up. Feel like I will get good coverage. Cons there’s very little adjustability. If you want to do ramp up ramp down, you need to buy a controller or something similar.

Option two: Reef i Uno2.x. We need 3 of these. Pros are that is highly adjustable. Cons are running three in a row is a little bit tough for cable management not as clean also, one of the most expensive options of these four.

Option three: Orphek Natura Icon. Will need two units. Pros it is expandable by adding light bars down the side if needed. Cons the units are a little bit larger.

Option 4: Reefbreeders meridian 45. Pros I like that it is expandable with light bars. Also like it being one unit all the way down the tank. Cons even though it’s expandable down the road will probably end up costing the most.

The Helix combo will be simple, and when paired with the $100 GHL Light WiFi, you'll have great control for less than the other controller brands' offerings. Luca builds lights for corals first, people second. BTW, the Atlas can be used without the reflector. Check the warranty. US support.

The Uno 2 is also a great option. A very complete spectrum that gives you lots of looks options, and freakishly powerful for its size. One does not need fancy optics when the light is a beast. Check the warranty. US support.

The Natura is a black box with a great spectrum, loud fan, and ok power. If you can get it wholesale, then it's a decent buy. At the retail price, I'd stay away. Check the warranty.

Reefbreeders seems to be aligned with the big boy pricing, and their shared spectrum doesn't wow me. It's also the only light I've not personally touched. $1M on optics? Where is that published, and why would one do that? And $1M on optics with this spectrum? Check the warranty. US Support.

If there's another published Meridian spectrum out there, let me know. Happy to course correct.

This is stale, pre-tariffs pricing, but you get the point.

GNC BlueRay X - $9.64/W
ATI Straton Pro 102 - $8.62/W
Ilumagic X4 - $6.66/W
Orphek Natura iCon - $5.73/W
AI Edge 68HD - $5.18/W
XR15 Pro - $5.05/W
Radion XR30 Pro - $4.66/W
Meridian 24 - $4.66/W
GHL Mitras 7206 - $4.62/W
AI Edge 44HD - $4.21/W

Quanta Atlas - $2.08/W
ReeFi Uno 2.1 Pro - $1.81/W

The Blades are a no for me. Early build quality issues, inaccurate spectrum advertising, and their spectrum is a great example of paying more for less.

 

[Boehmtown]

I love the quanta helix bars. I added a single A80, you may need 2 , it really looks cool at night and in the morning, and it's such low par the corals don't even really register the light

 

[rtparty]

I was SO excited about the Blades when they came out. It would've been my perfect light, I loved everything about them, and I would've run them on everything... but... as I've said before, I'm a spectrum nerd, and the Blade's spectrum (even in a Glow/Grow combo) has some pretty big holes in it.

Will they grow coral? Absolutely! Will the coral look as good as it possibly could? Ehhh...

Blades were a swing and a miss for me.

Funny cuz I ACTUALLY ran them for months and those “spectrum holes” didn’t matter at all.

Switching to Radions produced no better color even though the spectrum was “so much better”

 

[jbrady429]

Funny cuz I ACTUALLY ran them for months and those “spectrum holes” didn’t matter at all.

Switching to Radions produced no better color even though the spectrum was “so much better”

This may be an old discussion by this point, but as a total "non-influencer" I'll say that I'm using five Quanta Helix bars (three ReefCrest Daylights, two Meso Blues) over my 48" x 24" x 20" sps tank and I absolutely love them. I'm dimming them via my Hydros X4 controller, and I couldn't be happier.

 

[Hooz]

Funny cuz I ACTUALLY ran them for months and those “spectrum holes” didn’t matter at all.

Switching to Radions produced no better color even though the spectrum was “so much better”

LOL! Yeah. I don't run Radions either.