G5 or Sky?

[Delloman]

Ended up getting 2 skys as I am deep in apex if Ecotech had not killed the compatibility I woukd have considered G5s

 

[areefer01]

Ended up getting 2 skys as I am deep in apex if Ecotech had not killed the compatibility I woukd have considered G5s

Kessil and Sicce should get credit for integration with Neptune products via their IOTA layers. I understand this thread has people that dislike Neptune but this shows one how companies should work together for the better of the hobbyist. I've used both and have to say they work amazingly well. Just added a Sicce power head and its great.

 

[blaxsun]

Ended up getting 2 skys as I am deep in apex if Ecotech had not killed the compatibility I woukd have considered G5s

How do you like your SKYs? (too early to say?)

 

[Delloman]

Setup and apex integration was easy and fast they look good as my fish had no lights for a few days I am slowly upping them my last setup was 250 MH and compacts skys are close. Tank is still new so no corals yet. Yes my second choice was Kessil and LED hybrid that is available on BRS it was a hard choice.

 

[cpllongjk]

Truth is that the AB+ for both is different. The G5 Blues look NOTHING like the original AB+ that we have had for years. Ecotech didn't even sniff the same look. I had a G5 Blue and G5 Pro right next to each other. Set both to AB+ and they were quite different. I personally didn't like the Blue at all. That is all you get. Blue. There is no true white setting to see the reflective colors of corals and fish. I ditched the Blue and went Pro for almost a year. Had good success overall.

I could make the Pro plenty blue for my dusk/dawn rave party look. But I also got the nice bright white for daytime viewing. The Pros were also 100x easier to film and get pictures with

Thanks Rtparty,

This is the exact information and review I was looking for.

 

[TK_KW]

I also went with Sky's.
Unlike what others have preached I've always had great luck with Neptune, and I'm in deep with Neptune, so it was a no-brainer

 

[Delloman]

@TK_KW Nice you traded bolth kidney where I still have one how is dialysis? Or did you trade a lung?

 

[Bronx19]

G5, watch the ReefBuilder's tear down of the SKY light and save yourself the headache when it burns out in a year

Did he pull that video down?

 

[Gedxin]

Did he pull that video down?

Not a video, it's a blog post here https://reefbuilders.com/2021/08/18/neptune-sky-led-teardown-make-your-own-conclusions/

A number of questionable decisions were made with the light imo. Only 4 channels and no moisture barrier being the biggest 'huh' from me.

 

[GHOSTLY]

G5!

 

[areefer01]

Not a video, it's a blog post here https://reefbuilders.com/2021/08/18/neptune-sky-led-teardown-make-your-own-conclusions/

A number of questionable decisions were made with the light imo. Only 4 channels and no moisture barrier being the biggest 'huh' from me.

You mean an "opinion'? Has Jake designed a retail light?

Why do you think 4 controllable channels are a concern or a bad? There are 15 pre-set spectrums. Kessil has 5 channels one can control. Others up to 9. Did it cross your mind at all that maybe Neptune actually did some homework to see how many hobbyists may use more than that? Maybe it is how they are grouped up.

Most hobbyists do not have par meters as it is a limited use product and would be an additional cost. Even the Seneye unit is 200 bucks with others North of 500. The SKY is a single unit that can cross both spectrums. Few kits require you to buy a blue or white.

Long term quality we all have to wait and see but initial product launch and out of box experience? Look around. It is doing very well outside the hit or opinion pieces.

 

[Gedxin]

You mean an "opinion'? Has Jake designed a retail light?

Why do you think 4 controllable channels are a concern or a bad? There are 15 pre-set spectrums. Kessil has 5 channels one can control. Others up to 9. Did it cross your mind at all that maybe Neptune actually did some homework to see how many hobbyists may use more than that? Maybe it is how they are grouped up.

Most hobbyists do not have par meters as it is a limited use product and would be an additional cost. Even the Seneye unit is 200 bucks with others North of 500. The SKY is a single unit that can cross both spectrums. Few kits require you to buy a blue or white.

Long term quality we all have to wait and see but initial product launch and out of box experience? Look around. It is doing very well outside the hit or opinion pieces.

I literally said 'in my opinion' in my post. So yeah, it's an opinion.

More options for channels is never a bad thing. You're telling me giving the consumer fewer options is better for them? I don't agree.

I didn't say it's a bad light. I didn't say you shouldn't buy it. I said they're questionable decisions and you should QUESTION why they were made.

 

[areefer01]

More options for channels is never a bad thing. You're telling me giving the consumer fewer options is better for them? I don't agree.

I'm asking you or anyone else who says it is a bad decision why you believe so. So far none of the answers provide any compelling reason why other than "maybe" more is better. That doesn't lead to a "questionable decision".

I didn't say it's a bad light. I didn't say you shouldn't buy it. I said they're questionable decisions and you should QUESTION why they were made.

First I do not need to question it because I don't believe there are any questionable decisions. It is that simple. I read the piece you quoted and a few others and in my opinion they are nothing more than click bait blog entries. There is no objectivity and none of them bothered to email Neptune to ask basic questions (look no further than the gasket).

I don't recall any other product in this hobby getting so much grief. Mind boggling.

 

[rtparty]

Control on LEDs is one of the top causes of coral death in the last 10 years. More is not better in this case. Manufacturers need to up their game and leave individual channel control out of lights. If they want to provide it, it needs to be buried in advanced settings with a major warning.

Less control is not one of the negatives of the Sky. Unless you have a spectrometer, people should be leaving individual colors alone.

 

[Jon's Reef]

I think the number of channels is just right. With the G5 I felt compelled to tweak it. I generally stuck with AB+. Kessil is nice because you just tweak the white or blue then add in the green, red or violet ( I never used green or red). With the Sky, I think the template colors are pretty on point, so there is no need to deviate. I do not have a spectrometer, so I always felt a little uneasy about deviating too much from the templates.

One place that they could add an extra channel would be to separate the Royal and Blue. Then people could drop the royal down if they want that greener Blue plus look. That being said, I would not use that feature, so I would rather have it left out to make it simpler and keep the price where it is (more channels = more cost)

 

[PeterC99]

Control on LEDs is one of the top causes of coral death in the last 10 years. More is not better in this case. Manufacturers need to up their game and leave individual channel control out of lights. If they want to provide it, it needs to be buried in advanced settings with a major warning.

Less control is not one of the negatives of the Sky. Unless you have a spectrometer, people should be leaving individual colors alone.

Respectfully disagree. Love the 10 different channels on my Radions. Able to dial in my lights and determine which channels help my corals grow best and what showcases my aquarium the best.

 

[Jon's Reef]

no moisture barrier being the biggest 'huh' from me.

Moisture resistance is definitely an interesting point. For my Kessil H380, I appreciated the conformal coating on the boards. Under the cabinet and close to the water with some occasional salt spray. I did not like it on my A160 when the fan went out and I wanted to DIY the repair.

I have the Sky at 11”, so out of the range of any major water. With the fans blowing down, I think that also keeps the moisture out. I thought the moisture plan that was presented in the live stream was very reasonable. If you want a light that you can dunk in the water, not the light for you.

The moisture plan on the Sky is top down… that is if some drops get on top, into the fans… the heat sink design and gasket have you covered. If your tank has water shooting up into the light, not the right light for you.

 

[flashsmith]

G5s here. Nothing against the sky. I just bought my radions 6 months ago. No reason to switch but as someone with no skin in the game I don't understand why they only used 4 light channels? You would think they would want to 1up everyone else instead of going backwards..

 

[areefer01]

I think the number of channels is just right. With the G5 I felt compelled to tweak it. I generally stuck with AB+. Kessil is nice because you just tweak the white or blue then add in the green, red or violet ( I never used green or red). With the Sky, I think the template colors are pretty on point, so there is no need to deviate. I do not have a spectrometer, so I always felt a little uneasy about deviating too much from the templates.

One place that they could add an extra channel would be to separate the Royal and Blue. Then people could drop the royal down if they want that greener Blue plus look. That being said, I would not use that feature, so I would rather have it left out to make it simpler and keep the price where it is (more channels = more cost)

Some manufactures offer two lights and call them pro or blue. With the SKY it isn't necessary as it is more than capable of providing a balanced spectrum without a PAR loss. This is overlooked by many of those reviewing the lights.

I think philips did a great job with the Gen 2 platform but this was one of BRS complaints. They couldn't get it to fit their bluer spectrum look without losing a lot of PAR. I personally think they got it wrong because if you want a bluer look then obviously the Gen 2 isn't the light for you. Just as an example.

Neptune did a great job offering a single unit with spectrum options. One only has to look at Dana's graph to see this.

 

[areefer01]

G5s here. Nothing against the sky. I just bought my radions 6 months ago. No reason to switch but as someone with no skin in the game I don't understand why they only used 4 light channels? You would think they would want to 1up everyone else instead of going backwards..

You wouldn't be the target audience for upgrading and your lights are great.

On the other hand there isn't really any compelling reason for more than 4 channels other than "it may be nice". Not sure what G5's you bought (pro or blue) but you will lose some par trying to change spectrum if you bought the wrong one or got tired of the look and wanted to change. Not saying you do but it is an example.

With the SKY you don't need to do that. Maybe that is a one up? I don't know but the graph Dana provided is pretty compelling.

Edit: it does go without saying that spectrum is a personal preference and some hobbyists do want more options or dials - I don't want to discount that