Have you had problems with your Orphek atlantik light?

[MadeForThat]

Hi all, I have been reading a fair bit about atlantik V4-gen2's made in the past few years that have burned out on the blue/uv band. I was wondering how common of an issue this is. Of course there are a few louder individuals who have been affected by this, but I am curious how many users have had no problems at all? If you have an atlantik v4gen2 please comment how long ago you got your light, what percentage you run it, and if you have had any issues. I would really appreciate knowing if this happens to everyone or if it is a 1 out of 1000 haha!

 

[Steve H]

I have 9 of these fixtures and 2 have had diodes burn out. All have programming issues and the app is pretty bad. There are significantly better lighting options out there. Been running them for 16 months or so.

 

[MadeForThat]

Running them all full bore? Did you happen to read the date printed on the main LED pcb?

 

[Steve H]

Running them all full bore? Did you happen to read the date printed on the main LED pcb?

I would have to look up the date. I use the LPS and Soft coral program, or at least try to. They randomly switch programs every few days and need to be reset.

 

[blackgate]

No issues here with a post-April 2020 fixture. I have to say, it's taken me a while to come around to the colors of this fixture as I was using a powermodule before it. Now, I have really noticed my sps taking off and finally getting colors other than green or red lol. I wish I would have taken before and after pics. I can't vouch for lps as my tank is just sps, but so far it's been a great decision for me. I certainly hope I don't have any issues and you will find plenty of people with stories just like mine but there are others who have had issues with theirs especially before 2020.

 

[MoKan Reefer]

No hardware related issues with factory direct June 2020 fixtures. Channel 1 maxing @ 45% for 3hrs with 90min ramp on each side. Channels 2 & 3 @ 100% 10hrs with 2hr ramp on each side. Channel 4 maxing @ 30% having the same schedule as channel 1.

I'm curious how the uv diodes will hold up with the "new" wiring and upgraded diodes. They say the UVs are supposed to hold up better long term now with them set at max 50% but nothing has been said about 100% like most of us use them at. My thought is even if the UVs don't last forever, they're easily replaceable compared to radions and AI with puck lighting. That's completely fine by me. A little soldering compared to buying replacement pucks if they make them still when you need them is 100% fine by me. Being able to replace them myself instead of sending my lights in for service is worth it. They're manufactured in China (I believe) so being able to service them myself is a huge plus!

Plus think about the fact they've all been upgradeable since at least the V2s so that makes almost any negatives void because there's no other company in their class that you can anymore besides them!

The lights are stout and very sturdy. They're awesome fixtures with a ton of astetic appeal. They're super powerful 100% honestly and make everything look great.

Downsides:
First they weigh a lot more than most fixtures on the market in their class and there's no real manufactured mounting options for them minus the tank mounts which are made for use on rimless tanks which with the weight of the fixtures makes me a bit paranoid to be honest. The hanging kit also sketches me out a bit considering the weight a ceiling mount of any type would have to withstand to hold these fixtures.

Second, is there's only 4 controllable channels to control compared to the controllability from Radion and Aqua Illumination. I don't mind much personally because it's a bit more idiot proof, less to mess up and they look great no matter what settings you use (not overly white even with my settings but it's all in personal preferences.

Lastly, as pretty much anyone will tell you, the app no matter what you use isn't good. It disconnects on it's own and can be a bit of a pain to learn to program. But to me, it's actually fine because it stops me from constantly playing with the settings unlike the others without these issues. Once it's programmed, it makes you think twice if it's really worth it to deal with it all to mess with playing with the settings again. But to be frank, they could really take some notes from Aqua Illumination on the wifi and controllability.

All in all, I'm a huge fan. Never been too impressed with Radions or AI which I've owned numerous models numerous times and don't like the looks of t5s personally but unlike some users, I actually love these lights. They have their pros and cons like any other but they're my favorite by far to this point.

Sorry for the long winded reply but I'd rather be thorough and honest in my experience so far. But like I'd said earlier, I'm curious to see how they hold up over time with their promised upgrades. Time will tell I guess

Pic of my tank currently...

 

[Shefilbel7]

My uv channel went out on my Atlantik v4 a little over a year after I bought my lights. I bought the kit to change the light panel to the PCB LED Jan 2020. Last week my channel 3 pc card stopped working and that’s going to cost more to replace. Honestly not sure if it’s worth it to keep going with this light if it has cost more money each year just to keep it operating correctly

 

[biecacka]

No hardware related issues with factory direct June 2020 fixtures. Channel 1 maxing @ 45% for 3hrs with 90min ramp on each side. Channels 2 & 3 @ 100% 10hrs with 2hr ramp on each side. Channel 4 maxing @ 30% having the same schedule as channel 1.

I'm curious how the uv diodes will hold up with the "new" wiring and upgraded diodes. They say the UVs are supposed to hold up better long term now with them set at max 50% but nothing has been said about 100% like most of us use them at. My thought is even if the UVs don't last forever, they're easily replaceable compared to radions and AI with puck lighting. That's completely fine by me. A little soldering compared to buying replacement pucks if they make them still when you need them is 100% fine by me. Being able to replace them myself instead of sending my lights in for service is worth it. They're manufactured in China (I believe) so being able to service them myself is a huge plus!

Plus think about the fact they've all been upgradeable since at least the V2s so that makes almost any negatives void because there's no other company in their class that you can anymore besides them!

The lights are stout and very sturdy. They're awesome fixtures with a ton of astetic appeal. They're super powerful 100% honestly and make everything look great.

Downsides:
First they weigh a lot more than most fixtures on the market in their class and there's no real manufactured mounting options for them minus the tank mounts which are made for use on rimless tanks which with the weight of the fixtures makes me a bit paranoid to be honest. The hanging kit also sketches me out a bit considering the weight a ceiling mount of any type would have to withstand to hold these fixtures.

Second, is there's only 4 controllable channels to control compared to the controllability from Radion and Aqua Illumination. I don't mind much personally because it's a bit more idiot proof, less to mess up and they look great no matter what settings you use (not overly white even with my settings but it's all in personal preferences.

Lastly, as pretty much anyone will tell you, the app no matter what you use isn't good. It disconnects on it's own and can be a bit of a pain to learn to program. But to me, it's actually fine because it stops me from constantly playing with the settings unlike the others without these issues. Once it's programmed, it makes you think twice if it's really worth it to deal with it all to mess with playing with the settings again. But to be frank, they could really take some notes from Aqua Illumination on the wifi and controllability.

All in all, I'm a huge fan. Never been too impressed with Radions or AI which I've owned numerous models numerous times and don't like the looks of t5s personally but unlike some users, I actually love these lights. They have their pros and cons like any other but they're my favorite by far to this point.

Sorry for the long winded reply but I'd rather be thorough and honest in my experience so far. But like I'd said earlier, I'm curious to see how they hold up over time with their promised upgrades. Time will tell I guess

Pic of my tank currently...

Can you show us your program, the ramping part Of it?

thank you,
corey

 

[MoKan Reefer]

Can you show us your program, the ramping part Of it?

thank you,
corey

Here it is. Screenshot each channel so you can see ramping and percentages for each

 

[biecacka]

Thank you

corey

 

[Dlealrious]

I had a terrible run, mine was 2018 i started to use april 19. Replaced 1 board that completey lost its blues start of mid 2020. Other 2 also had multiple led out but didn't want to spend money fixing. New board became defective end of 2020. Uv channel was playing up. They replaced under warranty and i replaced other 2 also. Just swapped out all 3 boards and 1 was defective so waiting on new one. Light is awesome and looks nice. Just hoping new boards last for years to come

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have five Atlantik with 2 of them being gen 1 and no issues with them or the WiFi. Their tank coverage is excellent and although fixtures weigh a bit- they’re well balanced.

 

[Luisreefmexico]

I have 3 Atlantik V4 gen2 since January 2019 and they are excellent, i have good coloration and all may coral are growing up.
In comparison with radion or other led options I think the atlantik is the best, the have a lot of power, distribution and without disco ball effect, also you can upgrade it for a piece of the price, with other brands you cant, you have to buy the new lamp.

 

[DxMarinefish]

I have 2 v4 Gen 2s, bought August 2019 so my PCB are 2019. Both experienced dead LED's Nov/Dec last year.

I was just out of warranty so i had to pay $200 each plus import duties and VAT. They paid for the P&P.

Mine was sent from Hong Kong to the UK.

I have replaced one of the PCB boards.
The second PCB will be replaced tonight as my Thermal Paste have now arrived.

Replacement was easy, especially with the instructions (https://orphek.com/led/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/How-to-change-the-WIFI-Module-and-the-PC-card-and-the-PCB-of-LEDs20181106.pdf)

Took me about 1 hour in all.

My experience is that I love the lights, they grow corals and for my 3 foot deep tank I don't have many options for LED lighting.

I am peed off that for £1800 I still had to pay to get the PCB replaced for just over 14 months uses. If this was any other product it would be Product recall because its a know issue with pre-2020 PCB. While the customer comms is good, it does not justify the fact that the PCB burn out is know.

I run my lights at
CH1=25%
CH2=100%
CH3=100%
CH4=62%

 

[grevedin]

They are a piece of garbage if you ask me. I had 4 V4 Gen 1 and have now replaced with 4 GHL Mitras and there is absolutely no comparison. German engineering vs cheap Chinese and awful customer service. This was my full experience a few years back which I posted in the Orphek feedback section on UK reefing board as that is where I’m based:


I thought I should I post my experience with the 4 Orphek V4 Gen 1 lights I purchased directly from Orphek in Hong Kong a little over a year ago.

The lights are amazing, when they work, but I have had a pretty bad experience with the way they support the product. In addition, the latest communication with the owner has been quite testy, given that he is now threatening legal action because I want to share my experience. Lastly, this is not a reflection on Tony on here who has only become involved very recently and has always tried to help out and be supportive.

Nonetheless I will try and be as factual, and balanced as possible with my account, for which I have extensive email communication with the company to prove all of this.

Anyway, after having done a lot of research and being very excited about the Orphek V4s given the very positive reviews I had read, I decided to take the plunge and ordered the lights back in May of last year. The communication was good during the process and the lights were shipped out a few weeks after my order.

Problem 1:
Upon receiving my lights, and having Vince from Aquarium connections mounting them for me, we discovered an initial problem where one of the lights was not turning on. I emailed Orphek immediately and Ofir (presumably the owner) came back saying the lights are built like “Lego” and can easily be fixed and that I should just read a manual he had attached to the email to figure out the problem. Luckily, James, one of the other Orphek representatives then also came back immediately explaining that perhaps the power cable may have become loose inside the light and to check that. So I opened the light, and as per James’s suspicion, the main power cable had come loose, and just needed to be screwed into the main PC board again which is what I did. Problem solved!

Problem 2:
Anyway, after that problem was fixed we then realised that on two of the lights did not have all the Leds go to full power despite having set them all to 100%. Anyway, I emailed the company again and to be fair the response was very quick. However, Ofir suggested the lights were working fine and it was just me who could not see some of the wavelengths because they are not visible to the human eye, despite two of the lights working properly and two of them not, and all of them and all the channels turned on to full power. Again, James jumped in the email comunicaton and after several diagnostic emails back and forth he asked me to check the power supplies they shipped with the lights. Low and behold, two of the Meanwell power supplies were the wrong ones, presumably for a different Orphek light. James immediately offered to ship two correct ones to me and finally a week lather they arrived and the lights worked fine. Anyway, problem 2 solved a few weeks after having received a brand new product.

For a long time I was very happy with lights because as per the many online reviews, including the BRS video reviews, the light spread, colour rendition, shimmer, easy to use interface, and actual coral coloration and growth was amazing. From a performance perspective they are the best light I have ever had, and I have been in this hobby for 30 years now.

Problems 3, 4, and 5:

Fast forward to January of this year and I noticed that a number of leds on two of the four units were not powering up. Again, I emailed Orphek and again in all fairness the response was almost immediate. However, what then ensued (I will spare you the details) was a lengthy email communication where again at first I was being accused by Ofir of not being able to see certain wavelengths of the lights. Anyway, again James jumped in and informed me he was going to hospital the next day and someone else on their team would get back to me. So the next day Kris came back and he was extremely helpful, again vie email, in going through several diagnostic steps which involved opening the lights, testing various cables going to the PC board, switching PC boards between one of the functioning and non-functioning lights, running a jumper cable between each and every led light until we finally ascertained the following after several hours of my time and over several days:

- One of the PC boards was faulty and needed replacing

- One LED light on one of the lights was faulty which caused one of the channels not to work and needed replacing and the new one soldered onto the board again

- Two led lights were faulty on the other light causing two of the circuits not to work and agin requiring the Leds to be replaced and new ones soldered onto the board by me

So after we finally diagnosed the issues I was sent the spare parts which arrived about a week later by DHL.

I then spent an entire morning (my guess is around 4- 5 hours) completely dismantling the two faulty lights, replacing the faulty PC board and the 3 faulty Leds, which included soldering.

The lights were working great again until last night one of my friends from one of the well known UK tank manufacturers and distributors stopped by my house to see the tank and he noticed that on one of the lights a circuit of Leds was not working again.

Problem 6:
So here we go again, having been through the process before, I knew that one of the Leds has failed again, which now requires me to open the light and fix it myself again.

Conclusion:
I emailed Orphek last night to express my disappointment of having spent a small fortune (they do not come cheap) on a product that keeps failing, and worst of all requires customer intervention to make the repairs. Ofir again came back immediately, this time asking me to send the lights to Tony here in the U.K. for repair. At which point I explained that I was fed up, and that it would cost me more money and time to send the light to Tony instead of repairing it myself.

I then dared to make the suggestion that a serious company, especially after my experience (and that of at least one other person I know here in the UK) would be to send a replacement unit, no questions asked and have me send back the faulty one so as not to have an interruption of light over a tank which now houses some very large and delicate sps colonies.

The response I received was that mine are Gen1 V4 units that are no longer in production. At this point I then made it clear that in this case the company should be replacing faulty products, or face the consequences of me telling my story. This to both one of the potential distributors I know well and who has been asking me for feedback on the lights and to whom just last night I was singing the praises of the lights if they can come up with a proper servicing solution, as well as others on this forum.

I was then sent a short email reply from Ofir closing off all communication and suggesting he would have his lawyers deal with me.

 

[Luisreefmexico]

They are a piece of garbage if you ask me. I had 4 V4 Gen 1 and have now replaced with 4 GHL Mitras and there is absolutely no comparison. German engineering vs cheap Chinese and awful customer service. This was my full experience a few years back which I posted in the Orphek feedback section on UK reefing board as that is where I’m based:


I thought I should I post my experience with the 4 Orphek V4 Gen 1 lights I purchased directly from Orphek in Hong Kong a little over a year ago.

The lights are amazing, when they work, but I have had a pretty bad experience with the way they support the product. In addition, the latest communication with the owner has been quite testy, given that he is now threatening legal action because I want to share my experience. Lastly, this is not a reflection on Tony on here who has only become involved very recently and has always tried to help out and be supportive.

Nonetheless I will try and be as factual, and balanced as possible with my account, for which I have extensive email communication with the company to prove all of this.

Anyway, after having done a lot of research and being very excited about the Orphek V4s given the very positive reviews I had read, I decided to take the plunge and ordered the lights back in May of last year. The communication was good during the process and the lights were shipped out a few weeks after my order.

Problem 1:
Upon receiving my lights, and having Vince from Aquarium connections mounting them for me, we discovered an initial problem where one of the lights was not turning on. I emailed Orphek immediately and Ofir (presumably the owner) came back saying the lights are built like “Lego” and can easily be fixed and that I should just read a manual he had attached to the email to figure out the problem. Luckily, James, one of the other Orphek representatives then also came back immediately explaining that perhaps the power cable may have become loose inside the light and to check that. So I opened the light, and as per James’s suspicion, the main power cable had come loose, and just needed to be screwed into the main PC board again which is what I did. Problem solved!

Problem 2:
Anyway, after that problem was fixed we then realised that on two of the lights did not have all the Leds go to full power despite having set them all to 100%. Anyway, I emailed the company again and to be fair the response was very quick. However, Ofir suggested the lights were working fine and it was just me who could not see some of the wavelengths because they are not visible to the human eye, despite two of the lights working properly and two of them not, and all of them and all the channels turned on to full power. Again, James jumped in the email comunicaton and after several diagnostic emails back and forth he asked me to check the power supplies they shipped with the lights. Low and behold, two of the Meanwell power supplies were the wrong ones, presumably for a different Orphek light. James immediately offered to ship two correct ones to me and finally a week lather they arrived and the lights worked fine. Anyway, problem 2 solved a few weeks after having received a brand new product.

For a long time I was very happy with lights because as per the many online reviews, including the BRS video reviews, the light spread, colour rendition, shimmer, easy to use interface, and actual coral coloration and growth was amazing. From a performance perspective they are the best light I have ever had, and I have been in this hobby for 30 years now.

Problems 3, 4, and 5:

Fast forward to January of this year and I noticed that a number of leds on two of the four units were not powering up. Again, I emailed Orphek and again in all fairness the response was almost immediate. However, what then ensued (I will spare you the details) was a lengthy email communication where again at first I was being accused by Ofir of not being able to see certain wavelengths of the lights. Anyway, again James jumped in and informed me he was going to hospital the next day and someone else on their team would get back to me. So the next day Kris came back and he was extremely helpful, again vie email, in going through several diagnostic steps which involved opening the lights, testing various cables going to the PC board, switching PC boards between one of the functioning and non-functioning lights, running a jumper cable between each and every led light until we finally ascertained the following after several hours of my time and over several days:

- One of the PC boards was faulty and needed replacing

- One LED light on one of the lights was faulty which caused one of the channels not to work and needed replacing and the new one soldered onto the board again

- Two led lights were faulty on the other light causing two of the circuits not to work and agin requiring the Leds to be replaced and new ones soldered onto the board by me

So after we finally diagnosed the issues I was sent the spare parts which arrived about a week later by DHL.

I then spent an entire morning (my guess is around 4- 5 hours) completely dismantling the two faulty lights, replacing the faulty PC board and the 3 faulty Leds, which included soldering.

The lights were working great again until last night one of my friends from one of the well known UK tank manufacturers and distributors stopped by my house to see the tank and he noticed that on one of the lights a circuit of Leds was not working again.

Problem 6:
So here we go again, having been through the process before, I knew that one of the Leds has failed again, which now requires me to open the light and fix it myself again.

Conclusion:
I emailed Orphek last night to express my disappointment of having spent a small fortune (they do not come cheap) on a product that keeps failing, and worst of all requires customer intervention to make the repairs. Ofir again came back immediately, this time asking me to send the lights to Tony here in the U.K. for repair. At which point I explained that I was fed up, and that it would cost me more money and time to send the light to Tony instead of repairing it myself.

I then dared to make the suggestion that a serious company, especially after my experience (and that of at least one other person I know here in the UK) would be to send a replacement unit, no questions asked and have me send back the faulty one so as not to have an interruption of light over a tank which now houses some very large and delicate sps colonies.

The response I received was that mine are Gen1 V4 units that are no longer in production. At this point I then made it clear that in this case the company should be replacing faulty products, or face the consequences of me telling my story. This to both one of the potential distributors I know well and who has been asking me for feedback on the lights and to whom just last night I was singing the praises of the lights if they can come up with a proper servicing solution, as well as others on this forum.

I was then sent a short email reply from Ofir closing off all communication and suggesting he would have his lawyers deal with me.

i have 2 V4 G1 and 1 V1 updated to V4 Gen2 and all its ok.

 

[Rick Krejci]

V4 Gen 2 bought Jan 2019 and it's been perfect...really like it!

 

[dling]

My uv channel went out on my Atlantik v4 a little over a year after I bought my lights. I bought the kit to change the light panel to the PCB LED Jan 2020. Last week my channel 3 pc card stopped working and that’s going to cost more to replace. Honestly not sure if it’s worth it to keep going with this light if it has cost more money each year just to keep it operating correctly

I had the same problem. Just replaced the pcb this February. Cost over 2 hundred dollars. Now I have a whole bunch of leds not lit. Would not buy the Orphek again.