Hello,
Today I would like to provide a review of my ReeFi LED Duo Extreme lights. When purchasing these lights, I agreed to a coupon promotion that provided me with a discount if I agreed to provide a review of the lights on social media. I don’t really use social media so this will have to do!
I have now had these lights installed for 8 months, which I believe is long enough for me to have determined what I like and/or don’t like about a product as well as providing some thoughts on how they have impacted my tank.
Background:
The tank I have the ReeFi’s installed on is a Red Sea Reefer 525XL that has been running for 18 months. Prior to installing the ReeFi’s I had a 6 bulb ATI hybrid power module fixture and in the first few months of the tanks life I had 3 Red Sea ReefLED 90’s installed.
I have had no extraordinary issues with the tank so far, beyond a complication resulting from an inaccurate Hanna salinity checker, occurring at the 8 month mark.
Photos:
Here is my tank with my “daylight” settings:
Here is my tank with my “evening” settings:
Light quality:
I am extremely happy with these lights. In my experience, they provide a perfect blend of the even blanket coverage provided by a T5 array, while also providing the “sharpness” and configurability of LED lights. They have a very soft shimmer, slightly more noticeable than a T5 fixture but nowhere close to what a single point source light like a ReefLED produces. This suits my personal preference, as the overactive shimmer was a big negative for me when using the ReefLED’s. The fact that the light provides even coverage but may be tuned without having to fiddle about with bulbs is what motivated to move on from my ATI fixture.
Additionally, these lights have the least side glare out of any lighting fixture I have ever encountered. My tank is in my living room and this was a very important factor for me prior to having to fabricate a shroud due to my cat developing the ability to leap onto the tank from the floor. Here is a photo of my tank without the shroud to illustrate how little light “leaks” from the tank:
I do not have access to a PAR metre, so cannot provide any objective measurements of the light output.
Build and installation:
The ReeFI’s are of excellent quality. This is an incredible feat for a small business, as they compare favourably to both the RedSea and ATI fixtures I have.
The lights feel substantial in hand, the magnets holding the clear cover in place a strong and the integrated LED screen is useful for basic diagnostics and during setup. The power supply is a high quality unit, very similar to that supplied with ATI fixtures and much superior to that supplied with the ReefLED units I have.
I have my lights installed on an Ecotech RMS light rail which is suspended from the ceiling. I ordered the appropriate mounts for this along with my lights and everything fits perfectly.
Controls:
Controllability is likewise excellent and is similar to ATI fixtures, in that it is delivered via a local web server on the device itself, rather than via an app which accesses an intermediary website on the public internet. This is my preference and makes accessing the controls very fast, however it does mean that you must be on the same WiFi network as the device to manage it, so you cannot manage the device remotely. This is not an issue for me personally, as I am not able to conceive of a situation where I would want to adjust my lights without being able to see them.
The control page itself is simple and to the point. I am a big fan of the interface, it is very fast compared to the plethora of “apps” that are prevalent today, however I think usability could be slightly improved:
Impact on tank:
I am not comfortable attributing any success within my tank to these lights, as there is a lot that goes into achieving good growth and coloration beyond the lights and I installed these lights at the 8-12 month mark where tanks typically stabilise and start producing good results.
I will however say that the diode selection of these lights is capable of showcasing the beauty of marine fish. I have not observed fish looking this vibrant under the other lights I have experience with.
Additionally, certain species of corals appear to truly relish the spectrum provided by these lights. I share water across my tanks, however all millepora and forest fire digitata under the ReeFi’s have experienced explosive growth. Again, there may be other factors at play, but given all water and live rock across my tanks is from the same ancestor system, it is very interesting to me that these specific species experience such outstanding growth.
Final Comments:
Overall, I am extremely happy with my ReeFi’s, so much so that I have just ordered a ReeFi Uno to replace the last of my ReefLED’s over a Waterbox Cube.
For international buyers, I would also mention that I live in Australia and delivery of my lights took 3 days using the cheapest shipping method, which is excellent. I simply use a travel adaptor when plugging the lights into a power board.
I know that Daniel is very active in the community and provides excellent post-sales support. I cannot provide a first-hand account of this, as I’ve never had an issue with my units.
I would really encourage any fellow reefers to consider ReeFi fixtures if they are in the market for a premium fixture, they combine many of the positive qualities of both T5 and LED fixtures, with excellent build quality and controllability.
Today I would like to provide a review of my ReeFi LED Duo Extreme lights. When purchasing these lights, I agreed to a coupon promotion that provided me with a discount if I agreed to provide a review of the lights on social media. I don’t really use social media so this will have to do!
I have now had these lights installed for 8 months, which I believe is long enough for me to have determined what I like and/or don’t like about a product as well as providing some thoughts on how they have impacted my tank.
Background:
The tank I have the ReeFi’s installed on is a Red Sea Reefer 525XL that has been running for 18 months. Prior to installing the ReeFi’s I had a 6 bulb ATI hybrid power module fixture and in the first few months of the tanks life I had 3 Red Sea ReefLED 90’s installed.
I have had no extraordinary issues with the tank so far, beyond a complication resulting from an inaccurate Hanna salinity checker, occurring at the 8 month mark.
Photos:
Here is my tank with my “daylight” settings:
Here is my tank with my “evening” settings:
Light quality:
I am extremely happy with these lights. In my experience, they provide a perfect blend of the even blanket coverage provided by a T5 array, while also providing the “sharpness” and configurability of LED lights. They have a very soft shimmer, slightly more noticeable than a T5 fixture but nowhere close to what a single point source light like a ReefLED produces. This suits my personal preference, as the overactive shimmer was a big negative for me when using the ReefLED’s. The fact that the light provides even coverage but may be tuned without having to fiddle about with bulbs is what motivated to move on from my ATI fixture.
Additionally, these lights have the least side glare out of any lighting fixture I have ever encountered. My tank is in my living room and this was a very important factor for me prior to having to fabricate a shroud due to my cat developing the ability to leap onto the tank from the floor. Here is a photo of my tank without the shroud to illustrate how little light “leaks” from the tank:
I do not have access to a PAR metre, so cannot provide any objective measurements of the light output.
Build and installation:
The ReeFI’s are of excellent quality. This is an incredible feat for a small business, as they compare favourably to both the RedSea and ATI fixtures I have.
The lights feel substantial in hand, the magnets holding the clear cover in place a strong and the integrated LED screen is useful for basic diagnostics and during setup. The power supply is a high quality unit, very similar to that supplied with ATI fixtures and much superior to that supplied with the ReefLED units I have.
I have my lights installed on an Ecotech RMS light rail which is suspended from the ceiling. I ordered the appropriate mounts for this along with my lights and everything fits perfectly.
Controls:
Controllability is likewise excellent and is similar to ATI fixtures, in that it is delivered via a local web server on the device itself, rather than via an app which accesses an intermediary website on the public internet. This is my preference and makes accessing the controls very fast, however it does mean that you must be on the same WiFi network as the device to manage it, so you cannot manage the device remotely. This is not an issue for me personally, as I am not able to conceive of a situation where I would want to adjust my lights without being able to see them.
The control page itself is simple and to the point. I am a big fan of the interface, it is very fast compared to the plethora of “apps” that are prevalent today, however I think usability could be slightly improved:
- Lights may be grouped, however there is no way to lock configuration across the group and it is quite easy to accidentally focus on a specific fixture, rather than the group.
- Tooltips or other guidance could be implemented for less obvious features, such as the cloud cover mechanism.
Impact on tank:
I am not comfortable attributing any success within my tank to these lights, as there is a lot that goes into achieving good growth and coloration beyond the lights and I installed these lights at the 8-12 month mark where tanks typically stabilise and start producing good results.
I will however say that the diode selection of these lights is capable of showcasing the beauty of marine fish. I have not observed fish looking this vibrant under the other lights I have experience with.
Additionally, certain species of corals appear to truly relish the spectrum provided by these lights. I share water across my tanks, however all millepora and forest fire digitata under the ReeFi’s have experienced explosive growth. Again, there may be other factors at play, but given all water and live rock across my tanks is from the same ancestor system, it is very interesting to me that these specific species experience such outstanding growth.
Final Comments:
Overall, I am extremely happy with my ReeFi’s, so much so that I have just ordered a ReeFi Uno to replace the last of my ReefLED’s over a Waterbox Cube.
For international buyers, I would also mention that I live in Australia and delivery of my lights took 3 days using the cheapest shipping method, which is excellent. I simply use a travel adaptor when plugging the lights into a power board.
I know that Daniel is very active in the community and provides excellent post-sales support. I cannot provide a first-hand account of this, as I’ve never had an issue with my units.
I would really encourage any fellow reefers to consider ReeFi fixtures if they are in the market for a premium fixture, they combine many of the positive qualities of both T5 and LED fixtures, with excellent build quality and controllability.
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