Neptune SKY LED
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Ryan Avery
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Yes but nobody is claiming that the xr30 would cover better like he said about the sky
Mywifeisgunnakillme
Valuable Member
I tried to hard to watch it all... OMG it was terrible at times.
Mywifeisgunnakillme
Valuable Member
YES.
Mywifeisgunnakillme
Valuable Member
For me it's not the product that i am really beating up on... It's the marketing strategy and false statements by Neptune... It's weaselly answers like when Reefdudes tried to politely ask why Neptune was not running par and spread tests against G5's but rather g4's (that are not even sold anymore)...
In other words, Ecotech does not say these things that Neptune does so it does not get the criticism.... Neptune--and any company--that hypes and overprices products and makes just false statements--should be called out every time and often. Happy to do it for the money i spend in this hobby.... I don't need any company driving up prices more...
Mywifeisgunnakillme
Valuable Member
Honestly it's a little concerning to me that BRS gets into bed with Neptune. I just hope BRS reels in Neptune sensational marketing and BRS does not go along with it...
Even with this I think kessil has to be the king of false statements. Their new 500x 185w they say is designed specifically for sps and can support a sps system 36x36….. all sps with a single point light. Say what you want about sky claims…. Kessil is pure nonsense. Just manufacture stretching with most brands.
Mywifeisgunnakillme
Valuable Member
36 by 36 tank a Kessil 500X light (i have 8 of these lights for a 200 gallon and clam refugium i am setting up) and support a sps system, yes. Full blown out colonies, keep alive, yes. Thrive--no you are right.
This is the same type of hype, just a lesser degree than Neptune.... Neptune is outright making false statements.. Kessil's "support" statement isn't totally false--but is definitely misleading--get 'em!
Probably just semantics but from kessils site:
The A500X is a powerful 185W high intensity LED designed specifically for experienced SPS coral growers. This fixture integrates the latest Dense Matrix LED technology with the proprietary Kessil Logic, and delivers a concentrated light with well blended spectrum for optimum SPS coral growth, health, and coloration. The beam of this flagship A500X can be adjusted with optional 35 and 55 degree reflectors and allow SPS corals to thrive in a variety of environments.
Coverage
36"x36" for SPS Dominant Systems.
To me personally that is far more misleading than the sky but again misleading is misleading.
Can you imagine someone reading that and expecting to have wall to wall sps in a 36x36 tank with one fixture? I would be livid.
The A500X is a powerful 185W high intensity LED designed specifically for experienced SPS coral growers. This fixture integrates the latest Dense Matrix LED technology with the proprietary Kessil Logic, and delivers a concentrated light with well blended spectrum for optimum SPS coral growth, health, and coloration. The beam of this flagship A500X can be adjusted with optional 35 and 55 degree reflectors and allow SPS corals to thrive in a variety of environments.
Coverage
36"x36" for SPS Dominant Systems.
To me personally that is far more misleading than the sky but again misleading is misleading.
Can you imagine someone reading that and expecting to have wall to wall sps in a 36x36 tank with one fixture? I would be livid.
Jon's Reef
Valuable Member
So unlike all the speculation, I have actually owned 2 XR15 and now SKY.
Here is my tank (Waterbox 100.3.... 36x24x22) when I had 2 XR15 blue with diffusers. I had the diffusers because I could see the disco. In particular, note the sharp shadow on the right front side. Why is there a shadow? Because the lights are only along the center line of the tank. I tried mounting the lights both "left right" and "front back", no change due to the optics normalizing the spread. The issue is that the light is only so big front to back. 24" tank vs ~5.5" of light front to back.
In order to alleviate the shadows, I added LED bars. At this point I also was not happy with the amount of blue-green in the spectrum. I added the A360X for the shimmer and the violet. Note that the shadow in the image is now gone. So it took adding the LED bars to the XR15 to remove this effect. At this point the XR15 were turned down to ~50% due to all of the extra light sources.... so really absolute par does not matter so much when you start having to add extra light sources.
Eventually I was sick of the mixed controls, so I just said to heck with it and went Kessil with led bars. Great coverage and the Violet biased color that I wanted (vs the blue-green of the Radions). Even here though ,the A360x's are only at 50%.
I did not like this mix of bars.... lights... etc. Just wanted to simplify. Here it is with 1 Sky.
So the coverage in a real tank is similar to 2 XR15 plus 2 LED bars (Reef Brite XHO). That is not speculation. That is real world. You can look at all of the empty tanks in the world and try to draw conclusions, but until it is on a real tank, with real aquascape and corals, it does not really matter.
But...But.... But..... How dare I say such a thing? It has a lot to do with the science in that diffuser. One thing overlooked by many is what is stated in the original patent. When the LEDs that we use are shining, they have a very large emission zone. ~ 80-85 degrees from normal (that is if the light is shining straight down, light also shines to the side up to 80-85 deg from straight down). Any light that strikes the water to glass interface at an angle greater than 63 deg is transmitted through the glass. The diffuser plate has these round cut outs whose geometry blocks all of the direct light coming out at an angle greater than ~60 deg. The light beyond that is channeled into the acrylic and mixed into a diffuse source. The end result is that you get a combination of direct and indirect illumination. Kessils and Radions are 100% direct emission. There is light that bounces off the glass, but alot is also transmitted through the glass. The Radion diffuser helps, but it does not do as good of a job as the mixing plate. So combining a large LED array with this mixer tech results in a very uniform illumination. This is best seen in a real tank with obstructions, not in an empty tank.
Now some shimmer movies. I do not know if these will play or not... Is it pure Kessil shimmer? Absolutely not. It is more than the Radion with Diffuser... I would say similar to what I was seeing withthe 2XR15 (w diffuser) and A160.
In the end, I am not going to say that one sucks... or another sucks... but the amount of speculation resulting in misinformation is astounding. If you are going to make a claim, make sure you have the real life experience/ evidence to back it up. It really gets old to hear all of these false claims without backing... the mixing panel being reused... the soft coating getting sticky... the light being ready to fail at the first sign of moisture... the heatsink being cheap and never tested... I do not know why you are on some personal crusade to paint it in a bad light. And don't say the whole "Ohhhh marketing is claiming" Yeah... If you run 5 XR30 over a 6 ft tank at 60% each because of the coverage, you can replace that with 3 SKY. Also if you don't agree with the marketing, that does not give you the right to make stuff up and spread it like truth.
Price??? Yeah... XR30 just had another price bump before the SKY was released. So if you want to point your price anger at someone, aim right for Ecotech where the price for an XR30 + Diffuser is now $926.... $56 more.
These are all great lights, and in one situation or another each would be better. For a mixed reef like mine, you are either going to be running 1 SKY, 2 XR15 with LED bars or 2 XR30 mounted front to back. So yeah.... 1 SKY is equivalent to 2 XR30 in my real world case.
Here is my tank (Waterbox 100.3.... 36x24x22) when I had 2 XR15 blue with diffusers. I had the diffusers because I could see the disco. In particular, note the sharp shadow on the right front side. Why is there a shadow? Because the lights are only along the center line of the tank. I tried mounting the lights both "left right" and "front back", no change due to the optics normalizing the spread. The issue is that the light is only so big front to back. 24" tank vs ~5.5" of light front to back.
In order to alleviate the shadows, I added LED bars. At this point I also was not happy with the amount of blue-green in the spectrum. I added the A360X for the shimmer and the violet. Note that the shadow in the image is now gone. So it took adding the LED bars to the XR15 to remove this effect. At this point the XR15 were turned down to ~50% due to all of the extra light sources.... so really absolute par does not matter so much when you start having to add extra light sources.
Eventually I was sick of the mixed controls, so I just said to heck with it and went Kessil with led bars. Great coverage and the Violet biased color that I wanted (vs the blue-green of the Radions). Even here though ,the A360x's are only at 50%.
I did not like this mix of bars.... lights... etc. Just wanted to simplify. Here it is with 1 Sky.
So the coverage in a real tank is similar to 2 XR15 plus 2 LED bars (Reef Brite XHO). That is not speculation. That is real world. You can look at all of the empty tanks in the world and try to draw conclusions, but until it is on a real tank, with real aquascape and corals, it does not really matter.
But...But.... But..... How dare I say such a thing? It has a lot to do with the science in that diffuser. One thing overlooked by many is what is stated in the original patent. When the LEDs that we use are shining, they have a very large emission zone. ~ 80-85 degrees from normal (that is if the light is shining straight down, light also shines to the side up to 80-85 deg from straight down). Any light that strikes the water to glass interface at an angle greater than 63 deg is transmitted through the glass. The diffuser plate has these round cut outs whose geometry blocks all of the direct light coming out at an angle greater than ~60 deg. The light beyond that is channeled into the acrylic and mixed into a diffuse source. The end result is that you get a combination of direct and indirect illumination. Kessils and Radions are 100% direct emission. There is light that bounces off the glass, but alot is also transmitted through the glass. The Radion diffuser helps, but it does not do as good of a job as the mixing plate. So combining a large LED array with this mixer tech results in a very uniform illumination. This is best seen in a real tank with obstructions, not in an empty tank.
Now some shimmer movies. I do not know if these will play or not... Is it pure Kessil shimmer? Absolutely not. It is more than the Radion with Diffuser... I would say similar to what I was seeing withthe 2XR15 (w diffuser) and A160.
In the end, I am not going to say that one sucks... or another sucks... but the amount of speculation resulting in misinformation is astounding. If you are going to make a claim, make sure you have the real life experience/ evidence to back it up. It really gets old to hear all of these false claims without backing... the mixing panel being reused... the soft coating getting sticky... the light being ready to fail at the first sign of moisture... the heatsink being cheap and never tested... I do not know why you are on some personal crusade to paint it in a bad light. And don't say the whole "Ohhhh marketing is claiming" Yeah... If you run 5 XR30 over a 6 ft tank at 60% each because of the coverage, you can replace that with 3 SKY. Also if you don't agree with the marketing, that does not give you the right to make stuff up and spread it like truth.
Price??? Yeah... XR30 just had another price bump before the SKY was released. So if you want to point your price anger at someone, aim right for Ecotech where the price for an XR30 + Diffuser is now $926.... $56 more.
These are all great lights, and in one situation or another each would be better. For a mixed reef like mine, you are either going to be running 1 SKY, 2 XR15 with LED bars or 2 XR30 mounted front to back. So yeah.... 1 SKY is equivalent to 2 XR30 in my real world case.
Last edited:
areefer01
2500 Club Member
Out to lunch? No. Biased? Yes.
Over priced? According to who? Is your cell phone over priced? Is a Dodge Demon over priced? How about a Radion or Nvidia GFX card? The market and inventory will answer the over price question.
You can scream as loud as you want that you believe it is a piece of crap and over priced but there are users who feel the opposite. Don't discount them. Also just took a quick look at the Neptune forum here, and elsewhere, to include their own forums, and do not see issues on quality outside a couple. Keeps coming up yet they killed it on the open box experience and problem free launch. You, and others, continue to say potential issues and yet here we are with none.
So if you believe Neptune missed an opportunity on price - send them an email. Terence provided the email to reach them. Seriously. Tell them how you feel although I do believe they already know. Clearly the light isn't for you and that is perfectly ok.
BTW never saw your display. Have a build thread? Would love to see it.
areefer01
2500 Club Member
No. However they did have a terrible product launch. Fan issues. Over torque issues. Cracked plates. All shipped to customers. Fan was a new design, in house. We can also go back to another product launch of theirs with the vectra return pump. That was also bad and had to have a re-design. Anyone here can search yet we want to talk about "quality" or the G5 is a "standard"...
Look - no one wants to sling mud. BRS said the G5 is a great light. Terence/Neptune said the G5 is a great light. Ecotech fixed the issues with their products because they are a good company and stood by their product. Yet here we are with socialites bashing on Neptune with a new product of theirs saying the quality is questionable.
Jon's Reef
Valuable Member
Add the Versa to the redesign after launch list.
So unlike all the speculation, I have actually owned 2 XR15 and now SKY.
Here is my tank (Waterbox 100.3.... 36x24x22) when I had 2 XR15 blue with diffusers. I had the diffusers because I could see the disco. In particular, note the sharp shadow on the right front side. Why is there a shadow? Because the lights are only along the center line of the tank. I tried mounting the lights both "left right" and "front back", no change due to the optics normalizing the spread. The issue is that the light is only so big front to back. 24" tank vs ~5.5" of light front to back.
In order to alleviate the shadows, I added LED bars. At this point I also was not happy with the amount of blue-green in the spectrum. I added the A360X for the shimmer and the violet. Note that the shadow in the image is now gone. So it took adding the LED bars to the XR15 to remove this effect. At this point the XR15 were turned down to ~50% due to all of the extra light sources.... so really absolute par does not matter so much when you start having to add extra light sources.
Eventually I was sick of the mixed controls, so I just said to heck with it and went Kessil with led bars. Great coverage and the Violet biased color that I wanted (vs the blue-green of the Radions). Even here though ,the A360x's are only at 50%.
I did not like this mix of bars.... lights... etc. Just wanted to simplify. Here it is with 1 Sky.
So the coverage in a real tank is similar to 2 XR15 plus 2 LED bars (Reef Brite XHO). That is not speculation. That is real world. You can look at all of the empty tanks in the world and try to draw conclusions, but until it is on a real tank, with real aquascape and corals, it does not really matter.
But...But.... But..... How dare I say such a thing? It has a lot to do with the science in that diffuser. One thing overlooked by many is what is stated in the original patent. When the LEDs that we use are shining, they have a very large emission zone. ~ 80-85 degrees from normal (that is if the light is shining straight down, light also shines to the side up to 80-85 deg from straight down). Any light that strikes the water to glass interface at an angle greater than 63 deg is transmitted through the glass. The diffuser plate has these round cut outs whose geometry blocks all of the direct light coming out at an angle greater than ~60 deg. The light beyond that is channeled into the acrylic and mixed into a diffuse source. The end result is that you get a combination of direct and indirect illumination. Kessils and Radions are 100% direct emission. There is light that bounces off the glass, but alot is also transmitted through the glass. The Radion diffuser helps, but it does not do as good of a job as the mixing plate. So combining a large LED array with this mixer tech results in a very uniform illumination. This is best seen in a real tank with obstructions, not in an empty tank.
Now some shimmer movies. I do not know if these will play or not... Is it pure Kessil shimmer? Absolutely not. It is more than the Radion with Diffuser... I would say similar to what I was seeing withthe 2XR15 (w diffuser) and A160.
In the end, I am not going to say that one sucks... or another sucks... but the amount of speculation resulting in misinformation is astounding. If you are going to make a claim, make sure you have the real life experience/ evidence to back it up. It really gets old to hear all of these false claims without backing... the mixing panel being reused... the soft coating getting sticky... the light being ready to fail at the first sign of moisture... the heatsink being cheap and never tested... I do not know why you are on some personal crusade to paint it in a bad light. And don't say the whole "Ohhhh marketing is claiming" Yeah... If you run 5 XR30 over a 6 ft tank at 60% each because of the coverage, you can replace that with 3 SKY. Also if you don't agree with the marketing, that does not give you the right to make stuff up and spread it like truth.
Price??? Yeah... XR30 just had another price bump before the SKY was released. So if you want to point your price anger at someone, aim right for Ecotech where the price for an XR30 + Diffuser is now $926.... $56 more.
These are all great lights, and in one situation or another each would be better. For a mixed reef like mine, you are either going to be running 1 SKY, 2 XR15 with LED bars or 2 XR30 mounted front to back. So yeah.... 1 SKY is equivalent to 2 XR30 in my real world case.
Interesting. I have a 100.3 and was wondering if 2 sky would be needed. Right now I run an orphek Atlantik high over the tank and feel it’s perfect for my tank still after 3 years, but I did wonder about the sky still.
PeterC99
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Im enjoying the bantering back and forth between Sky and Radion Owners. I have 2 Radion Xr30 G5 pros on my RSR425XL. Thinking about purchasing a Sky and putting it next to the Radion. Seems the only the way I will figure this debate out. Will need my friend @chemisfun11 to make a light shade for the Sky. Can I make an honest judgment if I use the same mounts on each?
Mywifeisgunnakillme
Valuable Member
I am not bashing the quality. I am bashing the false marketing claims (and high price).
Edit: And if you're asking, i have two build threads and have been in this hobby since the early 2000's
Last edited:
Ryan Avery
Active Member
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Seems like if you want a large panel style light the Ati Straton is a no brainer. That’s one sexy light
Jon's Reef
Valuable Member
I found the ideal height to be 10-12". Higher does not gain much more, but lower results in a more focused effect.
Mywifeisgunnakillme
Valuable Member
What is Jake's bias? But those who are affiliated with Neptune and failed to mention a single negative thing about the Skys in early reviews and those who participated in informercials are not bias???
Yes, overpriced. It's plastic and you're better off buying multiple other lights as to performance (depending on the look you want or ease of use).
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