NICREW HYPER REEF 50W --Any Experience on quality, coral growth and optimum mix?

[davy31]

Hey guys, so I wanted to explore further on lighting and the experience people have had with the Nicrew hyper reef kit. I have been using one for 4 months for my 120 liter aquarium. Having faced a pretty big catastrophe recently with my reef tank, I wanted to understand lighting better to help my corals grow.

I run the 50 Watt hyper reef for a soft coral tank and have a few questions for people who have any experience with the Nicrew for their reef.

1) Any idea what the wattage per LED is and is their par reading of PAR of 120 µMol at a depth of 60 cm correct? I having a feeling the cheap lights overstate their PAR
2) What channel mix is optimum for soft corals to help them grow faster and also the intensity?
3) Does lower intensity mean there is a lower PAR ? - This is more of a general question.
4) What kind of controller do you use for the 50W and do corals diffefrentiate between ramping up/down phases vs direct on/off times.
5) I would like to upgrade to an AI prime HD one day - Apart from the price point and controllability differences between AI and NIcrew - Is there really a big difference that corals would notice if I were to upgrade?

I have been struggling to have my softies feel happy in my tank and grow, they just wont open up. I have a few other threads with my water quality and problems I have faced recently. I am pretty new to the reefing game and would like to get my fundamentals strong.

Here is a pic of my tank with the Nicrew Hyper Reef 50W.

 

[Gtinnel]

I've never used these lights, but I've always heard good things about them for the price. I'm not sure if you'd be interested in this, but here is a link to another thread from a few months ago where another user listed their par readings from this light.

NICREW 50W Aquarium LED Reef Light PAR

Hi wanted to start this thread as is specific to the NICREW 50W Aquarium LED Reef Light PAR. I got my meter today " Apogee SQ-420 Smart Quantum Sensor | USB Output " and adjusted both of my aquarium lights, one of them I'm using Nicrew Lights. Below is my PAR readings I got. I tell you...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[minus9]

I bought the 50w Nicrew light and returned it. It was a little under-powered for my tank (35g). I think it's probably good for a 14g or below, but may struggle with larger nano tanks with more light demanding corals. I bought the Smat Farms 95w light and like it much more than the Nicrew. Once you figure out the menu, it's set it and forget it. There's a nice shimmer (which I love) to the light and it will cover an IM 25 lagoon perfectly. Sorry, didn't mean to derail your thread, but for a little more money, the Smat Farm led is a great choice for nanos on a budget.

 

[davy31]

I've never used these lights, but I've always heard good things about them for the price. I'm not sure if you'd be interested in this, but here is a link to another thread from a few months ago where another user listed their par readings from this light.

NICREW 50W Aquarium LED Reef Light PAR

Hi wanted to start this thread as is specific to the NICREW 50W Aquarium LED Reef Light PAR. I got my meter today " Apogee SQ-420 Smart Quantum Sensor | USB Output " and adjusted both of my aquarium lights, one of them I'm using Nicrew Lights. Below is my PAR readings I got. I tell you...

www.reef2reef.com

Hey thanks, yes I did read that post as a matter of fact a while ago and was quite impressed. I hope to rent a par meter to check mine out too.

 

[Gtinnel]

Hey thanks, yes I did read that post as a matter of fact a while ago and was quite impressed. I hope to rent a par meter to check mine out too.

Just going from that thread it looks like the light it capable of fairly high par, but the spread isn't great. Moving the light higher (likey not possible with the mounting arm) would help with spread but reduce par.
There are always some compromises when going with cheaper equipment.

 

[davy31]

I bought the 50w Nicrew light and returned it. It was a little under-powered for my tank (35g). I think it's probably good for a 14g or below, but may struggle with larger nano tanks with more light demanding corals. I bought the Smat Farms 95w light and like it much more than the Nicrew. Once you figure out the menu, it's set it and forget it. There's a nice shimmer (which I love) to the light and it will cover an IM 25 lagoon perfectly. Sorry, didn't mean to derail your thread, but for a little more money, the Smat Farm led is a great choice for nanos on a budget.

Hey! Could I know what intensity you ran your nicrews at. I think this is where I struggle, to understand the Intensity and how that affects the PAR/PUR. I sort of lowered my light to be a little closer to the water around 7 inches from the water surface I would say. And till the sand bed its about 23 inches. Its a 30 gal tank and as you can see the height and length are 23 inches give or take.

I thought that anything above a 50W would be overkill since I plan on running it with plenty of soft corals and a few fish. Began to wonder why people would pay a lot more for AI's or Red Sea when they can get the same spectrum for half the price.

 

[minus9]

Hey! Could I know what intensity you ran your nicrews at. I think this is where I struggle, to understand the Intensity and how that affects the PAR/PUR. I sort of lowered my light to be a little closer to the water around 7 inches from the water surface I would say. And till the sand bed its about 23 inches. Its a 30 gal tank and as you can see the height and length are 23 inches give or take.

I thought that anything above a 50W would be overkill since I plan on running it with plenty of soft corals and a few fish. Began to wonder why people would pay a lot more for AI's or Red Sea when they can get the same spectrum for half the price.

I ran it at 100% and had it mounted a little higher than I wanted to increase spread, which reduced par. I think I was getting 180 about 12" below, which wasn't enough for my BTA and sps. The great thing about the Smat Farm light is it's spread. The way the lenses work really helps with the reflection from the glass, which increases par on the outer edge. I believe it has 6 or 7 channels, so it's really flexible and for the money, a much better light than the Nicrew. The Nicrew would be perfect for 12g cube or similar nano, but anything 18" or longer, it will struggle to reach the outside area. I think the 100w version or 150w would be better suited for 20g and higher tanks. The 50w has a pretty steep drop-off.

 

[Fakegolfnews]

I bought the 50w Nicrew light and returned it. It was a little under-powered for my tank (35g). I think it's probably good for a 14g or below, but may struggle with larger nano tanks with more light demanding corals. I bought the Smat Farms 95w light and like it much more than the Nicrew. Once you figure out the menu, it's set it and forget it. There's a nice shimmer (which I love) to the light and it will cover an IM 25 lagoon perfectly. Sorry, didn't mean to derail your thread, but for a little more money, the Smat Farm led is a great choice for nanos on a budget.

Am i crazy for selling my 4 bulb T5/reefbrite on my 25 lagoon for 2 smatfarm lights

 

[minus9]

Am i crazy for selling my 4 bulb T5/reefbrite on my 25 lagoon for 2 smatfarm lights

That’s a tough one. You could buy a couple and try them out, worse case, you can always return them. I would hold onto your T5 combo though.

 

[davy31]

I ran it at 100% and had it mounted a little higher than I wanted to increase spread, which reduced par. I think I was getting 180 about 12" below, which wasn't enough for my BTA and sps. The great thing about the Smat Farm light is it's spread. The way the lenses work really helps with the reflection from the glass, which increases par on the outer edge. I believe it has 6 or 7 channels, so it's really flexible and for the money, a much better light than the Nicrew. The Nicrew would be perfect for 12g cube or similar nano, but anything 18" or longer, it will struggle to reach the outside area. I think the 100w version or 150w would be better suited for 20g and higher tanks. The 50w has a pretty steep drop-off.

Thanks yeah unfortunately I am not able to get the smat farm here but hoping to upgrade to an AI Prime 16HD soon

 

[Fakegolfnews]

That’s a tough one. You could buy a couple and try them out, worse case, you can always return them. I would hold onto your T5 combo though.

Im told to add a light bar for more blue spectrum, id like to add 2 for symmetry tho haha (and more angles)

 

[EricR]

Watching this as I have one (Nicrew HyperReef 50W) on a 40g breeder that I'm about to tank transfer to, and am probably going to buy a 2nd one and see how it goes.

I can't answer any of your questions since I'm not using the light yet (other than quick tests on the tank in the garage) but, in case you didn't see this thread, it has tons of discussion on these lights, including cheap controller options/etc:

R2R Nicrew Hyper Reef Thread

 

[davy31]

Watching this as I have one (Nicrew HyperReef 50W) on a 40g breeder that I'm about to tank transfer to, and am probably going to buy a 2nd one and see how it goes.

I can't answer any of your questions since I'm not using the light yet (other than quick tests on the tank in the garage) but, in case you didn't see this thread, it has tons of discussion on these lights, including cheap controller options/etc:

R2R Nicrew Hyper Reef Thread

Thanks, I think mine was under powered for my 30 gal cube. I just upgraded to the AI Hydra 32 HD.

 

[Jrswish]

I have two 100W hyperreefs on my 32 flex, def overkill but for the price you can’t beat em, wish you could control them through an app but oh well, basic wall timer plug works fine.

 

[Fakegolfnews]

Watching this as I have one (Nicrew HyperReef 50W) on a 40g breeder that I'm about to tank transfer to, and am probably going to buy a 2nd one and see how it goes.

I can't answer any of your questions since I'm not using the light yet (other than quick tests on the tank in the garage) but, in case you didn't see this thread, it has tons of discussion on these lights, including cheap controller options/etc:

R2R Nicrew Hyper Reef Thread

https://www.humble.fish/community/index.php?threads/telegrahams-lighting-tests.5719/

 

[DIYreefer]

I have a pair of the 100w version and a pair of the 50w version over my 125 (all controlled by the Kessil controller). The tank is too new to really say much about growth, but I can definitively say that they have colored up my acro frags well. I will be adding a pair of 80w T5 to supplement as well in the near future (already have the T5s, just need to build a canopy to make it all work properly.

That stated, I have 12 (not a typo) more of the 50w that I will be using in tandem with T5 over a couple of frag tanks that I will be setting up soon. For the price, I think they are a solid option. Fwiw, I've been in the hobby for a couple of decades now and these are the first LEDs that I've been happy with. Obviously there are other options that tout more bells and whistles but I've learned long ago that the vast majority of that stuff is more so for the aquarist' benefit rather than the coral's.

 

[EricR]

I have a pair of the 100w version and a pair of the 50w version over my 125 (all controlled by the Kessil controller). The tank is too new to really say much about growth, but I can definitively say that they have colored up my acro frags well. I will be adding a pair of 80w T5 to supplement as well in the near future (already have the T5s, just need to build a canopy to make it all work properly.

That stated, I have 12 (not a typo) more of the 50w that I will be using in tandem with T5 over a couple of frag tanks that I will be setting up soon. For the price, I think they are a solid option. Fwiw, I've been in the hobby for a couple of decades now and these are the first LEDs that I've been happy with. Obviously there are other options that tout more bells and whistles but I've learned long ago that the vast majority of that stuff is more so for the aquarist' benefit rather than the coral's.

*not to hijack this thread but think it fits here still...

Are you using the Kessil Spectral Controller "X" (for the Nicrew HyperReefs),,, and, if so:

You were able to daisy-chain the Nicrews, I assume, so are they now always programmed exactly the same (from Kessil controller) or does the controller give you control over each light fixture, individually?

Does it give you better control of the different color LEDs ,,, or at least better control over the intensity of the different groups of LEDs (modes)?

I assume Kessil controller lets you do ramp ups/downs but any comments you have about how that works with the Nicrew HyperReefs would be of interest to me.

 

[DIYreefer]

*not to hijack this thread but think it fits here still...

Are you using the Kessil Spectral Controller "X" (for the Nicrew HyperReefs),,, and, if so:

You were able to daisy-chain the Nicrews, I assume, so are they now always programmed exactly the same (from Kessil controller) or does the controller give you control over each light fixture, individually?

Does it give you better control of the different color LEDs ,,, or at least better control over the intensity of the different groups of LEDs (modes)?

I assume Kessil controller lets you do ramp ups/downs but any comments you have about how that works with the Nicrew HyperReefs would be of interest to me.

Yes, I use the spectral controller x. It allows for control over individual channels. Which on the nicrew lights is only whites and blues, but that's fine with me. You can ramp up/down each channel by whatever percentage you want. I hope that answers your question.

 

[Kyle954]

I just got the nicrew 100w with the kessil x controller and I love it. Using the pre loaded lighting schedule. Wanted leds that slowed the sunrise/sunset feature but you can only do that with a 3rd party controller. For 300$ I have fully controllable leds. Love it

 

[EricR]

Yes, I use the spectral controller x. It allows for control over individual channels. Which on the nicrew lights is only whites and blues, but that's fine with me. You can ramp up/down each channel by whatever percentage you want. I hope that answers your question.

Thanks -- I get the 2 channel white/blue only part.

Pardon my ignorance (never used a reef LED controller before) -- I was wondering if you could control the white/blue % on 2 different lights individually, like have one light ramp up/down to 40/10 and the other to 80/50 or something like that. Pretty sure the answer is NO but just double-checking.

Older Kessil Spectral Controller "A" has 2 separate 0-10v ports so maybe that's more what I'm looking for but I think I read somewhere that the Controller "A" doesn't work with the Nicrew HyperReef 50w-150w so that's confusing to me.

In my case, I currently have mismatched lights (HyperReef 50W and Kessil A80) so even though I can daisy chain them and have one light control the other, the output/brightness isn't well matched. (No controller yet, just tried using one light as master/controller and the other as slave)