Orphek OR UV/Blue review?

[sfg]

Does anyone here have these running? Can speak to a comparison with Reefbrite XHOs? I've searched but can't seem to find any good reviews with a comparison. I'm looking to supplement (more for pop) my MH/T5 setup and before I pull the trigger wanted to see what others think. The price point difference is substantial between the two.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Is it UV that you want to add?

IMHO UV really doesn't add much 'pop' to fluorescing colors. I've run a UV close to violet (390nm) and one that was more UV (340nm). I ran them both as the only light on/in the tank so I could see exactly what happened. They both made some yellow and most of the greens fluoresce, but none of the other colors. And the 340nm was just the greens and very little yellow. I think most of the fluorescing colors you want come from blues and some from violet. My tank is mostly zoas and RFAs with a few lps and sps and I've picked these corals because they fluoresce well. I set up a second fixture and run a lot of blues in the early evening and my tank looks like Pandora when Keanu Reeves was running through the rain forest in the movie Avatar.

 

[RCS82]

I tried the Orphek UV bar and it was just too purple/glow in the dark looking. A little too gimmicky when run on it's own at the start and end of the photo period. Would probably be fine if run with another blue bar. I put my xho Reefbrite back on and much prefer it.

 

[pirate2876]

I have one of these and like the color. It's very purple and doesn't "pop" as much as a straight actinic. I think it has it's own appeal to my color tastes.

 

[sfg]

well, maybe not the UV then, whatever they make similar in spectrum to the XHO. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[RCS82]

I think it's the sky blue bar. I could be wrong. I will say this though I like the Orphek brand and what they are doing with the LED market, great customer support too. With the bars I'm sure I heard you can also customize the colors.

 

[sfg]

I think it's the sky blue bar. I could be wrong. I will say this though I like the Orphek brand and what they are doing with the LED market, great customer support too. With the bars I'm sure I heard you can also customize the colors.

I’ll have to reach out and see if they can make one with similar spectrum to a XHO .

 

[Hot2na]

I have a UV/violet and it reminds me of the old actinic "03" phillips bulbs from back in the day

 

[Daniel Waters]

I’ll have to reach out and see if they can make one with similar spectrum to a XHO .

The Oprhek UV / Actinic bar consists of 410 nm and 430 nm leds, which are not true UV (very few LED units use true UV and a better descriptor would be "near UV"). The 410 and 430 nm are going to give you more of a violet color, and it will give more "pop" if that is what you are looking for. However, I'm not certain how much you will notice this if you plan on running it with your metal halide / T5 system (this is probably true for the Orphek and the Reefbrites, but it utlimately probably depends on what kind of bulb combination you are using in your metal halide / T5 fixture). If you also want the LED bar to run by itself for part of the day, then the Orphek LED bar might be a bit too much of a "black light" type look as a standalone light. However, you can customize the Orphek LED bars for a small additional charge of $5 I think it was. I had my bar customized and removed some 410 nm LED's and added in some 460 nm LED's, which added in some deep blue to the mix. It turned out fairly well, but I really only notice it more when my T5's are off and I'm just running my LED's at bluer settings.

 

[sfg]

The Oprhek UV / Actinic bar consists of 410 nm and 430 nm leds, which are not true UV (very few LED units use true UV and a better descriptor would be "near UV"). The 410 and 430 nm are going to give you more of a violet color, and it will give more "pop" if that is what you are looking for. However, I'm not certain how much you will notice this if you plan on running it with your metal halide / T5 system (this is probably true for the Orphek and the Reefbrites, but it utlimately probably depends on what kind of bulb combination you are using in your metal halide / T5 fixture). If you also want the LED bar to run by itself for part of the day, then the Orphek LED bar might be a bit too much of a "black light" type look as a standalone light. However, you can customize the Orphek LED bars for a small additional charge of $5 I think it was. I had my bar customized and removed some 410 nm LED's and added in some 460 nm LED's, which added in some deep blue to the mix. It turned out fairly well, but I really only notice it more when my T5's are off and I'm just running my LED's at bluer settings.

I’m looking more for afternoon viewing regarding the bars. It’s an open space living area and the light spill alone from the T5’s and halides will kill all TV watching moods.

Running 2 Radium 250’s with 4 ATI (blue+/coral+) bulbs. Planning on only running the LED bars starting at 5pm till 9

Could you post a pic if possible of your setup with just the bars on?

This is T5’s only. Lol

 

[Daniel Waters]

I don't have any pictures with just the Orphek bar, and my lights are all out for the night. I can try to get one for you tomorrow night. I run 6 T5 bulbs and 4 Kessil A360We's in addition to the Orphek bar. If you are planning on just running the LED bars by themselves, then I do not think you would want the Orphek Actinic / UV bar. Even with a custom bar like I did with some 460 nm added in, I do not think that would give you the best viewing color. You would really need to pair the UV bar with say their Sky blue bar, but I can't say whether that would give you the color you want or not. I've never used or seen the Reefbrites, so I can't comment on those.

You obviously don't need the par given your other lighting, so it seems to me that this light is purely for your viewing pleasure. I'm not sure if it's an option from a mounting standpoint, but if you have room where you could fit in a couple of Kessil A160's or possibly one of the new Kessil A360x (if you could center it in the canopy somehow), these would give you a fully controllable light that would allow you to fine tune the color to what you exactly like (and you could ramp it up and down in intensity and change the color setting). The Kessil A360x if mounted fairly high will give you tremendous light spread....once again, you don't need the par, you just want it for visual appeal. Does your canopy allow an option of putting a light in the center or two lights slightly off center? What are the dimensions of your tank, and how high are the lights mounted above the canopy?

Beautiful tank set up by the way....

 

[Rakie]

I tried the Orphek UV bar and it was just too purple/glow in the dark looking. A little too gimmicky when run on it's own at the start and end of the photo period. Would probably be fine if run with another blue bar. I put my xho Reefbrite back on and much prefer it.

you need to GROW the coral under UV. UV offers a huge boost to growth and color. It is NOT like a reef brite where you just turn it on and things pop. UV is the long haul. Royal Blue is instant gratification.

- Run UV for a long period of time = Profit.
- Run UV and expect it to cause instant florescence = You don't know how UV works.

They are two entirely different things, which are literally mutually exclusive. UV isn't for instant pop. It's for growth, and color maturation.

 

[wangspeed]

The Sky Blue OR bar is similar to a RB XHO, at a better price and IMO, a better looking product. I run 4 bars over my frag tank. Nothing else.

UV
Sky Blue
Reef Daylight
Custom ( UV/violet/blues )

The custom bar is my favorite, followed by the Sky Blue. The UV is okay when combined with other bars, but not something I would get again. Adding it to a blue heavy bar, like my custom bar, makes more sense. The reef daylight isn’t good for me. Too much red and disco effect.

 

[sfg]

I don't have any pictures with just the Orphek bar, and my lights are all out for the night. I can try to get one for you tomorrow night. I run 6 T5 bulbs and 4 Kessil A360We's in addition to the Orphek bar. If you are planning on just running the LED bars by themselves, then I do not think you would want the Orphek Actinic / UV bar. Even with a custom bar like I did with some 460 nm added in, I do not think that would give you the best viewing color. You would really need to pair the UV bar with say their Sky blue bar, but I can't say whether that would give you the color you want or not. I've never used or seen the Reefbrites, so I can't comment on those.

You obviously don't need the par given your other lighting, so it seems to me that this light is purely for your viewing pleasure. I'm not sure if it's an option from a mounting standpoint, but if you have room where you could fit in a couple of Kessil A160's or possibly one of the new Kessil A360x (if you could center it in the canopy somehow), these would give you a fully controllable light that would allow you to fine tune the color to what you exactly like (and you could ramp it up and down in intensity and change the color setting). The Kessil A360x if mounted fairly high will give you tremendous light spread....once again, you don't need the par, you just want it for visual appeal. Does your canopy allow an option of putting a light in the center or two lights slightly off center? What are the dimensions of your tank, and how high are the lights mounted above the canopy?

Beautiful tank set up by the way....

Thanks man. Taking my time with the build, been a long time coming. Im familiar with the Reefbrite XHO’s and had them in the final build plans for the tank. Price wise they are $350 each for the 48” bars. I’m down to where all I need are a pair to complete the build out. My T5 fixtures are the Reefbrite Supra slim model which has an area between the bulbs made to fit the XHOs. I have several months at least before I will need them as the tank will cycle with no lights initially. Even after that point I won’t “need” them for a bit. The Orphek bars came up in conversation with a buddy and for the price savings I wanted to see what people thought. Kessil wouldn’t be an option. I have space under the canopy but it’s only on the outsides

At the end of the day I’ll get a few RB LED bars if I can’t get a warm fuzzy on the ORs. Spending $150 each and finding out I don’t like them only to buy the XHOs wouldn’t be cost effective which is kind of the whole point for me.

If you think about it shoot some pics. Thanks again

 

[sfg]

The Sky Blue OR bar is similar to a RB XHO, at a better price and IMO, a better looking product. I run 4 bars over my frag tank. Nothing else.

UV
Sky Blue
Reef Daylight
Custom ( UV/violet/blues )

The custom bar is my favorite, followed by the Sky Blue. The UV is okay when combined with other bars, but not something I would get again. Adding it to a blue heavy bar, like my custom bar, makes more sense. The reef daylight isn’t good for me. Too much red and disco effect.

Thanks man. Any way you can run just the sky blues and take a shot? Appreciate it!

 

[wangspeed]

Thanks man. Any way you can run just the sky blues and take a shot? Appreciate it!

It would just be a giant blue mess if I use my phone without a filter. It’s basically the same look at an XHO, though I think these might put out more light. Think super bright LED blue. No pic will do it justice.

With just the Sky Blue and my custom bar, I’m around 150 par at the bottom of my shallow frag tank. I run them for 12 hours and flip the UV and daylight on for 5 hours.

Personally, I would never buy RB over these. I really like these bars, especially with customizable spectrums. You can’t really go wrong with the Sky Blue bar though. It has a very nice blue spectrum.

 

[RCS82]

you need to GROW the coral under UV. UV offers a huge boost to growth and color. It is NOT like a reef brite where you just turn it on and things pop. UV is the long haul. Royal Blue is instant gratification.

- Run UV for a long period of time = Profit.
- Run UV and expect it to cause instant florescence = You don't know how UV works.

They are two entirely different things, which are literally mutually exclusive. UV isn't for instant pop. It's for growth, and color maturation.

So I don't have enough UV from my metal halides?

Sorry to derail OP.

 

[Daniel Waters]

Thanks man. Taking my time with the build, been a long time coming. Im familiar with the Reefbrite XHO’s and had them in the final build plans for the tank. Price wise they are $350 each for the 48” bars. I’m down to where all I need are a pair to complete the build out. My T5 fixtures are the Reefbrite Supra slim model which has an area between the bulbs made to fit the XHOs. I have several months at least before I will need them as the tank will cycle with no lights initially. Even after that point I won’t “need” them for a bit. The Orphek bars came up in conversation with a buddy and for the price savings I wanted to see what people thought. Kessil wouldn’t be an option. I have space under the canopy but it’s only on the outsides

At the end of the day I’ll get a few RB LED bars if I can’t get a warm fuzzy on the ORs. Spending $150 each and finding out I don’t like them only to buy the XHOs wouldn’t be cost effective which is kind of the whole point for me.

If you think about it shoot some pics. Thanks again

As someone else said, I'm not sure a picture will help. I do have a polylab coral lens so bill try to take a picture tonight with just the custom Orphek bar. Honestly, looking at your set up, I dont see how you are going to fit the LED bars into that canopy. Where are they going to go?

You could do two kessil A360we on the edges, but you'd have to install them on an articulating mount (which is what I have done in my canopy). Yiur canopy would need to be at least 6 inches deep I think to hide the full light on the mount. And that might cost you even more than the reefbrite, but the color would be whatever you want to make it with the kessil controls.

 

[sfg]

As someone else said, I'm not sure a picture will help. I do have a polylab coral lens so bill try to take a picture tonight with just the custom Orphek bar. Honestly, looking at your set up, I dont see how you are going to fit the LED bars into that canopy. Where are they going to go?

You could do two kessil A360we on the edges, but you'd have to install them on an articulating mount (which is what I have done in my canopy). Yiur canopy would need to be at least 6 inches deep I think to hide the full light on the mount. And that might cost you even more than the reefbrite, but the color would be whatever you want to make it with the kessil controls.

The T5 fixtures I have have a gap in the middle for a RB XHO to mount up:

No big deal on the picture taking, I know how it is to capture blue LEDs with a camera. :) Appreciate your time.

 

[Daniel Waters]

@sfg I see now about your mounting plans. Let me approach this from another angle for you. What preferred viewing color do you like in terms of your ATI bulbs? Do you like the blue plus color or want bluer or less blue than that? The UV / Actinic bar is going to be more like a true actinic bulb, which is why it really needs to be ran in conjunction with other LED bars. My custom bar that has the 460 nm added in is going to be much bluer than even the ATI blue plus bulb. I think if I had a better idea of what color you are trying to achieve, we could probably tell you what combination or custom configuration might work best. If you like the coral plus and blue plus bulb combination, you will probably need at least one led bar that has some non blue LEDs in it. When you start mixing a lot of different LED nm / colors, you are likely to start noticing some color banding. Some people are sensitive to this, some people it doesn't bother.