Philips CoralCare Gen 2 - my tank journal

OP
OP
pharazon

pharazon

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
476
Reaction score
810
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
I used to have vivid colors, and then my nutrients changed a bunch, and the tank has been in a tailspin with no changes to the lighting. It is such a complex balance!

Exactly the same thing happened to me. Changing the light while in “recovery” was probably not the wisest choice, but I knew the risks and took the chance. Only time will tell how it plays out!
 
OP
OP
pharazon

pharazon

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
476
Reaction score
810
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Just a quick update highlighting where I am seeing the most improvement from the CoralCare. This frag rack is now seeing 150-200 par across the entire rack, whereas before it was 30-100. These little dudes are loving it!

Alk and nutrient consumption have both increased. I guess they’re hungry!

DEBFE508-3718-44A7-866A-4B351867CCDD.jpeg
 

Kyl

And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
View Badges
Joined
May 11, 2016
Messages
2,474
Reaction score
3,140
Location
humble.fish/community
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looking very nice. I assume this is a prototype unit, but you seem unaffected with the "cool" par issue some others ran into.

Hope the NA release is sooner than the September date being thrown around.
 
OP
OP
pharazon

pharazon

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
476
Reaction score
810
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Looking very nice. I assume this is a prototype unit, but you seem unaffected with the "cool" par issue some others ran into.

Hope the NA release is sooner than the September date being thrown around.

Sorry for the delayed response, new puppy has been taking up all my free time.

Yea, I spoke to CoralVue and it looks like a couple beta testers received units that weren’t getting full power on both channels. Luckily mine draws full power, as confirmed by Apex. ReefDudes just got his replacement and dropped a video with updated PAR measurements.

Here’s a shot of my reef under the whiter part of the schedule. Tank is disgusting at the moment, gotta wait for the puppy to fall asleep and do some maintenance.

4F0143AF-2651-4BA4-B076-AE5E494ACA04.jpeg
 
OP
OP
pharazon

pharazon

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
476
Reaction score
810
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
In case anyone was wondering how the CoralCare handles SPS coloration, particularly the “exotic” tenuis we all love:

1B68A621-41B0-4B44-B9A0-14F70F2E52B0.jpeg


I wouldn’t say colors are “better,” but at the very least they are just as good. We all know the Radion is a fantastic light, and the choice of many, for growing SPS. That this light can keep those colors speaks volumes IMO. Of course it’s only been a month, so we’ll have to wait and see how things progress. But so far I am impressed.
 
OP
OP
pharazon

pharazon

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
476
Reaction score
810
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Here’s another before and after of a small frag. With this, I am pretty confident in CoralCare’s ability to color up SPS.

CAE67EEA-F931-4EF2-9614-3189820F9989.jpeg


I made a disclaimer on my social media platform and feel compelled to do the same here: Of course the Radion could achieve similar colors. But it didn’t, because the spread from the light left this piece in about 100 PAR. The spread from the CoralCare brought it into the 200 range.

It’s good to see that this light can produce results that are comparable to what many (or at least myself) had considered the gold standard in LED SPS lighting.
 

reefkeeper2

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 10, 2014
Messages
66
Reaction score
57
Location
Massachussetts
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I grew beautiful coral under AI Sols when they first came out. From there I went to Vegas, and then hydra 52s. I made a lot of YouTube vids of these lights. Now I have Radion G4 Pros with diffusers. I have a lot of experience with LED fixtures. There are two reasons I might get the Coral Cares for my new build. First and most wonderfully, no fans. I presently have 12 Radions over my large reef and the fan noise really bothers me. Second is the ballasts. They are in the fixture. No wires and clunky ballasts to hide or organize. I would need only four of these fixtures to cover my 96x36x28 tank and they would be silent. I would also save on electricity as the wattage is less. The down side (maybe) is although the spread is by far superior, they don't punch out as much par as the Radions. What I have to determine is does that extra par actually make a difference. My experience with the earlier generations of light tells me no, it doesn't. Still I'll be looking for more info from new users for sure.
 
U

User1

Guest
View Badges
I grew beautiful coral under AI Sols when they first came out. From there I went to Vegas, and then hydra 52s. I made a lot of YouTube vids of these lights. Now I have Radion G4 Pros with diffusers. I have a lot of experience with LED fixtures. There are two reasons I might get the Coral Cares for my new build. First and most wonderfully, no fans. I presently have 12 Radions over my large reef and the fan noise really bothers me. Second is the ballasts. They are in the fixture. No wires and clunky ballasts to hide or organize. I would need only four of these fixtures to cover my 96x36x28 tank and they would be silent. I would also save on electricity as the wattage is less. The down side (maybe) is although the spread is by far superior, they don't punch out as much par as the Radions. What I have to determine is does that extra par actually make a difference. My experience with the earlier generations of light tells me no, it doesn't. Still I'll be looking for more info from new users for sure.

The two reasons you noted are why many a hobbyist should consider these lights.

Honestly we have so much unnecessary wire and power supply clutter around our systems it surprises me we do not read more about electrical shorts, fires, or other issues related to it. Well, maybe unnecessary isn't the right word to use but we do have a lot of electrical clutter.

I absolutely love my Kessil a360x's and DIY multi channel arrays. But looking at the Philips light, passive cooling, and single cord, no brick, well, I'm tempted. As far as par goes I think that could be mitigated and/or managed should it be lower. Reefs are structured naturally so no reason why I can't have a tiered approach in my system. I already do honestly.

But yeah - two great reasons you raised. Could be a game changer or at least give them a leg up. And we already know the gen 1 can grow corals. Very popular in EMEA and the lad over at Neptune, Terence, has an amazing tank running them.
 

shred5

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
6,360
Reaction score
4,812
Location
Waukesha, Wi
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
What people do not get when it comes to lighting is you cant just stick a par meter under a light and tell how much light a fixture puts out. You need total light which is not easy to measure so you need a average.

Fixture 1 can put out 200 par directly under and fixture 2 puts out 150. This does not mean fixture one puts out more light or par just in that spot. Now you go 1 foot away from center and fixture 1 puts out 60 and fixture 2 puts out 90. Which puts out more light?
We certainly can tell which has more spread or more even lighting.

That is why the Philips fixture is so promising to me for leds. I have used some led but usually supplemented it with T-5.
To me leds have not had the spread and too much shading. The Philips fixture from everything I have seen does far better.
This may be the first fixture that makes me want to drop t-5. A lens will cut back on some light but certainly can help on spread.
 

NeverlosT

SPS nut
View Badges
Joined
Feb 28, 2011
Messages
1,070
Reaction score
950
Location
San Luis Obispo, California
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
For my $$ it is basically between the CCG2 and the Straton (due to spread and passive cooling). The two deciding factors for me will be...
- Straton probably has more PAR due to being 230W instead of 170W in similar form factor
- CCG2 probably has better cooling/longevity due to lower wattage and much beefier construction

So I need to figure it out.

Then again, they are both still imaginary as far as I am concerned. I have no idea why it takes companies this long to release things. I design consumer products, and understand certification, the approvals, etc. and it is not some kind of black magic. Sigh.

OP your corals look incredible. Keep it up!
 

oreo54

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 18, 2017
Messages
5,531
Reaction score
3,411
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
For my $$ it is basically between the CCG2 and the Straton (due to spread and passive cooling). The two deciding factors for me will be...
- Straton probably has more PAR due to being 230W instead of 170W in similar form factor
- CCG2 probably has better cooling/longevity due to lower wattage and much beefier construction

So I need to figure it out.

Then again, they are both still imaginary as far as I am concerned. I have no idea why it takes companies this long to release things. I design consumer products, and understand certification, the approvals, etc. and it is not some kind of black magic. Sigh.

OP your corals look incredible. Keep it up!
Straton lost its shimmer.. :)
 
OP
OP
pharazon

pharazon

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
476
Reaction score
810
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Thank you to everyone who has chimed in!

As far as PAR is concerned, I agree that “monster par” is totally unnecessary to grow and color up SPS. I have had great growth and color without ever cracking 300 PAR (and the pics to prove it) and I would much rather have a good distribution/spread of light. That was the main motivation for swapping the Radion out to try the CoralCare.

re: ATI Straton - definitely an interesting light! A buddy of mine is testing one but so far just has it over anemones, so it’s hard to compare notes. BUT, he has confirmed that there is essentially no shimmer. I have always loved shimmer, so I probably wouldn’t opt for an LED fixture that lacks it completely.

Since I strapped this light to an established reef, it’s a little more difficult to gauge what it’s really capable of. However, here’s the closest thing I got to a “blank palette:”

This frag off my Walt Disney colony was getting shaded out by a neighboring acro. Here’s what it looks like a week after chopping its neighbor and giving it more light:

1DF46420-42BB-4961-8751-F15F52F4C686.jpeg
 
OP
OP
pharazon

pharazon

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
476
Reaction score
810
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Here’s a fun one: a three month (almost four) progression on a frag off my RRA OP colony. I originally gave this piece to a buddy, but it came back to me when he had some troubles with his tank back in May.


June-July was a crazy month for this guy!

BF736F73-2EE3-4D85-8B93-B6D68DEF93B9.jpeg
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 36.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.9%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top