Radions or Orphek Atlantik's?

[FlyPenFly]

I wish there was an easy way to attach or bars to the fixture itself

 

[Dana Riddle]

I honestly doubt dropping a couple channels 20-30% will matter much if any if you keep the par range in your target zone. I feel people get too worked up over it. If you really are after crazy growth feed them more and colors get the right intensity and chemistry. Just my opinion.

I am surprised to hear the light compared to 6.5k though. We have a greenhouse here that still runs those and they are really yellow.


Fwiw AI and radion are far more white at all channels running 100% and their guide used to be that was equal to roughly 12k. 7k was whites at twice the power of the blues while 20k was blues at twice the power of the whites. Now this was a while ago and not precise, but I feel the orpheks are more of a 14k or higher all channels just the trend is now really blue.

Dana you have any of those old mh spectrum graphs around still? Edit I found one on AA of 10k bulbs.

And all channels of orphek. A lot less yellow and red without that 550 peak that is at least 50% of the blues in the 10k mh

I still have metal halide lamps I archived almost 25 years ago, many with only 100 hours burn-in. The spectral analyses are lost (due to upgrades in the spectrometer's software) but no matter, could re-test.

 

[Wrangy]

dangit Bubba, you've thrown a spanner in the works of my lighting thoughts!! Now Orpheks are on the table haha

Over a 40x24x18" tank do I got with a single V4, or two or three V4 Compacts haha

 

[ACF930]

dangit Bubba, you've thrown a spanner in the works of my lighting thoughts!! Now Orpheks are on the table haha

Over a 40x24x18" tank do I got with a single V4, or two or three V4 Compacts haha

I have a similar tank size and this is what Orphek said:

“The Atlantik is good for 48 inch but yes the par will drop so for sps we can say it perfect for 36 - 40 inch. You always go with extra bar or Atlantik compact to cover all.”

 

[gilman]

Ive been running a Atlantik V4 Compact and OR90 UV Bar on my 40 breeder for a year now . My color and growth has been amazing and I am extremely happy so I bought a second compact and the reef day and sky blue bars for a 120 gallon upgrade .

 

[gilman]

When I first set the tank up

 

[hatfielj]

FWIW, I run 2 compacts over a 48 x 24 x 12 frag tank and it's good in the middle, but the outer edges of the tank have a sharp drop in PAR ( I rented a meter to test it). It's not a problem in a display where the corals aren't going out to the edges, but in a frag tank, it's more of an issue. I think 2 compacts and some T5 supplementation would solve it though.

 

[sawdonkey]

dangit Bubba, you've thrown a spanner in the works of my lighting thoughts!! Now Orpheks are on the table haha

Over a 40x24x18" tank do I got with a single V4, or two or three V4 Compacts haha

With one V4, your ends will be dark. My V4s are about six inches from the ends of my tank and they are noticeably darker. I put an ORphek strip across the front of my tank that goes all the way to the end and it made a huge difference.

 

[smartwater101]

@bubbaque I might have missed it. But what lights did you end up going with? Any pics?

I'm leaning heavily towards Orphec. But really, anything would be better than my Kessils. (Too much shadowing.) And my apartment is like a pizza oven in the way it stores heat, so anything outside of LED is a non starter. Spread is what I'm really concerned about.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I own multiple orphek units and recommend them despite the costs to anyone !
They are powerful so do start on very low settings.

 

[bubbaque]

@bubbaque I might have missed it. But what lights did you end up going with? Any pics?

I'm leaning heavily towards Orphec. But really, anything would be better than my Kessils. (Too much shadowing.) And my apartment is like a pizza oven in the way it stores heat, so anything outside of LED is a non starter. Spread is what I'm really concerned about.

I ended up going with radions and I really enjoy them. I do have pics in my thread somewhere if you go to it and click on the search and type radion.

I probably wouldn't go with the orphek's after reading Sawdonkey's review. You should check out this thread.

My Review of Orphek Atlantik V4 after 15 Months

On my previous builds, I’ve used black box LEds (Ocean Revive) and had a lot of success. When I set my tank back up at the start of last summer, I thought I’d try something of a higher quality to see if I could get even better results. I purchased two Orphek V4s and a gateway directly from...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[phil bevilacqua]

I have both and think the Orphek is a way better light for spread, color and par. Oh and it never goes offline like my reeflink does. After I saw the brs review saying they were the best I had to try them.

 

[James Emory]

I like the form factor of radions better and it sure seems like a lot of the top coral growers are using them. This may have something to do with the relationship ecotech has with some in the industry? It does seem like most that use them, love them.

The Orpheks intrigue me as well because it sure looks like the spread is more even like T5s. I don't think there's near the number of users out there, as with the radions.

What's the warranty on both of the lights? Ecotech has an upgrade pathway don't they? I wonder if the diodes on the Orpheks can be replaced by the end user at home if need be? The thing is, it seems to maybe be easier to get a hold of someone with the Radions if need be, but that may just be my perception?

Sorry I'm no help as I've not actually seen either in person. Can't wait to see what you come up with! I will be doing the same sometime this year with another frag tank seperate from my display. I was thinking to go with radions and t5s honestly. I know the t5s are out in your case, but I'm leaning radions personally just from all the reading I do on the forums and what not.

One of the top growers of Coral is ORA in Florida and I just sold them a ton of our bar lights for their coral facility. They are very impressed with what they do.

 

[James Emory]

I have both and think the Orphek is a way better light for spread, color and par. Oh and it never goes offline like my reeflink does. After I saw the brs review saying they were the best I had to try them.

Once you send a program to the Atlantik V4 it stores it in the PC board so even if the gateway is unplugged, your program will still run.

 

[smartwater101]

I ended up going with radions and I really enjoy them. I do have pics in my thread somewhere if you go to it and click on the search and type radion.

I probably wouldn't go with the orphek's after reading Sawdonkey's review. You should check out this thread.

My Review of Orphek Atlantik V4 after 15 Months

On my previous builds, I’ve used black box LEds (Ocean Revive) and had a lot of success. When I set my tank back up at the start of last summer, I thought I’d try something of a higher quality to see if I could get even better results. I purchased two Orphek V4s and a gateway directly from...

www.reef2reef.com

Aw man that makes me nervous. Although UV burning out seems to be an issue with many light brands...

If I went Radions I'd probably have to go with xr30s and turn them width wise... (I HATE shadowing)
That means I'd need more for my 90" tank. $$$ starts to add up. But then again they're much easier to find used....

Decisions Decisions. This is so hard! Lol

 

[lexinverts]

Orpheks produce a nice spectrum, and they are powerful.
However, if you don’t like the disco effect or side glare of Orpheks, check out this new option:

Interesting 'New' LED Light

I just received two ReeFi LED lights for testing purposes. This company has been around for a while, but it is new to me, and I'm impressed with the thoughtful design. There are 72 LEDs in the array including cool white, warm white, amber, lime, blue, royal blue, violet, 420nm and 400nm, each on...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I think a lot of people overlook using extra fixtures and hanging them high up. Every single tank that blew me away had lights hung high and extra fixtures. This makes the whole par drop off around the edges and shadowing issues almost nonexistent. Also allows you to run the lights at 100% without burning coral with whites as easily although I would guess you still have to acclimate them well.
I don’t really see any difference between all the led lights besides features. They are mostly all using similar led bulbs that produce the same growth and the only difference is colors in the fixture.
I am no led expert and I don’t use them as main lighting but I am still interested. I bought a micmol mini for a nano tank for my wife to get back into the hobby and am excited to see what it does. I thought about getting two but it’s only a 5 gallon and I figured I would see what one does first.

 

[lexinverts]

I think a lot of people overlook using extra fixtures and hanging them high up. Every single tank that blew me away had lights hung high and extra fixtures. This makes the whole par drop off around the edges and shadowing issues almost nonexistent. Also allows you to run the lights at 100% without burning coral with whites as easily although I would guess you still have to acclimate them well.
I don’t really see any difference between all the led lights besides features. They are mostly all using similar led bulbs that produce the same growth and the only difference is colors in the fixture.
I am no led expert and I don’t use them as main lighting but I am still interested. I bought a micmol mini for a nano tank for my wife to get back into the hobby and am excited to see what it does. I thought about getting two but it’s only a 5 gallon and I figured I would see what one does first.

The problem with hanging lights high up is that you get blinded by side glare if they are above eye level, especially if you are using a diffuser. I’ve tried this in my living room and it drove me crazy. The Reeflectors on ReeFis almost completely eliminate this, which is a big reason why I like the ReeFi lights so much.

 

[Reefcowboy]

I've owned the orphek V3+ and radion g4 pros. The orphek worked flawlessly and I really liked the fixture. No led spread compares to the orphek. Both are proven to grow and color sps just like any t5 ke MH fixture out there.

Many tanks using radions add t5s for spread. I personalIy never saw t5 supplementation for the orpheks. I hated ecosmart which I guess makes me like the orpheks better.

Ecotechs customer service is awesome and orpheks is not good at all IMO, being you have to solder LEDs yourself and so in which is ridiculous.

Either units are excellent, if I were to go back to led, would be a tough call to make

 

[smartwater101]

The problem with hanging lights high up is that you get blinded by side glare if they are above eye level, especially if you are using a diffuser. I’ve tried this in my living room and it drove me crazy. The Reeflectors on ReeFis almost completely eliminate this, which is a big reason why I like the ReeFi lights so much.

This is another reason I was thinking Atlantiks. I've heard that the acrylic block at the bottom helps with the glare.

It's a big concern for me since I'm sitting at the couch staring at the tank most of the time. From that short distance and lower vantage point, glare can be super obnoxious.