Reef Breeders Gen 1

[stewie]

Short story I bought these lights in 2014 and two years later the right side went dimmer than the left side. Ordered replacement drivers in 2016 however that didn’t make a difference still the same results. In 2018 the right side finally gave out. I have been using my lights like that for a while until I decided to try and figure it out because at the end of the day these lights cost a lot of money. Has anyone else had this issue? I am open to all solutions. I’m in my garage currency looking to see if there is any way I can repair these lights. I don’t think reefbreeders sell replacements parts for this light anymore.

 

[stewie]

This is the Photon 48 gen 1 by the way

 

[Reef Breeders]

Hi,

We discontinued service on these in June of 2019, 3.5 years after we released the V2 and discontinued all V1 Photons. At 6, nearly 7 years, I would say your light is near the end of its advertised lifespan of 4-6 years. Though many V1s are going well past that and are still running, they won't be as bright as day 1. The V2+ uses updated LEDs that have a longer lifespan, as well as a much larger heat sink that keeps them cool without the need for fans constantly running. And of course there are many more upgrades in the way of form factor, control, mounting, etc.

That being said, we did our very best to keep parts on hand even though they are long out of production. One option for you given you've already replaced the drivers is to replace some of the LEDs. We do have some individual LEDs, and full LED boards in stock- though parts are scarce and availability depends on your exact light. If you measure your lights length I can check and see what we have. Full LED boards are $80/ea plus shipping. I recommend replacing both so that you don't have one side brighter than the other. We also have reconditioned V2s from time to to time, and we maintain the warranty on 2nd hand ones as well if a new one isn't in the budget for your tank.

 

[stewie]

Thanks for the update I didn’t realize that the lifespan was 4-6 years. I think it may be time for an upgrade rather than tinker with it. I really enjoyed these lights again thank you for your response.

 

[Reef Breeders]

Thanks for the update I didn’t realize that the lifespan was 4-6 years. I think it may be time for an upgrade rather than tinker with it. I really enjoyed these lights again thank you for your response.

That's the lifespan for every LED light. I wouldn't expect any brand to have the same power output as it did brand new after 7 years of continuous use.

 

[gfox]

I to have the same light which i bought from you in 2014.How much power do they lose in that time frame?

 

[Reef Breeders]

I to have the same light which i bought from you in 2014.How much power do they lose in that time frame?

That depends mostly on how you run your lights and maintenance. ex: If you run the lights 4" from the water at 100% power for 12 hours in a canopy with no ventilation and do no cleaning/maintenance, they probably lost a significant amount of power. If you ran them at 8" above a tank with no canopy and minimal water splashing, plus ran them at our suggested settings, say around 70% power max, then after 6, nearly 7 years, I would say about 25% power loss- so you can turn the light up to compensate.

Let's be reasonable here- this isn't a car. At 5-7 years, you probably want to consider a new light. While there are plenty of V1s still going, at this point I would recommend updating to the new V2+. It's a huge leap in terms of control, color, efficiency, form factor, mounting options, and much much more.

Think about it this way. The average person gets a new $500-$1000 smartphone every 2-4 years- while I know this isn't an exact comparison, a consumer product lasting well over twice that period is considered very reliable. For example- if you had the same phone you did in the start of 2014- it'd be the iPhone 5s. Would you expect that phone to make it until 2020 with no cracks, dents, battery lifespan loss, all buttons working etc.? Do you run that device 12 hours a day, 24/7, 365?

That being said, if you want to hang on a little longer, we do have app enabled hardware coming in 2021 (all current V2/V2+ can easily be upgraded to run the app after release). And- new lights have a 2 year warranty. We're very confident in the quality of our lights. And if your first light you got from us lasted 7+ years- why not get a ReefBreeders when it's time to upgrade?

 

[gfox]

Thanks for the reply.It has been a good light over time i have had one problem that you needed to replace the controller under warranty.Right now i don't have the lowest channel for moon lighting.It has run above the tank in open air at the highest setting at around 80 for 8 to 10 hours.I will keep you in mind when i need to replace it.

 

[Opus]

That depends mostly on how you run your lights and maintenance. ex: If you run the lights 4" from the water at 100% power for 12 hours in a canopy with no ventilation and do no cleaning/maintenance, they probably lost a significant amount of power. If you ran them at 8" above a tank with no canopy and minimal water splashing, plus ran them at our suggested settings, say around 70% power max, then after 6, nearly 7 years, I would say about 25% power loss- so you can turn the light up to compensate.

Let's be reasonable here- this isn't a car. At 5-7 years, you probably want to consider a new light. While there are plenty of V1s still going, at this point I would recommend updating to the new V2+. It's a huge leap in terms of control, color, efficiency, form factor, mounting options, and much much more.

Think about it this way. The average person gets a new $500-$1000 smartphone every 2-4 years- while I know this isn't an exact comparison, a consumer product lasting well over twice that period is considered very reliable. For example- if you had the same phone you did in the start of 2014- it'd be the iPhone 5s. Would you expect that phone to make it until 2020 with no cracks, dents, battery lifespan loss, all buttons working etc.? Do you run that device 12 hours a day, 24/7, 365?

That being said, if you want to hang on a little longer, we do have app enabled hardware coming in 2021 (all current V2/V2+ can easily be upgraded to run the app after release). And- new lights have a 2 year warranty. We're very confident in the quality of our lights. And if your first light you got from us lasted 7+ years- why not get a ReefBreeders when it's time to upgrade?

Well said and good comparison. I know a lot of people don't look at things like the lights as something that needs to be replaced. I'm sure some are like me that come from the VHO/T5 world that it seemed like all you had to do was replace the bulbs (maintenance) and that was it. In my 30 years of doing this I think I had 1 ballast go bad and that was because I dropped the light in the tank.

 

[gfox]

That depends mostly on how you run your lights and maintenance. ex: If you run the lights 4" from the water at 100% power for 12 hours in a canopy with no ventilation and do no cleaning/maintenance, they probably lost a significant amount of power. If you ran them at 8" above a tank with no canopy and minimal water splashing, plus ran them at our suggested settings, say around 70% power max, then after 6, nearly 7 years, I would say about 25% power loss- so you can turn the light up to compensate.

Let's be reasonable here- this isn't a car. At 5-7 years, you probably want to consider a new light. While there are plenty of V1s still going, at this point I would recommend updating to the new V2+. It's a huge leap in terms of control, color, efficiency, form factor, mounting options, and much much more.

Think about it this way. The average person gets a new $500-$1000 smartphone every 2-4 years- while I know this isn't an exact comparison, a consumer product lasting well over twice that period is considered very reliable. For example- if you had the same phone you did in the start of 2014- it'd be the iPhone 5s. Would you expect that phone to make it until 2020 with no cracks, dents, battery lifespan loss, all buttons working etc.? Do you run that device 12 hours a day, 24/7, 365?

That being said, if you want to hang on a little longer, we do have app enabled hardware coming in 2021 (all current V2/V2+ can easily be upgraded to run the app after release). And- new lights have a 2 year warranty. We're very confident in the quality of our lights. And if your first light you got from us lasted 7+ years- why not get a ReefBreeders when it's time to upgrade?

How will the new app be different?

 

[Reef Breeders]

Well said and good comparison. I know a lot of people don't look at things like the lights as something that needs to be replaced. I'm sure some are like me that come from the VHO/T5 world that it seemed like all you had to do was replace the bulbs (maintenance) and that was it. In my 30 years of doing this I think I had 1 ballast go bad and that was because I dropped the light in the tank.

Exactly- and those bulb costs add up. Our lights are about a 6-8 bulb equivalent. Assuming $24/ea for a 48" bulb, that's $144 every 6-12 months for a 6 bulb, or $192 for an 8 bulb, assuming $24/bulb. So 7 years later, an 8 bulb with replacements every 12 months is $1,344 in bulbs alone. The Photon 48 V1 retailed for about $500- I'd say that makes up for bulb changes and power use several times over at that point. Our Photon V2 and V2+ use higher end Cree LEDs with higher hour ratings, and have a larger heat sink, so they should last longer. I'm unaware of any lights from our original January 2016 batches that have noticeable power loss, we're about to hit 5 years on that. Cree advertises 50,000 hours, which is about 8 years at 12 hours a day, at which point the LEDs should be around 70% their original output.

 

[Reef Breeders]

How will the new app be different?

In many ways. Wireless cloud control is a game changer- you can program your lights and perform manual overrides from anywhere in the world you have internet. Presets are built into the app to make programming significantly easier and faster. You can put multiple lights in the same grouping, or set them independently. There's much more to it but that's the quick run-down. We have over 100 lights in beta testing at the moment and the app is slated for release next year.

 

[gfox]

In many ways. Wireless cloud control is a game changer- you can program your lights and perform manual overrides from anywhere in the world you have internet. Presets are built into the app to make programming significantly easier and faster. You can put multiple lights in the same grouping, or set them independently. There's much more to it but that's the quick run-down. We have over 100 lights in beta testing at the moment and the app is slated for release next year.

Thanks for the reply.Will the new app add to the pricing?

 

[Reef Breeders]

Thanks for the reply.Will the new app add to the pricing?

Yes. We invested a significant amount of time and money into developing the app, so it will be an optional upgrade at additional cost.

Note that I said optional- the Photon V2+ will still be available at the same price.

The App enabled version and upgrade kits to make the current V2/V2+ app enabled will have an additional cost.

 

[oldschoolmarcel]

My Gen 1 still going strong after 8 years but posts like this make me worry… lol. Was wondering what was the lowest wavelength of blue these lights provide.

 

[Reef Breeders]

My Gen 1 still going strong after 8 years but posts like this make me worry… lol. Was wondering what was the lowest wavelength of blue these lights provide.

The lowest wavelength in the V1s is 420nm- though that's the peak- their output will extend lower into 400nm near UV territory- those are violets, not blues. The main color is 450nm Royal Blues.

 

[Big Smelly fish]

I see till using one a one of my seahorse tanks now and fans and LEDs still going strong. Not sure how it would be now for Sps, was great in 2915 when I think it was purchased.