Reefbrite XHO Blue VS Orphek OR3 Blue Plus - Pics and Par Results

[ReefBeta]

Honestly what you need to do is test the Orpheks at a height where their peak par (middle) matches that of the XHO and then measure the same thing as before, just the orphek higher up. That's the most fair way to do it, and more logical. Orphek may be able to achieve a similar spread but need to be higher up, know what I mean? Either way thank you for taking the time to test this.

Ah good point. Didn't pay attention to that when reading through the test. So the difference is more about the use case of how high one have space for mounting the lights.

 

[gws3]

Honestly what you need to do is test the Orpheks at a height where their peak par (middle) matches that of the XHO and then measure the same thing as before, just the orphek higher up. That's the most fair way to do it, and more logical. Orphek may be able to achieve a similar spread but need to be higher up, know what I mean? Either way thank you for taking the time to test this.

I understand what you're saying, but for me these bars were intended as supplemental with the primary lights being Radion G5s. The G5s have very wide spread, and need mounted about 6-10" above the water (depending on the area you're covering), otherwise you're just wasting light. So mounting the OR3s high wouldn't work for me.

Also, if you mount the OR3 high enough that the hot spot covers a lot of area, there is going to be a lot of spilled/wasted light.

Take a look at the graph. For the XHO it's ideally mounted so that the light between 5-17" in the graph covers the tank. This will result in good spread with almost no wasted light as it drops to almost nothing outside of it.

For the OR3 you'd could mount it at a much higher height so that the light between 9-13" covers the tank, but there is significant light outside this range that would be wasted.

So the efficiency of spread in my mind is really defined by the profile of light distribution, regardless of mounting height.

 

[Hermie]

I understand what you're saying, but for me these bars were intended as supplemental with the primary lights being Radion G5s. The G5s have very wide spread, and need mounted about 6-10" above the water (depending on the area you're covering), otherwise you're just wasting light. So mounting the OR3s high wouldn't work for me.

Also, if you mount the OR3 high enough that the hot spot covers a lot of area, there is going to be a lot of spilled/wasted light.

Take a look at the graph. For the XHO it's ideally mounted so that the light between 5-17" in the graph covers the tank. This will result in good spread with almost no wasted light as it drops to almost nothing outside of it.

For the OR3 you'd could mount it at a much higher height so that the light between 9-13" covers the tank, but there is significant light outside this range that would be wasted.

It's hard to say IMO without testing because of the way the Inverse Square Law affects distribution at different levels. If anything, there may be less wasted light. I think what you're saying makes sense but it's a hypothesis and I can't agree without seeing the reason why a "spotlight" would have more wasted light... because by definition it is focused.

 

[Hermie]

dupilicate

 

[gws3]

It's hard to say IMO without testing because of the way the Inverse Square Law affects distribution at different levels. If anything, there may be less wasted light. I think what you're saying makes sense but it's a hypothesis and I can't agree without seeing the reason why a "spotlight" would have more wasted light... because by definition it is focused.

I think if you bought both lights and observed them in person it would become much more clear.

The reefbrite has a very distinct line where the light drops off. I mount them at a height and angle them so this line falls within the edge of the tank. Almost no light spills over but there is good coverage.

The OR3 has a hot spot with some diffused light around it. If you mount it at a height that the hot spot is distributed over the tank all the diffused light would spill over resulting in a good bit of waster light.

I no longer have the OR3 and don't plan to do any more testing. I actually went into it wanting the OR3 to be better due to the looks and build quality. But the output and controlled spread of the XHO was such a clear winner there wasn't a question in my mind it performed better.

 

[Hermie]

I think if you bought both lights and observed them in person it would become much more clear.

The reefbrite has a very distinct line where the light drops off. I mount them at a height and angle them so this line falls within the edge of the tank. Almost no light spills over but there is good coverage.

The OR3 has a hot spot with some diffused light around it. If you mount it at a height that the hot spot is distributed over the tank all the diffused light would spill over resulting in a good bit of waster light.

I no longer have the OR3 and don't plan to do any more testing. I actually went into it wanting the OR3 to be better due to the looks and build quality. But the output and controlled spread of the XHO was such a clear winner there wasn't a question in my mind it performed better.

I bet it has to do with how each LED overlaps one another, and that the XHO's many LEDs and wider angle affects the compound pattern

 

[oreo54]

I bet it has to do with how each LED overlaps one another, and that the XHO's many LEDs and wider angle affects the compound pattern

Looks like reflectors and side firing LEDs. Diode beam angle is ???

 

[ingchr1]

To show spread here are two 24" XHOs mounted 8" above a 24" tank.

Front to back you can see the clear delineation of light, but light does spill out the sides quite a bit. At least when the length of the light matches the length of the tank.

I really like my XHOs and how they make the tank pop.

 

[gws3]

To show spread here are two 24" XHOs mounted 8" above a 24" tank.

Front to back you can see the clear delineation of light, but light does spill out the sides quite a bit. At least when the length of the light matches the length of the tank.

I really like my XHOs and how they make the tank pop.

Yes, the front to back spread is what I was talking about. And that makes total sense that you'll get light spill if you pick an XHO (or any fixture really) that's the same length as the tank. For the XHOs I usually got with a fixture 6" shorter for small tanks and 1" shorter for large tanks. There will still be a small amount of spill at the end, but much less.

 

[nly04]

The review and comparison is very informative. I have a 48" XHO actinic to supply with my Gen5 blue (2ea xr30 and 1 ea xr15) on 150gal (48x30x24) tank. By the way, the review with picture over the tank showing xho more brighter is little unfair, because the Orphrek Or3 is only 24 inch and have only 30watt total power while the XHO is 30" (old model they don't make 30 inch anymore) have total more than 60watt (12led/per foot, at 3w per led). The price on the OR3 is very competitive vs the XHO. Either model will work fine depend on what you are using them. If you use for supplement for T5 or MH I seen a lot of nice tank go with XHO but if you use to supplement with Orphrek, AI and Radion I seen they went to Or3, but if you use them as main light, I don't see people use this way much.

 

[livingouttruth]

ive had Reefbright XHO for over 10 years...Love them!

 

[BoneDoc]

Thanks for the work. Does this tha t you ca n m aunt mean Orphek closer to 24"?

 

[Peppe]

What is the best mounting height for reefbrite?

 

[Hermie]

the bottom line is mount reefbrite closer to the surface and orpheks further above the surface

Thanks for the work. Does this tha t you ca n m aunt mean Orphek closer to 24"?

What is the best mounting height for reefbrite?

 

[Peppe]

the bottom line is mount reefbrite closer to the surface and orpheks further above the surface

I meant: at what height should reefbrites normally be mounted to make them work properly?

 

[piranhaman00]

Bump!

What height do orphek bars need to be mounted? What about reef breeders?

 

[BoneDoc]

Orphek about 16” like the atlantik. If your tank is wide enough up to 24”

 

[oreo54]

Bump!

What height do orphek bars need to be mounted? What about reef breeders?

Depends on what you want to do with them.
Starting with both lights have 90 degree lenses

Acrylic Lens 90 degree – water depth < or = 100 cm / 39″

OR3 120 - 48" Reef Day Plus LED Light Bar - Orphek

Free Shipping on Everything, Rewards, Free Swag, Price Matching & Free Returns.

www.saltwateraquarium.com

it is easy to predict coverage vs height
Now there is one factor to consider .. WHERE you want the light.

In general the "goal" is to make it so all light goes in the tank and little outside of it.
But do you want "blanket" coverage i.e all light hits and covers the water surface, or more targeted coverage at different depths in the tank
As an extreme example maximizing par on the substrate would imply you want to have full coverage there, leaving less coverage at the water surface.

so start with the simple part and use this calculator to determine the light cone diameter.
A "catch" to lenses is they are usually calculated to the FWHM level meaning at that beam angle you get a cone diameter where the cutoff is 1/2 of the max par (center spot).
Most of the time there is little light past the FWHM "zone".

As an example say you want 1 bar alone to cover the water surface of a 18" wide tank.
At 90 degrees to get a cone with most of the light in the tank at the water surface the light should be 9" off that surface.
Reefbreeders would be similar since they too have 90 degree lenses or did..

LED Lighting Beam Angle Calculator

A simple calculator that determines spot size by a light's beam angle

store.marinebeam.com

Problem w/ Orpheks is they don't really behave like 90 degree lenses, more like 60 degrees according to rough comparisons of posted par maps though don't hold me to that.


The geometry is simple and knowing the approx size of the diameter of the beam at various heights makes rough targeting of height simple.

Keep in mind that unless you have a need for "punching" par deep the best height is where most or all o the light fills the water surface.
Using bars as supplements may involve tilting them in a bit to meet this criteria..
Sometimes you have no choice if your primary lights are up high since you are "pushing" your bar center farther forward or backwards from "ideal".


Bottom line though is height "depends" ........

 

[piranhaman00]

Depends on what you want to do with them.
Starting with both lights have 90 degree lenses

OR3 120 - 48" Reef Day Plus LED Light Bar - Orphek

Free Shipping on Everything, Rewards, Free Swag, Price Matching & Free Returns.

www.saltwateraquarium.com

it is easy to predict coverage vs height
Now there is one factor to consider .. WHERE you want the light.

In general the "goal" is to make it so all light goes in the tank and little outside of it.
But do you want "blanket" coverage i.e all light hits and covers the water surface, or more targeted coverage at different depths in the tank
As an extreme example maximizing par on the substrate would imply you want to have full coverage there, leaving less coverage at the water surface.

so start with the simple part and use this calculator to determine the light cone diameter.
A "catch" to lenses is they are usually calculated to the FWHM level meaning at that beam angle you get a cone diameter where the cutoff is 1/2 of the max par (center spot).
Most of the time there is little light past the FWHM "zone".

As an example say you want 1 bar alone to cover the water surface of a 18" wide tank.
At 90 degrees to get a cone with most of the light in the tank at the water surface the light should be 9" off that surface.
Reefbreeders would be similar since they too have 90 degree lenses or did..

LED Lighting Beam Angle Calculator

A simple calculator that determines spot size by a light's beam angle

store.marinebeam.com

Problem w/ Orpheks is they don't really behave like 90 degree lenses, more like 60 degrees according to rough comparisons of posted par maps though don't hold me to that.


The geometry is simple and knowing the approx size of the diameter of the beam at various heights makes rough targeting of height simple.

Keep in mind that unless you have a need for "punching" par deep the best height is where most or all o the light fills the water surface.
Using bars as supplements may involve tilting them in a bit to meet this criteria..
Sometimes you have no choice if your primary lights are up high since you are "pushing" your bar center farther forward or backwards from "ideal".


Bottom line though is height "depends" ........

So if my goal is to attach to T5 sunpower at 8” or so off the water, both of these lights are not good options. I will stick with reef Brite

 

[oreo54]

Reefbrite XHO Blue VS Orphek OR3 Blue Plus - Pics and Par Results

Since BRS hasn’t covered this yet I did a quick output comparison between a Reefbrite XHO Blue (30”) and an Orphek OR3 Blue Plus (24”). Figured I’d share my results with the community. I’ve always been extremely happy with XHO output and spread, in fact I have them over every single reef tank...

www.reef2reef.com

Well if you want it for color xho has more spread.
If you want par pushed deep orphek.
Btw that data above doesn't' t make sense.
The orphek bar data is like for a 20 degree lens.