SB Reef Lights Opinions

USMA36 · Nov 17, 2018

I’m replacing my ATI Sunpower 39x8 with LED. I was wondering if anyone has the Sb reef ultimate and if so how do you feel about it. I am going to buy one this week. I have a 90 mixed reef and I am looking at the 46" light. I’m curious how they can run without fans when every other light out there needs them. I am also looking at the Sbox Extreme 32" or 2 18" units. SB reef says the 32" ultimate is good for a 48" tank but it seems a little small to me. I would also like to know if the Ultra can be hacked to work with an Apex like the older lights. Any input would be appreciated. There are not a ton of reviews out there for these units. I also sent an email to the owner yesterday asking about the difference between the extreme and ultra but I have not yet heard back. I’d love to go buy 2 Radion xr30 gen 4 pro but at nearly triple the cost I just can’t justify it. I don’t see a Radion being 3x better (other than the ease of programming)

ndrwater · Nov 17, 2018

I know @saltyfilmfolks usually has some words of wisdom in this department...

Mike in CT · Nov 17, 2018

Just curious, how come your getting rid of the ATI?

saltyfilmfolks · Nov 17, 2018

Mike at SB is in Florida. The response time is hit and miss as it’s actually him and his wife.

Not sure how the ultra stacks up to the ati as far as par power. But ....

Like the industrial fixtures I use , the ultra has a huge heat sink. No fan. I belive that’s how they do it.

No idea on the ultra and the apex compatibility. There is a FB group, SBreeflightsupport group.
Pretty active.

Basically the difference between the ultra and the extreme is the extreme is an ugly box and the ultra looks nice.

I’d go with the one that fits your tank best. Why short yourself. Esp if you’re used to t5 coverage. (I have 3 16s on my 48in tank)

BringingThatDottyback · Nov 17, 2018

If you're interested in the 32" extreme I'm selling one. I had it on a 40 gallon and I'd definitely feel comfortable putting on a 48" tank. I kept it on a very low setting and it was more light then I needed for the tank.

Idk if the mounting legs for the ultra are better quality then their other legs but while the legs on mine worked fine they didn't inspire much confidence. If I wasn't renting I definitely would have used the hangers.

USMA36 · Nov 17, 2018

Mike in CT said:
Just curious, how come your getting rid of the ATI?

No real reason just want to try something different with a little more control.

Ron Reefman · Nov 18, 2018

USMA36 said:
No real reason just want to try something different with a little more control.

IMHO the SB Reef fixtures are pretty good.

Just a comment, if you want more control get a fixture with more than 2 channels. I have a Reef Breeders Photon V2 and doing sunrise/sunset is cool. But when you can really fine tune the spectrum with 6 channels of color control it really makes a difference in the looks. In fact it made me a huge fan of corals that fluoresce. So the morning look is cool but many corals take time to open. Daytime is OK. But in the evening, the tank looks like neon sign on steroids! It's amazing. I ended up selling off almost all my corals that didn't fluoresce and buy corals (and anemones) that do. I even added a 2nd led fixture that I set behind the Photon and I only run the all blue leds. It makes the back of the tank a bit more blue and makes it look a bit deeper (front to back) and makes the evening tank look crazy!

Good luck with whatever you do.

USMA36 · Nov 19, 2018

If you have an ultra how high did you hang it? Does anyone have any programming examples for the Ultra? I am curious to see how others are setting their lights up.

PDR · Nov 19, 2018

USMA36 said:
No real reason just want to try something different

Just keep in mind that this mentality has led to many a tank crash lol.

IMHO, moving to the SB is a serious downgrade from a coral life support standpoint. Not that you can't have success with them, you can, I just can't think of a single thing they do better except maybe moonlights.

USMA36 · Nov 19, 2018

PDR said:
Just keep in mind that this mentality has led to many a tank crash lol.

IMHO, moving to the SB is a serious downgrade from a coral life support standpoint. Not that you can't have success with them, you can, I just can't think of a single thing they do better except maybe moonlights.

What makes you say they are a downgrade? Especially the Ultra. Anything to back that up?

saltyfilmfolks · Nov 20, 2018

T5s are great light and most enjoy great sucess.

IMO , one reason why they do so well is that most completely underestimate how much light they put out.
With leds many fail to correctly set them or know how much they put and typically use much less light.

USMA36 · Nov 20, 2018

saltyfilmfolks said:
T5s are great light and most enjoy great sucess.

IMO , one reason why they do so well is that most completely underestimate how much light they put out.
With leds many fail to correctly set them or know how much they put and typically use much less light.

I probably under estimated how much light my T5 was putting out, but I also like the look of LED. I am hoping I will be happy with the SB reef ultra. Most people seem pretty happy. Tough part will be figuring out settings without a PAR meter.

Big G · Nov 20, 2018

I have a SB Reeflights 45" Ultra on my 90. Works nicely. Very powerful. I use my iPhone with the app to control the unit. Really like how it's completely silent because of no fans. Worked great during the hot summer months.

USMA36 · Nov 20, 2018

Big G said:
I have a SB Reeflights 45" Ultra on my 90. Works nicely. Very powerful. I use my iPhone with the app to control the unit. Really like how it's completely silent because of no fans. Worked great during the hot summer months.

What are your settings?

Big G · Nov 20, 2018

Here's a sample of one of my programs. The tank was still pretty new and I was battling with algae outbreaks. But this would be a good starter perhaps for most tanks. As you can see there are 4 channels. I continue to adjust them to try to find the sweet spot. Hope this helps you a bit.

Stickboy15 · Nov 20, 2018

downgrade because they are basically a fancy black box.I had a black box and thought it was good till I got radions and then those blew them out of the water

saltyfilmfolks · Nov 20, 2018

$15 lux meter and the ramp setting program from SB.

Test the lux of the t5 devide by 50
Test the lux of the led , devide by 60.
Reduce 20-30%. For acclimation AND becuse mike designed a nice long low and slow photoperiod.

USMA36 · Nov 20, 2018

saltyfilmfolks said:
$15 lux meter and the ramp setting program from SB.

Test the lux of the t5 devide by 50
Test the lux of the led , devide by 60.
Reduce 20-30%. For acclimation AND becuse mike designed a nice long low and slow photoperiod.

What model lux meter? How accurate is it compared to a par meter? Measure only at the surface with the t5 and then dial in the SB until it matches the t5?

Grassy_Nole · Nov 21, 2018

Dont ditch the ATI IMO. Add some LED bars if you want to scratch that LED itch. You have a great light, that will grow coral better than that LED box IMHO

saltyfilmfolks · Nov 21, 2018

USMA36 said:
What model lux meter? How accurate is it compared to a par meter? Measure only at the surface with the t5 and then dial in the SB until it matches the t5?