Should I start a company & build the light reefers actually need?

[ReefInskeep]

The idea for this light has been bouncing around in my head for about 5 years. I keep waiting for some company to make the light, but they haven’t. Basically, a T5/Halide killer. What reefers actually want, as far as I

Overview:

• Under $750
• Large panel with densely packed lower wattage LEDs (like LaniLED or LupyLED, but better and cheaper) in a spectrum similar to Orphek Atlantic V4 v.2, to provide extremely even spread, higher efficiency, and a VERY wide spectrum
• Diffuser covering the LED panel, like the Phillips CoralCare or the Radion diffuser, to enhance even PAR distribution and provide even color mixing
• Built in wifi & controllable with a kick butt intuitive app, but still has on board basic controls for when you don’t want to pull out your phone but need to adjust the spectrum or intensity
• Sleek, tasteful, modern design
• Durable and idiot proof, preferably IPX rated, and have clear settings in the app that provide solid plug & play results like a T5/halide system
• Provide measurements and objective resources to the community about it’s performance characteristics
• Provide kick butt customer service by reefers for reefers
• Be as environmentally friendly and conscious as possible

Then, as a company, once a profit is made I’d like to support communities like R2R, etc., and devote some percentage to fund efforts & non-profits helping the ocean & reefs that humanity has harmed.

What do you think? I’d struggle to find the capitol to begin this adventure, for sure. Maybe if I could raise enough money from fellow reefers I’d have a chance. lol But any established company could do this. They just haven’t...

Maybe @Bulk Reef Supply or somebody could go into business with me? lol

 

[Sallstrom]

Working at a public aquarium messing with several brands of aquarium LEDs, the one thing I really miss is a LED without all the programming. Just a on/off switch. Possibly a dimmer button (waiting to test the Orphek OR bar)
I guess that would be cheaper as well.

 

[ReefInskeep]

Working at a public aquarium messing with several brands of aquarium LEDs, the one thing I really miss is a LED without all the programming. Just a on/off switch. Possibly a dimmer button (waiting to test the Orphek OR bar)
I guess that would be cheaper as well.

Yes! All high end reef lights should have that simple On/Off/Dim functionality, in addition to the detailed programmability via WiFi/BT.

The OR Bars do look really great. Orphek seems to be the closest company to what I’m looking for. Kessil, Maxspect, Ecotech Marine, AI, etc., they’re all lacking. No doubt they all produce results, but we can do better...

 

[ReefInskeep]

I’m competent with building things, soldering and electronics, so I could whip up a prototype if I had the money and knew where to get the necessary supplies. I’d need to learn to program or find a fellow reefer who is competent in app development and able to program the software within the fixture.

Really, I’m thinking this would take serious investment to start a company & produce this from scratch. Or, I could try to finance the R&D and develop a working prototype, rely on you guys and the community for marketing, then use a crowd-funding model to finance initial production runs and go from there.

Lol Imagine the looks I’d get from family or friends if I said, “I’m gonna start a company building lighting for reef aquariums...”

 

[teller]

My opinion :
Aquarium led fixtures should mimic the T5 system by modularity and blanket coverage all over the aquarium top area.
How to achieve this?
The led bars. Putting several led bars over the Reef tank.

Modularity :
you can arrange different light spectrum from different led bars, or use the same. Also easier to replace just one bar in case of defective.
Like T5 have replaceable ballasts, led bars power supplies should be outside.

Simplicity :
No dimming features, just on/off. With this it easy for people who do not have par meters not to be always guessing, and take other measurements as a valid approach, like in T5.
A diffusion media, glass, plastic or whatever as a splash shield for scattering the light, no hotspots nor disco ball.

Next Future:
Second generation of led bars with,
1. The led row able to be detached from bar fixture for easy replace of led s keeping the bar fixture. Good for the environment. We just have to reattach a new led beans row, like a ruler.
2. Possible active cooling by air injection or water like computers.

I may remember other points.

 

[tdileo]

I think this is a fantastic idea and something I’ve also wondered about for a while. While Kessils and Hydras are nice, I’ve always wished there was a much larger version that mimicked the spread of black boxes. When I saw the Orphek V4, I was absolutely in love. Unfortunately it was out of my price range like many of the LEDs available. I think that a budget LED making good spread could be something really great. Make sure that I can be a prototype tester for you.

 

[dantimdad]

Like medicine said on the other thread. I am in.

Let me know if I can be of help.

 

[dantimdad]

I think a programmable and manually dimmable (not storms and cloud cover) version of the OR bars with an even better spectrum.

Passive cooling is a must IMO.

Readily replaceable power supply.

Standard tapped bolt holes so ANY method of hanging can be used.

And, very importantly, Price. OR is just about right if it was at least manually dimmable.

I believe We could develop a bar system with a rack to tightly pack the LEDs and offer different styles of diffusers enough to completely cover a 40b (which isn't necessary but for the sake of argument) for under $700.

I have been bouncing this around for years.

EDIT: I forgot, offer it in two different power levels for shallow and deeper tanks. Using 1/2 watt or 1 watt for the shallow. 3 watt for the deeper.

 

[Mattrg02]

I’d stick to making the led fixture, itself, and make it to work with an apex for programming. Don’t try to be the best at everything, be the best at one and let the others (apex or whomever ) be the best at programming. You’ll wind up giving up if you try to take ok too much at once. People will expect it to be apex compatible anyways...

 

[Breadman03]

I’d stick to making the led fixture, itself, and make it to work with an apex for programming. Don’t try to be the best at everything, be the best at one and let the others (apex or whomever ) be the best at programming. You’ll wind up giving up if you try to take ok too much at once. People will expect it to be apex compatible anyways...

Just use the 0-10 volt control standard.

 

[dantimdad]

Just use the 0-10 volt control standard.

Agreed.

The major driver manufacturers all have a 10v option.

This would allow for manual dimming for those that want it and could easily be used with storm, apex, bluefish, etc. if need be.

My nano setup is 4 channels that are manually 10v dimmed right now but could be run from GHL or Apex with little effort.

 

[Mattrg02]

Also, don’t be drilling things by hand.

Use a drill press at a minimum! Get ahold of a good par meter as well, for tests.

 

[oreo54]

https://acrooptics.com/crave-system/

 

[ddrueckh]

• Large panel with densely packed lower wattage LEDs (like LaniLED or LupyLED, but better and cheaper) in a spectrum similar to Orphek Atlantic V4 v.2, to provide extremely even spread, higher efficiency, and a VERY wide spectrum
• Diffuser covering the LED panel, like the Phillips CoralCare or the Radion diffuser, to enhance even PAR distribution and provide even color mixing

This covers the T5 portion of the light, but what about the Halide? I like the idea of a large panel with densely packed LEDs and diffuser, but I think you need to add a Kessil type LED matrix in the center to add the MH shimmer. Combine those two items into one fixture and you have a winner. This would increase the cost, but would be worth it. You could even have two options...one is the T5 competitor which is what you described and the other the T5/MH competitor which has the additional Kessil type light that I described. I'm sure this fixture would cost more.

I just purchased an 8 bulb T5 fixture for my new tank. I just couldn't justify spending $2,400 for a LED system when the T5 system will do just as good a job at 1/3 the cost. If you could really sell this light for $750 I would consider it. The deciding factor would be a spectrum comparison to the T5.

Last item...in your software, add a section that automatically sets light intensity based on tank depth, distance the light is from the water surface and requested average PAR level.

 

[Scorpius]

Copy what ATI does with their dimmable t5 units but make them led. Problem solved

 

[Opus]

My opinion :
Aquarium led fixtures should mimic the T5 system by modularity and blanket coverage all over the aquarium top area.
How to achieve this?
The led bars. Putting several led bars over the Reef tank.

Modularity :
you can arrange different light spectrum from different led bars, or use the same. Also easier to replace just one bar in case of defective.
Like T5 have replaceable ballasts, led bars power supplies should be outside.

Simplicity :
No dimming features, just on/off. With this it easy for people who do not have par meters not to be always guessing, and take other measurements as a valid approach, like in T5.
A diffusion media, glass, plastic or whatever as a splash shield for scattering the light, no hotspots nor disco ball.

Next Future:
Second generation of led bars with,
1. The led row able to be detached from bar fixture for easy replace of led s keeping the bar fixture. Good for the environment. We just have to reattach a new led beans row, like a ruler.
2. Possible active cooling by air injection or water like computers.

I may remember other points.

That is exactly why I like my Buildmyled lights. I still believe they were the best leds to date. Unfortunately the pot business was a lot bigger than the reefing business.

 

[Mattrg02]

Might want to look up patents before you get too far along.

 

[Brew12]

I don't see the market. Could you get some market share? Sure. Would it be huge? Probably not. The main reason being that reefers have too much variety in what they like in a light. Some people want Apex compatible, which would best be achieved with 2 channels. Others want 8+ channels which would require an app. Some like the spotlight effective of a tight cluster to kick up PAR levels at a specific location, others like things more spread out. Some like LED shimmer, some don't.
Could you break into the market? Sure. Lots of different black box options. I doubt you would get much more than a small part of the market share these guys currently have.

 

[OMGitsManBearPig]

I don't see the market. Could you get some market share? Sure. Would it be huge? Probably not. The main reason being that reefers have too much variety in what they like in a light. Some people want Apex compatible, which would best be achieved with 2 channels. Others want 8+ channels which would require an app. Some like the spotlight effective of a tight cluster to kick up PAR levels at a specific location, others like things more spread out. Some like LED shimmer, some don't.
Could you break into the market? Sure. Lots of different black box options. I doubt you would get much more than a small part of the market share these guys currently have.

I agree. As nice an idea as this is - it's going to be a hard nasty slog to gain enough market share to make this truly worth while. Product segmentation, the ever growing Asian competition in the LEDs, patents... the list goes on and on.

GOOD LUCK!!! (I do mean that.)

 

[Bluejillo]

If you were to build an app for it, I would look into Ionic. Its based off of phonegap and angular which allows you to build out ios, android and desktop apps off of one code base. Obviously a native app for the respective OS will out preform one that gets parsed by Ionic but when youre a small operation you cant really afford separate development teams.