Soon to be Switching from MH to Ocean Revive Arctic S026 LEDs

[blackPearl]

I just purchased these led's for my 90 !! After much research and a tight budget I have finally decided to go LED!! I like the coverage ,sleek design ,competitive price , and it grows corals! I really wanted a controllable photon series but these led's ARE JUST TOO GOOD TO PASS UP. Cant wait to get this fixture up above my 90 ! Hope my corals are pleased !!

 

[rizon25]

I just purchased these led's for my 90 !! After much research and a tight budget I have finally decided to go LED!! I like the coverage ,sleek design ,competitive price , and it grows corals! I really wanted a controllable photon series but these led's ARE JUST TOO GOOD TO PASS UP. Cant wait to get this fixture up above my 90 ! Hope my corals are pleased !!

I think you'll be very happy! I am very pleased and don't feel so guilty about buying these since they don't cost an arm and a leg! It'll probably pay itself off after seeing the next couple of electricity bills.

 

[OceanRevive]

That's good to know I've been teeder todering on the idea of switching but I'm geting one I like the spred of LEDs on these

The Arctic S026 spreads 48 leds out over nearly 100 sq in of fixture surface. Our EverGrow D120 and many other EverGrow made or Chinese copies by other companies have 55 leds in just over 50 sq in. It's that concentration of leds and the glass in front that scatters some of the light that make them hard to look at... especially in a dim or dark room. That difference even shows up in photos people take of their tanks. The spread also allows for bigger heat sinks and I'd put our case temperature up against anybody's. After 12 hours at 100% power the case is with in degrees of room temperature!

Stan at OceanRevive

 

[blackPearl]

I just ordered the S026 for my 90. Cant wait to get them above the tank! What did you use to hang them ??

 

[rizon25]

I just ordered the S026 for my 90. Cant wait to get them above the tank! What did you use to hang them ??

It comes with a really nice hanging kit but I ended up using my old 48" aluminum bars to attach them.

 

[OceanRevive]

I just ordered the S026 for my 90. Cant wait to get them above the tank! What did you use to hang them ??

The OR-Arctic S026 doesn't use the cheap hangers that the EverGrow D120 uses (or it's relatives sold by other companies). It has the same upgraded hangers that the EverGrow IT series fixtures use which are adjustable length. We try to put value in the economy fixtures as well as the top of the line fixtures. :nerd:

Stan at OceanRevive

 

[Mr. D]

I ended up using the triangle steel bars you can buy from Lowes or Walmart. Each one can hold up to 110 pounds when mounted into the wall.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk

 

[rizon25]

Here is a pic of the hangers they supply with the units. Very easy to adjust. I measured the length of the cable to be maximum 25" in length.

 

[Sun357]

I have one over my 40G breeder and love it! I did remove the optics to get a bit more spread but zero complaints and everything looks great. Looks real nice, Rizon!

 

[rizon25]

Thanks Sun357! I hope my corals grow out like crazy by next year. So far everything is responding well but I'll have to wait a couple weeks to see the real results. Any pics of your tank? I'd like to see.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Thanks Sun357! I hope my corals grow out like crazy by next year. So far everything is responding well but I'll have to wait a couple weeks to see the real results. Any pics of your tank? I'd like to see.

The corals in the 2 tanks I have with S026 fixtures over them are doing really well. It took 2 or 3 months for the corals to acclimate from the t5 and metal halide fixtures I had before. But over the last 3-4 months growth is looking better and better. Corals in my frag tank are attaching to the egg crate under the plugs as fast as I can ever remember that happening with the mh fixture.

 

[rizon25]

The corals in the 2 tanks I have with S026 fixtures over them are doing really well. It took 2 or 3 months for the corals to acclimate from the t5 and metal halide fixtures I had before. But over the last 3-4 months growth is looking better and better. Corals in my frag tank are attaching to the egg crate under the plugs as fast as I can ever remember that happening with the mh fixture.

Hey Ron,

When do you know it's time to increase the intensity of the lights? By browning of sps or reaching/ increased length of zoas? I know I'm going to be increasing the intensity slowly every week but I'm not sure when to stop or keep increasing.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Hey Ron,

When do you know it's time to increase the intensity of the lights? By browning of sps or reaching/ increased length of zoas? I know I'm going to be increasing the intensity slowly every week but I'm not sure when to stop or keep increasing.

I have very little experience with zoas and leds, mine have always done well, but I have very few of them (none in my 180g reef). If colorful sps corals start to turn brown or worse, start to bleach, then you have passed the limit of your coral's tolerance. That doesn't mean you can't bump the PAR up a bit more in 2 or 3 weeks. From my reading, it seems corals can change and create new pigments (which is why they sometimes change colors) to protect themselves. It's kinda sorta like you coming to SW Florida and needing suntan lotion to keep from burning. And your developing a suntan is kinda sorta like a coral changing color for protection.

A PAR meter can be a very useful tool, but they aren't cheap. I know that my tanks are safe if I start a new coral in an area where the PAR is in the 100-150 range and then I can acclimate it up to higher PAR areas in the tank over time. My tanks get between 175-225 PAR at the bottom of the tank. Dana Riddle was at MACNA this year and even in very shallow corals he was working with, he felt 200 PAR is enough for most corals. Many can use and deal with higher PAR values, but 200 is enough for most. And because I have a PAR meter (and use it) I've only every bleached one sps coral. It was a montipora confusa, a plate coral that puts out vertical spires. Well my flat, horizontal plate of the coral bleached (due to receiving light directly at a 90 degree angle) and the spires get light at very oblique angles, so not nearly as direct, and they survived just fine. So about 60%-70% of my colony bleached and died (all the flat surface) and 30%-40% survives (all the vertical pillars). And the tips of the pillars continue to grow 8 weeks after the bleaching event. Of course I did dial the fixture back.

I run a light schedule different than many reefers. It's an 8 hour sunrise that starts with 3 hours of just increasing blue. Than an hour at midday peak of 80% blue and 40% white. Then an 8 hour sunset withe the last 4 hours being only blue. Well, when I started that pattern I though if midday is only 1 hour, I could get away with 100% and 80%... but I was wrong and saw the bleaching after about 3-4 days.

 

[specialk]

My tanks get between 175-225 PAR at the bottom of the tank. Dana Riddle was at MACNA this year and even in very shallow corals he was working with, he felt 200 PAR is enough for most corals..

Ron whats up buddy ... I know we have talked many many times about this, but as I am a little over a month into my lights I just wanted to make sure and get your thoughts on this ... my depth is about the same as yours (20 inches) and the lights are at 8 inches above the water surface (where as yours are about 9-12 inches above your water surface I believe) I have added some more SPS frags to the middle to top of my tank and the rest of the tank has a mix of LPS and other softies -- all the coral are responding well but based on your PAR readings at the bottom of your tank, with your lights around 10 inches above the water, do you think that my PAR readings are going to be higher then the reccomended 200 you just spoke of at the bottom of the tank??? I am running my blues at about 75-80%. (I really want to get a PAR meter in the future but figured I would get your opinion on this since our tanks are similar)

 

[Ron Reefman]

SK, I'm not going to guess at the PAR readings in my tank as I change things too often and with 4 tanks and 3 different fixtures... I get so confused! And currently my PAR meter is out on loan to a friend. I should get it back in a day or 2 and I'll take some readings for you. What power settings are you at and what depth do you want me to measure? Just for basics, my tanks are well acclimated to the OceanRevive S026 fixtures (7+ months) and I run 75% blue and 50% white. I ru the same setting over the frag tank (only 10" deep) but the light is much higher off the tank. Give me some help with exactly what settings and depths you want and I'll get them for you.

 

[specialk]

SK, I'm not going to guess at the PAR readings in my tank as I change things too often and with 4 tanks and 3 different fixtures... I get so confused! And currently my PAR meter is out on loan to a friend. I should get it back in a day or 2 and I'll take some readings for you. What power settings are you at and what depth do you want me to measure? Just for basics, my tanks are well acclimated to the OceanRevive S026 fixtures (7+ months) and I run 75% blue and 50% white. I ru the same setting over the frag tank (only 10" deep) but the light is much higher off the tank. Give me some help with exactly what settings and depths you want and I'll get them for you.

Thanks amigo! I am 8 inches above the water surface. I also, just as you are, am running the blues at 75% and the whites at 50% as well. So dead on with what you have. The depths at what I am curious about are at the bottom of my tank (which is 20 inches to the bottom -- my tank is 20 inches deep) and then also half way down the tank where I have most of my SPS frags, and that is between 7-9 inches deep. Thanks Ron .. you are the man!

 

[Ron Reefman]

SK, I'll call my friend, who is Reef on the Rocks, a sponsor here at RC and see if he is done with my PAR meter yet. So maybe later today. Stay tuned...

 

[specialk]

SK, I'll call my friend, who is Reef on the Rocks, a sponsor here at RC and see if he is done with my PAR meter yet. So maybe later today. Stay tuned...

Outstanding .. thanks Ron!

 

[rizon25]

Update on the dimmable knobs: I was able to just pull them off and re-align them to the correct position so they are at the 0% position when off instead of at like 25% position when off.

I still have the blues at 50% and the whites at around 35% but now the blues are on for 10 hrs and white at 5 hrs. Will see how that goes.

Only difference in corals I noticed now is that my zoa with a rainbow skirt has more coloring in the skirt when I increased the photoperiod. No other changes really. All sps colors are pretty much the same. Pics to follow.

 

[rizon25]

So far, everything looks okay. No bleaching and very slight loss in color of the sps. My Rainbow monti is still not doing well and dying but this was before the switch.

Orange Setosa, Rainbow Pocillopora, and Green Milli.

Cyphastrea

frogspawn

Here's my rainbow Acan with Metal Halide:

And the same Rainbow Acan under led's:

New Ricordea

Joe the Coral

Orange Hammer:

Gold Torch:

Duncan

Zoa with rainbow skirts:

Green Slimer, Shades of Fall Nasuta, Aussie Highlighter acro:

Strawberry Shortcake:

Next update will be in a couple of months.