Testing a different type of LED lighting, the Orphek Atlantik V4 | BRStv Investigates

[Velcro]

There is no getting around how the single point of light shimmer from the kessils produces real shimmer rather than flicker or static and once it is muted by T5's I think it is the best looking combo there is

Good cause I just ordered retrofit t5 stuff from you haha

 

[Velcro]

We did actually change out the three 700's with five a360's. It's just a lot easier for us to adjust them manually for use on camera.

Did you notice any difference visually from the switch? I’m in the fence about an ap700 vs two 360we units with 6x t5 on my 30x30 cube

 

[lactose]

Just to add I'm pretty sure there is a different lens option for the deeper tanks out there,I think it is mentioned briefly on the website

I saw that too. Anyone know about these lenses?

 

[Ryanbrs]

Did you notice any difference visually from the switch? I’m in the fence about an ap700 vs two 360we units with 6x t5 on my 30x30 cube

Zero visual difference. The ap700 is brighter so we turned the 360's up to 50% rather than the ap700's 30%.

I personally love the simplicity of the spectral controller or knobs. The phone app does nothing for me other than complicate things and entice me to change things I shouldn't change. I get that I am in the minority though and most people like the app interface

I will say the ap700 is flat so for that reason alone some reefers might choose it.

 

[Oldreefer44]

My train of thought is, how much heat does the lamp produce, T5's, LED's, Halides, combos. We look at wattage but what about the cost of keeping the room cool?



Have V3+ in medium size home office and don't notice any increase in heat at all.

 

[Wu Tang Clam]

I have 4 v4 running in a modest size room and heat is not an issue,that was not the case for the 4 xr30 G3 they replaced these things gave out unacceptable heat and horrendous noise from the fan in each unit if the units were ran anywhere over 80% intensity.
A nice little touch in the orphek app is you can check the status of light including running temperature and I have found that they typically run at 40 degrees at the heat sink during the day

 

[Abhishek]

I have 4 v4 running in a modest size room and heat is not an issue,that was not the case for the 4 xr30 G3 they replaced these things gave out unacceptable heat and horrendous noise from the fan in each unit if the units were ran anywhere over 80% intensity.
A nice little touch in the orphek app is you can check the status of light including running temperature and I have found that they typically run at 40 degrees at the heat sink during the day

How is the spread of one unit ? I have a 30 in x 30 in foorprint and grow acros all over the place with radium in large reflector . Will one be sufficient to cover an area of 30 in x 30 in or do we need 2 run at lower intensity ?

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[Wu Tang Clam]

How is the spread of one unit ? I have a 30 in x 30 in foorprint and grow acros all over the place with radium in large reflector . Will one be sufficient to cover an area of 30 in x 30 in or do we need 2 run at lower intensity ?

Regards,
Abhishek

Hello,

If it were me I would go for the 2 units
You dimensions a kind of half of my tank and if growing acropora you would benefit from the additional spread of 2 units as your tank is wider than most

 

[Abhishek]

Hello,

If it were me I would go for the 2 units
You dimensions a kind of half of my tank and if growing acropora you would benefit from the additional spread of 2 units as your tank is wider than most

Love your setup !!! How far do you run them and do you run at 100% ?

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[Zoaeasy]

@Ryanbrs

Aesthetic-wise, how do you feel about the orphek compared to the T5/kessil combo? I don't care about efficiency, just pure aesthetics.

I ran a 4 bulb T5 and2 Kessil 360 on a 30 L for a while and prefer the tank look with the Orphek by far.
The tank is crisp with nice definition and although the shimmer is a bit less, still very appealing and absolutely no disco all effects. I will be upgrading next year to a 13o custom at my house and will most likely get two full size V4's for it. Luckily have the good fortune to see how it performs over the next year on my 60 gallon cube at my office.

 

[HippieSmell]

I saw that too. Anyone know about these lenses?

It's just a narrow angle lens. It's a drop in replacement, but not needed unless you have a 30"+ deep tank, or you want to hang them really high off the water.

 

[HippieSmell]

Has anyone compared the v3 to v4? I'm not too interested in IR, but those teal colored diodes look interesting.

 

[Tallison]

@Ryanbrs Would you recommend an Orphek V4 or 2x Radion xr15 g4 Pros for a 48x18x20 75 Gallon mixed reef? Any chance these get reduced further for Black Friday and do you see apex capability in the future? Thanks in advance

 

[Bronx19]

Love the light, but I'm definitely concerned about warranty/repair. They send the parts and you fix it yourself. Quite possibly no one located in the country. Anything happens in shipping its on you.

 

[HippieSmell]

Love the light, but I'm definitely concerned about warranty/repair. They send the parts and you fix it yourself. Quite possibly no one located in the country. Anything happens in shipping its on you.

I had a non functioning diode on one of my units which was ordered straight from Orphek. They would not send me a new unit. I had to either send it to some place in the states, or repair myself. I chose to repair myself using diodes sent to me from Orphek. It wasn't ideal. Most places would immediately send a new unit, but Orphek were difficult in this regard. Hopefully, BRS being a retailer will make things more customer friendly.

 

[Bruce Burnett]

I own 2ea version 2.1b on a display 72"x30"x 27" tall. I purchased mine before they had the fanless power supplies. Mine have been running for 4 straight years no problems. I grow SPS any spot in the display even on the bottom and even LPS up high. If I could afford it I would buy 3 of the version 4 because of the lower nm leds the lights will not seem as bright as v2.1b. The version 4 has lower nm blue and violet along with UV that the v2.1b does not have. I am buying a new product from them that is meant to replace actinic T5 similar to Reefbrite's XHO blue only more in the violet color range. So far this product appears to be priced below most anything out there. Waiting on delivery. As to Orphek's warranty on the Atlantik lights if you can do simple plumbing or soldering you can replace any part in their lights. They will take care of any issues. I am not sure why it needs Apex control except if you were trying to maintain lunar cycles. I would rather have them work to include lunar cycles in their software and app, or just get the lunar light module. Once your lights are programed there is no reason to modify the programing as that is the problem most people have with leds always changing light schedule and output levels. Since you can store multiple programs if you need to change to an acclimation mode you just upload it into the lights in seconds. I don't own an Apex and would love one mainly for the reporting of info.

 

[Bruce Burnett]

I saw that too. Anyone know about these lenses?

yes they also have 60 degree lens for deeper tanks.

 

[Anirban]

Nice video guys. How many will cover 84x36x20inch tank with mainly SPS.

 

[Bruce Burnett]

Nice video guys. How many will cover 84x36x20inch tank with mainly SPS.

From my experience 3 if you place corals accordingly otherwise 4 four turned long ways front to back will give great coverage. If money is not a concern then go two rows of three or 4 and you could do all SPS anywhere all day long. You will never get the coverage with Radions and since the tank is only 20" deep I would probably do 3-4. They also have a compact which is a smaller version about half the length.

 

[lactose]

It's just a narrow angle lens. It's a drop in replacement, but not needed unless you have a 30"+ deep tank, or you want to hang them really high off the water.

yes they also have 60 degree lens for deeper tanks.

Thx. So this has me wondering now. If I have a 48"x24"x30" deep sps dominant tank would one of these do it with or without lenses or would I need two? I will have clams on sand bed so want par all the way down.

Was thinking aquatic life T5 with 4x ati blue+ and then either XR15Ws or A360s across to deliver the par but now they release this video...

Would love others thoughts. It's great to have options