Tmc Reef Photon instead of Maxspect Razor?

[The Night Driving Avenger]

i bought my setup from someone in october and it's a 200 litre cube with fish and coral. it came with maxspect razor lights and to be perfectly honest i hate them. the control method is awful so i'm wanting to get some thing that can be controlled with an app.

i found this: https://marineaquatics.co.uk/shop/lighting/tmc-led-lighting/tmc-reef-photon-single-1-x-84w/

I'm only just out of debt so not wanting to break the bank immediatley plus i want to stock up on various meds,chems and supplies for the reef.

any one had experience with tmc lights?

 

[najer]

My lfs has them over a coral tray, the app looks very user friendly.
I'm not a fan of TMC products though even though they offered me one at cost price to try.

 

[windemerejack]

I have no experience of TMC lights but a quick google doesn't show them in a good light (excuse the pun)
My personal experience with TMC is anything that needs electric to run by TMC and quality and reliability don't belong in the same sentence.

 

[Homebrewer]

I run two AquaRay TMC Nature Perfect 1500 tiles over a 65g. They are about $250 each, are waterproof, have no moving parts, consume only 30w, and have a 5 year warranty. I’m 4.5 years into them and I love em. I did buy the controller, but you don’t have to have it if you’re looking to keep costs down.

I respectfully disagree with the comment regarding reliability. In my experience these lights have been bulletproof. I started a thread to see if anyone would post. As you can see, no one has responded, and I recognize that these are not a popular light, at least in the US. So take that for what it is worth, but just because it’s not popular, doesn’t mean it’s not a good option. There are a few pics in this thread you can check out if you like:

AquaRay Lighting Thread

Starting this thread for AquaRay users to discuss this brand of lights and show off some pics... and for anyone else to chime in with questions or discussion points. I’ll kick it off... I run 2 x AquaRay TMC Nature Perfect 1500 tiles over a 65g Oceanic. I’ve had these lights for over 4 years...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[IKD]

i bought my setup from someone in october and it's a 200 litre cube with fish and coral. it came with maxspect razor lights and to be perfectly honest i hate them. the control method is awful so i'm wanting to get some thing that can be controlled with an app.

i found this: https://marineaquatics.co.uk/shop/lighting/tmc-led-lighting/tmc-reef-photon-single-1-x-84w/

I'm only just out of debt so not wanting to break the bank immediatley plus i want to stock up on various meds,chems and supplies for the reef.

any one had experience with tmc lights?

Just wanted to say congratulations on getting out of debt! That must feel awesome.

 

[The Night Driving Avenger]

I run two AquaRay TMC Nature Perfect 1500 tiles over a 65g. They are about $250 each, are waterproof, have no moving parts, consume only 30w, and have a 5 year warranty. I’m 4.5 years into them and I love em. I did buy the controller, but you don’t have to have it if you’re looking to keep costs down.

I respectfully disagree with the comment regarding reliability. In my experience these lights have been bulletproof. I started a thread to see if anyone would post. As you can see, no one has responded, and I recognize that these are not a popular light, at least in the US. So take that for what it is worth, but just because it’s not popular, doesn’t mean it’s not a good option. There are a few pics in this thread you can check out if you like:

AquaRay Lighting Thread

Starting this thread for AquaRay users to discuss this brand of lights and show off some pics... and for anyone else to chime in with questions or discussion points. I’ll kick it off... I run 2 x AquaRay TMC Nature Perfect 1500 tiles over a 65g Oceanic. I’ve had these lights for over 4 years...

www.reef2reef.com

thanks,How have you found coral growth with them?

 

[Homebrewer]

thanks,How have you found coral growth with them?

Sorry for the delay. I’ll post some pics tonight. Mild weather on a spring Sunday equals yardwork for me :confused:

 

[Homebrewer]

Ok, yardwork is over. Thank goodness.

Funny you bring up the growth question. I was just thinking of this myself. Below I'll give some examples. Please note, though I've had these lights about 4.5 years, I "rebooted" this tank starting around October 2018. Prior to that, it was a FOWLR + anemone-only.

These lights grow LPS and softies quite well IMO. I'm terrible at remembering to take progression pics, but I have a few I found.

So here's a mid-May 2020 (few days ago FTS). The chalice in the lower middle I picked up in April 2019 and it was about the size of a nickel. For scale, it's probably about this size of a drink coaster now. Surface-area wise, it's at least 10x bigger than when I bought it. That's 1000% growth in 13 months. The Hollywood Stunner next to it I got from WWC in December 2018 and it grows like crazy. I'm happy to let it go to war with the anemone. It keeps the nem off the glass. The anemone's (there are currently 3 (clones)), are each about the size of a mini basketball. They've split at least a dozen times since I've had the lights, and have funded a few of the other items in the tank.

Here is a blued-out shot of the peach ric I got in January 2019, and below is the "colony" that has now been established (see also FTS, left side). There has to be 12-15 of them (about 16 months):

Pardon the quality of the close-ups, these are just iPhone images.

Here's the alien-eye trumpet in October 2019. It's easily doubled as it sits now (see FTS), but that's not counting fragging it twice already... that's only about six months.

Also, it's worth mentioning that I run a pretty simple system, just a $100 canister and an HOB skimmer. I dose only ESV B-Ionic two-part, and when I feel like it or remember to do it, I'll feed reef chili mixed with Coral Amino to the LPS. I tried the Red Sea trace colors but I'm beginning to see browning (see back of tank), and so I'm discontinuing it. The trace elements in B-Ionic are likely enough for my tank.

I've never put a PAR meter to these, but I've never had any trouble with any particular type of coral, though I admit I don't have any species that are too difficult to care for. I keep nitrates at around 1, phosphate at .03-.06, alk around 7.5-8, Calcium 435-450, 1.026 salinity and temp around 79. It's worth noting that again, these lights have no moving parts, are passively cooled, and each tile only draws 30w... in other words, they don't add any heat to the tank.

I'm truly not trying to convince you, but I think you should consider them as an option. So many people run so many different lights, it's hard to say what's right for you and your budget. All I know is that I'm approaching 5 years with these guys and I'll continue to use them until they fail, which I see no signs of. The waterproof feature and no fan works great for me because the salt spray from my HOB skimmer would most definitely killed a light with a fan in the same amount of time. The warranty is nice too. If you're budget-conscious, you know you won't have to buy another light for at least 5 years. Again, something to consider. Hope this helps.

 

[The Night Driving Avenger]

Ok, yardwork is over. Thank goodness.

Funny you bring up the growth question. I was just thinking of this myself. Below I'll give some examples. Please note, though I've had these lights about 4.5 years, I "rebooted" this tank starting around October 2018. Prior to that, it was a FOWLR + anemone-only.

These lights grow LPS and softies quite well IMO. I'm terrible at remembering to take progression pics, but I have a few I found.

So here's a mid-May 2020 (few days ago FTS). The chalice in the lower middle I picked up in April 2019 and it was about the size of a nickel. For scale, it's probably about this size of a drink coaster now. Surface-area wise, it's at least 10x bigger than when I bought it. That's 1000% growth in 13 months. The Hollywood Stunner next to it I got from WWC in December 2018 and it grows like crazy. I'm happy to let it go to war with the anemone. It keeps the nem off the glass. The anemone's (there are currently 3 (clones)), are each about the size of a mini basketball. They've split at least a dozen times since I've had the lights, and have funded a few of the other items in the tank.

Here is a blued-out shot of the peach ric I got in January 2019, and below is the "colony" that has now been established (see also FTS, left side). There has to be 12-15 of them (about 16 months):

Pardon the quality of the close-ups, these are just iPhone images.

Here's the alien-eye trumpet in October 2019. It's easily doubled as it sits now (see FTS), but that's not counting fragging it twice already... that's only about six months.

Also, it's worth mentioning that I run a pretty simple system, just a $100 canister and an HOB skimmer. I dose only ESV B-Ionic two-part, and when I feel like it or remember to do it, I'll feed reef chili mixed with Coral Amino to the LPS. I tried the Red Sea trace colors but I'm beginning to see browning (see back of tank), and so I'm discontinuing it. The trace elements in B-Ionic are likely enough for my tank.

I've never put a PAR meter to these, but I've never had any trouble with any particular type of coral, though I admit I don't have any species that are too difficult to care for. I keep nitrates at around 1, phosphate at .03-.06, alk around 7.5-8, Calcium 435-450, 1.026 salinity and temp around 79. It's worth noting that again, these lights have no moving parts, are passively cooled, and each tile only draws 30w... in other words, they don't add any heat to the tank.

I'm truly not trying to convince you, but I think you should consider them as an option. So many people run so many different lights, it's hard to say what's right for you and your budget. All I know is that I'm approaching 5 years with these guys and I'll continue to use them until they fail, which I see no signs of. The waterproof feature and no fan works great for me because the salt spray from my HOB skimmer would most definitely killed a light with a fan in the same amount of time. The warranty is nice too. If you're budget-conscious, you know you won't have to buy another light for at least 5 years. Again, something to consider. Hope this helps.

thanks, very very informative! think i'll pick up a set in the next month or so. even if i end up not liking them. they'll at least do as an emergency back up!

 

[oreo54]

thanks, very very informative! think i'll pick up a set in the next month or so. even if i end up not liking them. they'll at least do as an emergency back up!

Just an FYI.. "Usual" err exaggeration. You just need to be aware of it.

This Light runs at 61 Watts, Why is Marketed at 84 Watts? | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

The Cetus2 LED is an interesting and capable controllable LED light with an attractive cluster of multicolor diodes. We’ve been running a pair of them on our 75 gallon Euphyllia tank for about a year…

reefbuilders.com

The product detail page for the TMC Reef Photon also repeatedly claims “Full spectrum reef capable lighting with 84w max output” but when asked about this TMC candidly admitted that it actually outputs 20% less than that.

It’s not unusual to see these kinds of misleading claims from generic aquarium companies but it’s really shocking to see this from a self professed “back bone of the industry and hobby in the UK”.

HM Electronics Cetus 2 LED has full blown features in a spotlight form factor | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

HM Electronics is a company which has really grabbed our attention at the international trade shows for a suite of very interesting LED light designs and features. They first made a big splash with…

reefbuilders.com

 

[Homebrewer]

Just an FYI.. "Usual" err exaggeration. You just need to be aware of it.

This Light runs at 61 Watts, Why is Marketed at 84 Watts? | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

The Cetus2 LED is an interesting and capable controllable LED light with an attractive cluster of multicolor diodes. We’ve been running a pair of them on our 75 gallon Euphyllia tank for about a year…

reefbuilders.com

HM Electronics Cetus 2 LED has full blown features in a spotlight form factor | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

HM Electronics is a company which has really grabbed our attention at the international trade shows for a suite of very interesting LED light designs and features. They first made a big splash with…

reefbuilders.com

Good info. And FWIW, I have no idea if the tiles use 30 w or not. They have 10x 3w LEDs, so the math works, but I’ve never made a measurement of actual use.

 

[Reef Breeders]

watching

 

[The Night Driving Avenger]

Just an FYI.. "Usual" err exaggeration. You just need to be aware of it.

This Light runs at 61 Watts, Why is Marketed at 84 Watts? | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

The Cetus2 LED is an interesting and capable controllable LED light with an attractive cluster of multicolor diodes. We’ve been running a pair of them on our 75 gallon Euphyllia tank for about a year…

reefbuilders.com

HM Electronics Cetus 2 LED has full blown features in a spotlight form factor | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

HM Electronics is a company which has really grabbed our attention at the international trade shows for a suite of very interesting LED light designs and features. They first made a big splash with…

reefbuilders.com

sorry only just saw your post! so i don't really understand wattage and stuff tbh, what does the 20% less mean for me in terms of coral growth etc?

 

[oreo54]

sorry only just saw your post! so i don't really understand wattage and stuff tbh, what does the 20% less mean for me in terms of coral growth etc?

That has a fairly long complicated answer..
Simplest answer is more watts, more photons.
It's not that simple though..

Like an 80W fixture can produce more photons than a 100W fixture if the diodes have different efficiencies.
Another complication is delivery. 100W of un-reflectored :) light is not as good as 30W of well directed light.

A lot of the LED efficiency (and problems as well) is the fact that they have very efficient directionality.
Then you have different species w/ different light demands.


Bigger question is why light manuf. don't use accurate wattage measurements?
Or have decent PAR maps..

 

[The Night Driving Avenger]

That has a fairly long complicated answer..
Simplest answer is more watts, more photons.
It's not that simple though..

Like an 80W fixture can produce more photons than a 100W fixture if the diodes have different efficiencies.
Another complication is delivery. 100W of un-reflectored :) light is not as good as 30W of well directed light.

A lot of the LED efficiency (and problems as well) is the fact that they have very efficient directionality.
Then you have different species w/ different light demands.


Bigger question is why light manuf. don't use accurate wattage measurements?
Or have decent PAR maps..

so do you think they would still be ok for me? i have a 200 litre cube tank