21 led USA reef bar

[WvAquatics]

Which I know looking at a cheaper solution and then reefbreeders. But I like the reefbreeders control. Not that I know anything about the settings and lights needed but I want that optionlol

 

[Ron Reefman]

Which I know looking at a cheaper solution and then reefbreeders. But I like the reefbreeders control. Not that I know anything about the settings and lights needed but I want that optionlol

OK, lets start here. I have 3 Reef Breeders Photon fixtures. Like you, I wanted the control. But unlike you, I knew why.

I wanted sunrise/sunset control because I enjoy watching the tank evolve during the day. And I know that it does NOTHING for the coral or fish. It's strictly for my pleasure.

I wanted 6 channels of color control because I like being able to make the tank look the way I want it to in terms of color. And there is some very small benefit that the corals might derive from using more of the correct spectrum. However, this benefit is very, very marginal. Even basic black boxes can control white and blue which is probably 95% of the issue. I like having control of red, green and violet because red and green have very little effect on the coral, so I can turn them off for most of the day. And red is much better for algae than it is for coral. I like control of the violet because I want to use more of it at first sunrise and the last of sunset. It's just a look I like. Again, personal pleasure.

So the short answer is, you don't need to pay for the control unless you want it for yourself. Your corals really don't care. Just get a black box and run it 2 to 3 times higher power for blue than for white. And if you want the control, Reef Breeders is the best and least expensive way to get it.

 

[WvAquatics]

OK, lets start here. I have 3 Reef Breeders Photon fixtures. Like you, I wanted the control. But unlike you, I knew why.

I wanted sunrise/sunset control because I enjoy watching the tank evolve during the day. And I know that it does NOTHING for the coral or fish. It's strictly for my pleasure.

I wanted 6 channels of color control because I like being able to make the tank look the way I want it to in terms of color. And there is some very small benefit that the corals might derive from using more of the correct spectrum. However, this benefit is very, very marginal. Even basic black boxes can control white and blue which is probably 95% of the issue. I like having control of red, green and violet because red and green have very little effect on the coral, so I can turn them off for most of the day. And red is much better for algae than it is for coral. I like control of the violet because I want to use more of it at first sunrise and the last of sunset. It's just a look I like. Again, personal pleasure.

So the short answer is, you don't need to pay for the control unless you want it for yourself. Your corals really don't care. Just get a black box and run it 2 to 3 times higher power for blue than for white. And if you want the control, Reef Breeders is the best and least expensive way to get it.

That is my exact thoughts. I would like to control the spectrum a little deeper than just blues and whites. But yes black box will do just that. But I will enjoy the weeks of dialing the colors for every hour of the day. It's like a hands on approach to customize my colors. I have looked all all high end lights and reefbreeders seem to be the best for the price. I really like the orphek bars but have no idea how many to achieve the right pars and all hydras and radions I would need three lights. So Mars aqua or reefbreeders for now.
For the reefbreeders should I do the 32" on a 4ft or just get the 48"

 

[Ron Reefman]

Logan at Reef Breeders will tell you to get the 48". But IMHO it's a matter of light at the extreme edges of the tank. If you will have end to end corals that need good PAR, spend the extra $110. If you don't mind the ends of the tank being a bit dimmer than the center, and have the overflows at the outside corners or across the entire back of the tank, or outside the back of the tank; the 32" will do just fine and save you $110.

Here is my story with my current build (95% done):

I have a 90g (36x 30x20) DIY built tank with a 24" wide, center overflow. I started with a 24" Photon. It's the fixture I had on my 24" cube. On the new 36" wide tank it was fine end to end as far as I was concerned. However, it didn't do as well covering the 30" front to back. It covered the 24" cube front to back OK, but it was a bit short with the new tank. Now to be fair, this is only a 20" tall tank, so less height to give light room to spread. Complicating the issue was the 24" wide overflow, and the fact that the 24" fixture couldn't wrap light around the outside edges of the overflow at the very back of the tank.

So I bought a 32" Photon. Now I run both. The 24" up front and it's schedule is tuned a bit more blue with midday at 30% white and 90% blues. But the 32" in the back is even more blue. For only 4 hours at midday is there any white at all, 10% and 100% blue. At midday you can see the difference from front to back. In my mind it makes the tank look more like being in the ocean where, when you look off into the distance, the water and light look more blue than up close. So I cured my lighting around the outside corners of the overflow and did a highly personal pleasure and made the tank look different. As always, the corals really don't care that much. Par at the back is almost exactly the same as up front. But I like the look and that's what it's all about!

Just to show what the Photon V2 can do, here is a photo of my 2 year old 24" cube about 6 months before I tore it down to replace it.

 

[Amado]

I just moved and I upgraded tanks.
I was thinking of the ocean revive.
I think it’s a little better than the other black boxes

OceanRevive Arctic T247-B Full Spectrum Dimmable LED Aquarium Reef Light

 

[Ron Reefman]

I agree that the OR T247-B is the best of the black box fixtures. It's made by EverGrow who also makes the Photon. And it has built in timers to turn each channel on and off. Oh, ant the led array is a bit bigger than other fixtures which is good for reducing shadows.

 

[WvAquatics]

I like the OR t247-b but on my 4x2 foot tank I would need 2 minimum possibly 3. So I'm still footing a large bill. Still a little less than a reefbreeder.

 

[Amado]

I like the OR t247-b but on my 4x2 foot tank I would need 2 minimum possibly 3. So I'm still footing a large bill. Still a little less than a reefbreeder.

two would be enough. I am buying 3 for a 6ft tank

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with these reef bars. Says 6-8 bars is 100 par plus at 24 inches deep. Thoughts are they worth it or not?

8 X ReefBar COMBO! 4Ft Aquarium LED Light Reef Bar 48'' inch 48 280W Grow Coral reef saltwater salt water

8 X ReefBar COMBO! 4Ft Aquarium LED Light Reef Bar 48' inch 48 280W For saltwater coral reef

www.21ledusa.com

They make the 3w diodes in these fixtures. The reefbarpro fixtures. They really blast a lot of blue light that’s nice but get so freakin hot it’s not good. The shield warped and discolored quick and the chords and wiring is cheap and it really doesn’t have a heat sink of any good quality. But the light they put out is nice imo. The lower wattage ones might be ok and longer lasting it I would go with something else unless it’s a temporary situation. Also they don’t come with any mounting brackets that work well that I remember.

 

[WvAquatics]

Yeah they look like it would be very difficult to get 8 hung over a tank. I thought the price and the supposed par would work but beyond that I don't know how 8 bars would look or mount over a tank.