Are Reefbreeder Photons and Evergrows really the same?

[chris_pull]

I recently purchased an Evergrow light here in the UK and I'm struggling to find information on the actual LED it contains, beyond just the colour names, e.g. "royal blue".

I came across another post on here that listed them as follows – I've contacted Evergrow to try and confirm this:

Channel 1: 660 (red)
Channel 2: 520 (green)
Channel 3: 450-24 (royal blue)
Channel 4: 7.5K (cool white)
Channel 5: 470-16 (blue)
Channel 6: 400 & 420 (Indigo and UV)

This fits with the version I've ordered, which says it has "UV" as well as "indigo", and "cool white". However, I noticed ReefBreeders has warmer whites and no UV listed on their website. Yet, I read repeatedly they are the same light under different branding.

Does anyone have more info on this? The reason I ask is that there's a lot more information on the performance and testing by BRS on the ReefBreeders compared to the Evergrows, but if they have different spectrums then this information may not translate to the Evergrows. BRS also found that the blue part of the spectrum of the ReefBreeder was thinner in the UV range, but if the Evergrows have UV LEDs, then I imagine the blue peak is actually wider.

Cheers!

Chris

 

[jgirardnrg]

I'm not sure if they're the same or not. On the ReefBreeders lights the CH6 is Violet/UV with no indigo and CH4 is a warmer white. Great lights, I use them on my display and frag tanks here.

 

[chris_pull]

I'm not sure if they're the same or not. On the ReefBreeders lights the CH6 is Violet/UV with no indigo and CH4 is a warmer white. Great lights, I use them on my display and frag tanks here.

If you look at the layout spectrum though the ReefBreeder is all 420 on the Violet/UV spectrum, rather than a mix of 420 and 400s, as suggested for the Evergrows.

I am sure either way that they are great lights, I just would like to know what I've bought haha. Can't wait to get them over my tank!

 

[jgirardnrg]

Right, I should have been more clear. I was confirming that the Photons are all UV on CH6, there is no mix there. Also, I believe the white channel is a different spectrum on the two lights. I have never compared the two lights but am aware of the Evergrow fixtures. I didn't dig too deeply into it because I'm happy with ReefBreeders and get excellent customer support. It also helps that I can jump in my truck and drive to their location in around an hour.

 

[chris_pull]

Right, I should have been more clear. I was confirming that the Photons are all UV on CH6, there is no mix there. Also, I believe the white channel is a different spectrum on the two lights. I have never compared the two lights but am aware of the Evergrow fixtures. I didn't dig too deeply into it because I'm happy with ReefBreeders and get excellent customer support. It also helps that I can jump in my truck and drive to their location in around an hour.

Sure, but I don't think 420 counts as UV (UV is 400 and below) and it's listed as violet on their website. It seems like the Evergrows though have 420 and 400 in channel 6, though I am trying to confirm this with them. It would seem that the difference between channel 6 and the white channel are where the lights differ, though it could be the info above is outdated and now they're the same. That said, my whites look cooler rather than warmer.

We can't get ReefGreeders here so Evergrow are the only options, but I've been assuming they are the same (and I think many others too) but actually it looks like they are different in some aspects. Thanks for your help!

 

[jgirardnrg]

Could be outdated info as you said. I know the ReefBreeders lights have undergone revisions. Maybe Logan at Reef Breeders didn't update the website after a revision. I'll have to dig out the manual and see what they're listed as. I do find it interesting that the white channel on your light is listed at 7500K instead of the 5500K on the Photon. My best guess is that your light is a newer rendition than the current crop of Photons and that future versions of the Photons will have the cooler white channel and mixed UV/Violet channel like yours. On paper, your light is going to have the wider blue spectrum even if by a small margin.

For me to get the Evergrow lights I have to order in bulk and wait for them to get here on the slow boat from China (Alibaba).

 

[Bpb]

It’s the same fixture just different diode choice and different distribution/warranty. Reef breeders is one of many US distributors for ever grow lights. They don’t actually manufacture them.

 

[chris_pull]

It’s the same fixture just different diode choice and different distribution/warranty. Reef breeders is one of many US distributors for ever grow lights. They don’t actually manufacture them.

Thanks, yeah, this is what I think, that ReefBreeders have a custom diode mix that's different to the default Evergrows available elsewhere.

I don't mind at all – it's just many in the UK assume that the ReefBreeder has the same diode mix and thus spectrum. I just want to confirm what the differences are. For example, I was "worried" about the lack of UV and thinking about supplementing this, but realising now that the fixture I have actually has 400 nm diodes in there.

 

[chris_pull]

Could be outdated info as you said. I know the ReefBreeders lights have undergone revisions. Maybe Logan at Reef Breeders didn't update the website after a revision. I'll have to dig out the manual and see what they're listed as. I do find it interesting that the white channel on your light is listed at 7500K instead of the 5500K on the Photon. My best guess is that your light is a newer rendition than the current crop of Photons and that future versions of the Photons will have the cooler white channel and mixed UV/Violet channel like yours. On paper, your light is going to have the wider blue spectrum even if by a small margin.

For me to get the Evergrow lights I have to order in bulk and wait for them to get here on the slow boat from China (Alibaba).

I had a look at the spectrums and they do differ where you'd expect if the reefbreeders is indeed lacking those 400 nm diodes. I know you should take these with a pinch of salt but they make sense.

Of course, the info could be out of date but that's not the sort of thing I'd expect from the impression I have of ReefBreeders. I reckon they just opted for a custom diode selection, as the comment above says.

 

[jgirardnrg]

I had a look at the spectrums and they do differ where you'd expect if the reefbreeders is indeed lacking those 400 nm diodes. I know you should take these with a pinch of salt but they make sense.

Of course, the info could be out of date but that's not the sort of thing I'd expect from the impression I have of ReefBreeders. I reckon they just opted for a custom diode selection, as the comment above says.

Yup, probably correct. I'm going to call Logan right now and get confirmation... stay tuned.

 

[jgirardnrg]

No luck... I'll try him again later this afternoon. I know this is usually his busy time since FedEx comes at 1:00pm to pick up the shipments.

 

[Shooter6]

Same manufacturer. Reefbreeders buys from evergrow and resells under their name.

 

[chris_pull]

Yup, probably correct. I'm going to call Logan right now and get confirmation... stay tuned.

Thanks, man! It'll be interesting to know for sure.

Just want to reiterate to those reading this thread that I'm only curious to know if there are differences and whether data about these two lights is transferable, not saying one light is better than the other etc. Both types of branding have been proven to be very successful!

 

[jgirardnrg]

Thanks, man! It'll be interesting to know for sure.

Just want to reiterate to those reading this thread that I'm only curious to know if there are differences and whether data about these two lights is transferable, not saying one light is better than the other etc. Both types of branding have been proven to be very successful!

I'll make sure I let you know when I speak to the man. I'm curious as well. The wider blue spectrum has my interest.

 

[jgirardnrg]

Thanks, man! It'll be interesting to know for sure.

Just want to reiterate to those reading this thread that I'm only curious to know if there are differences and whether data about these two lights is transferable, not saying one light is better than the other etc. Both types of branding have been proven to be very successful!

Finally got around to getting Logan on the phone. The fixtures are similar but not the same. The Photons have a different layout and spectrum designed by Reefbreeders.

 

[chris_pull]

Finally got around to getting Logan on the phone. The fixtures are similar but not the same. The Photons have a different layout and spectrum designed by Reefbreeders.

Thanks for checking! That's really interesting to hear. Now to find out what the Evergrows are actually running. I've contacted them but not heard back yet.

 

[chris_pull]

Finally heard back and was sent this. As expected, the violet channel has some 400/420 and the whites are indeed cooler. I can see on mine that the violet has 4 diodes that are lighter than the rest, so I’m assuming those are the 400s? In any case, glad to get to the bottom of this and to know that the BRS spectrum testing might not be directly comparable.

 

[jgirardnrg]

Finally heard back and was sent this. As expected, the violet channel has some 400/420 and the whites are indeed cooler. I can see on mine that the violet has 4 diodes that are lighter than the rest, so I’m assuming those are the 400s? In any case, glad to get to the bottom of this and to know that the BRS spectrum testing might not be directly comparable.

BRS spectrum testing will not apply directly but they're close. The Photons spectrum was designed specifically by what Reef Breeders requested according to Logan. I did specifically ask about the violet channel and the Photons are indeed 420nm. He did also mention that their UV Lumen Bars operate in the 390-410 range if I had wanted to dip deeper into the UV spectrum. Good to know. When asked about the warmer whites in the Photons than the Evergrow fixtures have I was told the warmer whites when mixed with the blue channels makes for a more natural viewing experience for us. I would imagine that your light is going to have a broader blue spectrum even if by a small margin

 

[Bpb]

I did the BRS recommended profile for about a year or so and it’s just too blue looking for my taste. I now do a blue heavy dawn dusk (which probably looks closer to what most people use for their daylight setting actually). For the peak 6 hour midday setting I have all channels at 50%. I had them at 100% before I started stocking corals on the new tank, but had to drop to 50% as I was getting nearly 700 par on the rocks and 350-400 on the sandbed which is way too much for leds. At 50% all channels I am in the 250-400 range on all rock surfaces and the sandbed gets between 100-200. And it has the 10,000k-12,000k appearance I prefer

 

[jgirardnrg]

I did the BRS recommended profile for about a year or so and it’s just too blue looking for my taste. I now do a blue heavy dawn dusk (which probably looks closer to what most people use for their daylight setting actually). For the peak 6 hour midday setting I have all channels at 50%. I had them at 100% before I started stocking corals on the new tank, but had to drop to 50% as I was getting nearly 700 par on the rocks and 350-400 on the sandbed which is way too much for leds. At 50% all channels I am in the 250-400 range on all rock surfaces and the sandbed gets between 100-200. And it has the 10,000k-12,000k appearance I prefer

I run my own profile and haven't tried the BRS setup. For the frag tank setup I run pretty blue with the white channel maxing out at 10%. On the new display I plan on running a little whiter. That tank is getting an Aquaticlife T5 fixture with 2 Photon 16's in between.

When I did PAR testing on 3 fixtures (Viparspectra, Ocean Revive T-247, Photon 16 V2+) I tested with all channels on 50% on each light in a 60g cube (24" deep). The Vipar was the weakest of the bunch at 150-180 on the sand, the T-247 was 180-200, the Photon was 200-250. The readings were taken in the center area of the tank with the rock work setup like a cove, so I didn't test the tank perimeter.