Current USA Orbit Marine LED any good?

[joshua1316]

Is the Current USA Orbit Marine LED Saltwater Reef Lighting System any good? I have someone that has it for sale cheep. currently i have no light for my aquarium because its not up and running yet.

 

[Mr_Banana_Pants]

I have the loop ic... works as a nice starter led, but I will be adding T5 retrofits to compliment it for better growth

 

[Invader_Moose]

I agree that it's a great beginner LED and I say begginer because you don't have many programming options other than intensity and ramp timers. I've had one for several years over multiple depth tanks from 12-30". Never really saw great growth but the coral colors were always spectacular. I'm going the same route as @Mr_Banna_Pants with t5/current marine combo.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Theres 2 versions. One has lenses (new) one has led squares(old) for a shallower tank its ok.(meh) the new ones have more punch.
Def a cool thing to have and add to a t5 or t5 retro. I did just that. the light was just not enough on a standard 55g. the company actually recommends two for a 55.

 

[bsfmaximus]

I agree with Moose and Salty Film. I think its a decent light especially if you can get a deal. I've got an 18" and a 24" on my 54 corner tank plus a couple stunner strips on a timer. My LPS and softies are doing great, but I don't think I have enough strength to try any SPS. Its an easy light to set up and use and if you get more than one, they will sync up to the same controller. I love the way my corals look at night under the blues.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

y

I agree with Moose and Salty Film. I think its a decent light especially if you can get a deal. I've got an 18" and a 24" on my 54 corner tank plus a couple stunner strips on a timer. My LPS and softies are doing great, but I don't think I have enough strength to try any SPS. Its an easy light to set up and use and if you get more than one, they will sync up to the same controller. I love the way my corals look at night under the blues.

ea its a pretty light IMo

 

[Va_Reef]

Its not necessarily a new or old option, one is just called orbit marine (no lenses) and the other is the orbit marine PRO (lenses).

The pro is definitely a good entry light and will grow LPS and softies fine. I personally wouldn't bother with the non pro version.

 

[AlexDm]

Is the Current USA Orbit Marine LED Saltwater Reef Lighting System any good? I have someone that has it for sale cheep. currently i have no light for my aquarium because its not up and running yet.

I have there flow pump kit , I love it .... never had the lights but heard there alright - the lights are good as a starter for generic lower end coral ...

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Its not necessarily a new or old option, one is just called orbit marine (no lenses) and the other is the orbit marine PRO (lenses).

The pro is definitely a good entry light and will grow LPS and softies fine. I personally wouldn't bother with the non pro version.

the confusing marketing thing was all the boxes and ads say PRO. they mean the timer.. when I got mine the version with the lenses was not available.

 

[Va_Reef]

the confusing marketing thing was all the boxes and ads say PRO. they mean the timer.. when I got mine the version with the lenses was not available.

Really?

We've always had both options available from the get go. (lenses vs no lenses)

Maybe that was after they released the first "gen" marine.

 

[jeflen651]

In my opinion this is a very basic light. It will do just ok with soft and LPS corals and will not be good for SPS. If you are not planning to do corals it will be fine for a FOWLR tank. As stated it is a good beginners light until you really know what you are trying to accomplish in your tank. One of the big negatives is that when the bulbs go bad they are not replaceable.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Really?

We've always had both options available from the get go. (lenses vs no lenses)

Maybe that was after they released the first "gen" marine.

I will definitely look again. there was much discussion here on them a good while back.(2 years now?)

But for the OP id say no lens is pretty and ok on a shallow tank, the lensed ones are pretty good.
the old ones btw at about 12in are about 300 par i recall, the new ones are in the 550 par range.

 

[joshua1316]

Thank you all for the info. i think i mite go with the loop, can get pumps and lights. thank you all again.

 

[aquablizz]

How can you tell the difference between the pro and the non pro.. I see talk on this thread about lenses but what does that mean,,, I have a chance to buy a used 48-60 unit less then 6 months old,, owner getting out of the hobby and fixtures looks like new.

Any help would be appreciated...

blizz

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

How can you tell the difference between the pro and the non pro.. I see talk on this thread about lenses but what does that mean,,, I have a chance to buy a used 48-60 unit less then 6 months old,, owner getting out of the hobby and fixtures looks like new.

Any help would be appreciated...

blizz

no lens

lenses

 

[tj w]

Mine has the lenses. It's the dual 72" pro strips. I haven't been too impressed with growth or coverage. But, I haven't put anything else on the tank to compare them.

 

[GoVols]

I ran a PRO since last spring and it grows SPS too.

 

[tj w]

I ran a PRO since last spring and it grows SPS too.

Can u share you're settings please, I would really appreciate it.

 

[GoVols]

Can u share you're settings please, I would really appreciate it.

I started and stayed with the 60% acclimation pre-program for a couple of months.
Took several more months but found my sweet spot was at 60% whites and 100% blues.
Used their pre-program mode and adjusted the ramp up time, intensities and ramp down time.
The blues ramped up at 9:30am / The whites ramped up at 10:00 am. Then the whites ramped down at 7:00pm and the blues ramped down at 8:00pm. All the ramps are 30min. I never ran the moonlight option.

I had the 54watt bar. It sounds small watt but those lenses focus some serious punch. The first day they burned off coralline 24" down. The spread is very tight compared to the regular orbit and that's probably why they make the dual versions in the Pro models.

It did take awhile for my SPS to acclimate to the leds and then they started taking off and I was finally able to get the blues to 100%.
At one point I was running whites at 40% with blues at 100% but was able to slowly bring up the whites to 60%.

I did pull it out about 3 weeks ago and modded in a lot of Kessil a80's. I have no complaints with the OMP. I just wanted the Kessil shimmer.

The PRO bar is really well built and when you figure in the ramp timer it's a very nice setup for the money

Keep time digital timer away from water and don't let any moisture get on it.

I have a older reef so it did take time for the corals to adjust to led's before I saw the SPS growth kick back in.

I've never used any other led bars so I can't honestly say the PRO is better than any other brands.

Sometimes Dr Foster & Smiths puts them on sale at some crazy low price points

Regards, GoVols

 

[tj w]

Thank you for the detailed response. I think i will slowly change my light settings and schedule.