Neptune SKY LED

[Terence]

Its been actually kind of funny to watch the tail chasing on this one. All the semi-professional pontificators that raised this issue had to do is ask. No need come up with wild speculations. No, we did not get panels from Philips. Or their supplier. Or a surplus company trashing a huge lot of them next to their dumpster. Nor did we get their plans and drawings. The holes and tabs and notches on the panel are all there for a reason. We designed the SKY, it is a long way from a Philips light in the overall design. The Philips light is an adapted, two channel bay lighting fixture. Which is fine. I loved mine. It just wasnt the best design for the vast majority of reefkeepers for a number of reasons. It did have one really great aspect to it. And that is the one chose to emulate, with some adaptations, in our design.

The gasket feature is not a holdover from Philps, it isnt in their design, it is not there for spacing either. It is there for what gaskets usually do. And, I don't fault most of you for not understanding - you are at a disadvantage because you did not take it apart yourself and see how the parts go together and why it might be there. Those that have done the disassembly, if they have a knack for engineering, should have been able to deduce why it is there, what it is for and why it is three sided.

I am certainly here to help you guys understand why we (and many others using now for some time) feel the SKY is a great reef LED light. I am not interested however in answering one after another of the loaded questions and negative assertions. But who knows, maybe I will do more of that in an upcoming Q&A from one of the YouTubers out there - all they have to do is ask.

 

[KimG]

Its been actually kind of funny to watch the tail chasing on this one. All the semi-professional pontificators that raised this issue had to do is ask. No need come up with wild speculations. No, we did not get panels from Philips. Or their supplier. Or a surplus company trashing a huge lot of them next to their dumpster. Nor did we get their plans and drawings. The holes and tabs and notches on the panel are all there for a reason. We designed the SKY, it is a long way from a Philips light in the overall design. The Philips light is an adapted, two channel bay lighting fixture. Which is fine. I loved mine. It just wasnt the best design for the vast majority of reefkeepers for a number of reasons. It did have one really great aspect to it. And that is the one chose to emulate, with some adaptations, in our design.

The gasket feature is not a holdover from Philps, it isnt in their design, it is not there for spacing either. It is there for what gaskets usually do. And, I don't fault most of you for not understanding - you are at a disadvantage because you did not take it apart yourself and see how the parts go together and why it might be there. Those that have done the disassembly, if they have a knack for engineering, should have been able to deduce why it is there, what it is for and why it is three sided.

I am certainly here to help you guys understand why we (and many others using now for some time) feel the SKY is a great reef LED light. I am not interested however in answering one after another of the loaded questions and negative assertions. But who knows, maybe I will do more of that in an upcoming Q&A from one of the YouTubers out there - all they have to do is ask.

Hi Terence.

Not sure if your comment was directed at me, or just a general comment.
In case I passed the wrong message, I'm in no doubt that the sky will perform great and grow coral spectacularly.
My main curiosity is about the engineering. As you said, we are at a bit of a disadvantage We can only see what the pictures show.
If my comment sound loaded to you my apologies. That was not the intention.

Still can't really understand the seal. But lets leave that alone.

Cheers

 

[Terence]

Hi Terence.

Not sure if your comment was directed at me, or just a general comment.
In case I passed the wrong message, I'm in no doubt that the sky will perform great and grow coral spectacularly.
My main curiosity is about the engineering. As you said, we are at a bit of a disadvantage We can only see what the pictures show.
If my comment sound loaded to you my apologies. That was not the intention.

Still can't really understand the seal. But lets leave that alone.

Cheers

Rest assured my comments, if directed at all, were not directed at you. Its for the overtly negative or those would rather distribute their wild speculations to the masses than simply pick up the phone and ask.

All I would ask from most is that instead of immediately leaning into the negative or the conspiracy or NS as the "man" is that people realize we are a company of humans here, hobbyists many, with families we support, that strive to bring great stuff to hobbyists. Along with that means that there will a cost for R&D, production, support, and yes, at the end, profit - or why else would someone take on the endeavor and the risk. Also, I hope that hobbyists try to understand that when they spend $ on something through a retailer, be that a LFS or an online partner, those entities often make a similar gross profit (in $) as the manufacturer. So not all is as black and while as it may seem when it comes to what goes into the product cost to the consumer.

 

[Hydrored]

Rest assured my comments, if directed at all, were not directed at you. Its for the overtly negative or those would rather distribute their wild speculations to the masses than simply pick up the phone and ask.

All I would ask from most is that instead of immediately leaning into the negative or the conspiracy or NS as the "man" is that people realize we are a company of humans here, hobbyists many, with families we support, that strive to bring great stuff to hobbyists. Along with that means that there will a cost for R&D, production, support, and yes, at the end, profit - or why else would someone take on the endeavor and the risk. Also, I hope that hobbyists try to understand that when they spend $ on something through a retailer, be that a LFS or an online partner, those entities often make a similar gross profit (in $) as the manufacturer. So not all is as black and while as it may seem when it comes to what goes into the product cost to the consumer.

Hi Terrance,

Thank you for the comment and I appreciate hearing your feedback. As somebody who is heavily vested in Neptune products (4 DOS's, 4 power bars, trident, many modules, 4 COR20's, Apex etc.) and have always received outstanding customer support even with my Trident readings still off lol. I never questioned as it relates to Neptune Systems honesty and I fully understand there needs to be a profit made, I also do agree with you as it relates to conspiracy theories getting out of hand.

What concerns me is actually the build quality of these lights compared to others, I feel the negative feedback on quality is warranted especially when people are trying to compare these to other products on the market. Giving you honest feedback, these lights would never replace my Stratons due to my concerns of build quality alone.

You are welcome to visit my build and see I put my money where my mouth is- I have owned 6 G4 XR15 Radions, 4 G5 XR15 Radions, 5 G5 XR30 Radions, 5 ReeFi extremes, Reefbrites, Orpheks, and now Kessils along with my 4 Stratons since November of 2020. I was excited for the Sky's and was more than willing to purchase them, but the build concerns have turned me away. Part of the enjoyment of this hobby for me is trying new equipment.

I hope you take this as respectful and honest feedback

Thanks

 

[Terence]

Hi Terrance,

Thank you for the comment and I appreciate hearing your feedback. As somebody who is heavily vested in Apex products (4 DOS's, 4 power bars, trident, many modules, 4 COR20's, Apex etc.) and have always received outstanding customer support even with my Trident readings still off lol. I never questioned as it relates to Neptune Systems honesty and I fully understand there needs to be a profit made, I also do agree with you as it relates to conspiracy theories getting out of hand.

What concerns me is actually the build quality of these lights compared to others, I feel the negative feedback is warranted especially when people are trying to compare these to other products on the market. Giving you honest feedback, these lights would never replace my Stratons due to my concerns of build quality alone.

You are welcome to visit my build and see I put my money where my mouth is- I have owned 6 G4 XR15 Radions, 4 G5 XR15 Radions, 5 G5 XR30 Radions, 5 ReeFi extremes, Reefbrites, Orpheks, and now Kessils along with my 4 Stratons. I was excited for the Sky's and was more than willing to purchase them, but the build concerns have turned me away.

I hope you take this as respectful and honest feedback

Thanks

Thank you for being an awesome customer and your feedback is always desired as one. Especially in the way it was presented. I think that your premise of "lower quality" may be a bit off simply because you might be comparing apples and oranges. The CoralCare is a great light. Great build quality. But not for everyone due to its heft and other reasons. I have not seen a Straton but I am going to assume as a passively cooled light, it has some similar drawbacks as the CoralCare - and not drawbacks for all users for sure - mostly that of weight. At twice the weight of the SKY it simply means it cannot be as easily mounted to most of today's open top aquariums. That is not a slight - it is simply fact. Reducing weight for the large surface area covered was a big design constraint for the SKY - to make it robust and cooler running than many competing products while still being able to be mounted in a clean cantilever style. While some may think those choices to lessen the weight cheapens the product, it was not a cost reduction decision or an oversight. In fact, we might have even made the surface area larger if we could have done it and maintained the weight low enough for that mounting style, while still keeping the LED cool. Tradeoffs.

And, why speculate? The future will answer for us all if the ascertion of "lower quality" actually pans out. We believe not. In fact, we have bet a great deal of effort and $ that the future will be bright - pun intended!

Again, thanks for the feedback.

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

"Neptune Sky, our PAR measurements demonstrates that this light is not the magical completely uniform light fixture that the marketing makes it out to be"

"The Neptune Sky does an admirable job of spreading more light to the bottom ends of the tank and it throws light front to back very well if you don’t mind totally kissing shimmer lines goodbye."

"There is a lot more flexibility in smaller and more numerous lights of lower power than one single large flat panel light like the Neptune Sky but for sure the choice of a spotlight versus a flat panel light is 100% up to personal preferences and reefers should have great success using either types of light fixture."

Kessil AP9X Vs. Neptune Sky - Comparing Spot and a Flat Lighting on the Euphyllia Reef | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

The Neptune Systems Sky LED and the Kessil AP9X are two reef aquarium light fixtures with similar power and an identical price but you can’t find two fixtures that are more different from each other…

reefbuilders.com

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

those that have done the disassembly, if they have a knack for engineering, should have been able to deduce why it is there, what it is for and why it is three sided

Why is it there? Forgive my ignorance.

 

[Jon's Reef]

"Neptune Sky, our PAR measurements demonstrates that this light is not the magical completely uniform light fixture that the marketing makes it out to be"

"The Neptune Sky does an admirable job of spreading more light to the bottom ends of the tank and it throws light front to back very well if you don’t mind totally kissing shimmer lines goodbye."

"There is a lot more flexibility in smaller and more numerous lights of lower power than one single large flat panel light like the Neptune Sky but for sure the choice of a spotlight versus a flat panel light is 100% up to personal preferences and reefers should have great success using either types of light fixture."

Kessil AP9X Vs. Neptune Sky - Comparing Spot and a Flat Lighting on the Euphyllia Reef | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

The Neptune Systems Sky LED and the Kessil AP9X are two reef aquarium light fixtures with similar power and an identical price but you can’t find two fixtures that are more different from each other…

reefbuilders.com

Watch the video you posted. He sounds quite positive about the light. Color is great and par is almost double across the board. As he stated, a 12” mounting height makes a huge difference in coverage/ uniformity (already confirmed by a few users here).

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

Watch the video you posted. He sounds quite positive about the light. Color is great and par is almost double across the board. As he stated, a 12” mounting height makes a huge difference in coverage/ uniformity (already confirmed by a few users here).

I did watch the video. I don't think anyone thinks it's a bad light. I don't think its bad, not one i would buy considering alternatives (if i was buying an LED).

I posted this because it's an actual review, not a infomercial....

I other words, I just think the Sky is overpriced, was waaaaay overhyped, inaccurate marketing statements were made such as three replaced five Ecotech XR 30's, early reviews by those affiliated with Neptune had a very noticeable lack of ANY criticism, and Neptune made so much effort to control the early messaging about the light that now there is a real disparity between what it was said to be and what it actually is...

 

[areefer01]

I did watch the video. I don't think anyone thinks it's a bad light. I don't think its bad, not one i would buy considering alternatives (if i was buying an LED).

I posted this because it's an actual review, not a infomercial....

I other words, I just think the Sky is overpriced, was waaaaay overhyped, inaccurate marketing statements were made such as three replaced five Ecotech XR 30's, early reviews by those affiliated with Neptune had a very noticeable lack of ANY criticism, and Neptune made so much effort to control the early messaging about the light that now there is a real disparity between what it was said to be and what it actually is...

What kind of cell phone you using?

 

[Dana Riddle]

My review (in the Article section) of the SKY luminaire went live Tuesday evening.

 

[blaxsun]

My review (in the Article section) of the SKY luminaire went live Tuesday evening.

Still reading through it, but interesting so far (the images aren’t appearing for me, so i’ll probably have to switch from my mobile to desktop).

 

[areefer01]

My review (in the Article section) of the SKY luminaire went live Tuesday evening.

Thank you for taking the time, and effort, for putting this together. Very clear. Very detailed. Thanks again for all of the past, present, and future papers. Have a great day.

 

[bcarl77]

Still reading through it, but interesting so far (the images aren’t appearing for me, so i’ll probably have to switch from my mobile to desktop).

Having issues on desktop with the pictures as well. Looking forward to reading.

 

[rtparty]

Thank you for being an awesome customer and your feedback is always desired as one. Especially in the way it was presented. I think that your premise of "lower quality" may be a bit off simply because you might be comparing apples and oranges. The CoralCare is a great light. Great build quality. But not for everyone due to its heft and other reasons. I have not seen a Straton but I am going to assume as a passively cooled light, it has some similar drawbacks as the CoralCare - and not drawbacks for all users for sure - mostly that of weight. At twice the weight of the SKY it simply means it cannot be as easily mounted to most of today's open top aquariums. That is not a slight - it is simply fact. Reducing weight for the large surface area covered was a big design constraint for the SKY - to make it robust and cooler running than many competing products while still being able to be mounted in a clean cantilever style. While some may think those choices to lessen the weight cheapens the product, it was not a cost reduction decision or an oversight. In fact, we might have even made the surface area larger if we could have done it and maintained the weight low enough for that mounting style, while still keeping the LED cool. Tradeoffs.

And, why speculate? The future will answer for us all if the ascertion of "lower quality" actually pans out. We believe not. In fact, we have bet a great deal of effort and $ that the future will be bright - pun intended!

Again, thanks for the feedback.

The Straton is 9.5 pounds. Just as an FYI

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

It's not the most fast moving nor enjoyable video, FYI...

But there is par and shadow testing and the gasket explanation and heatsink explanation makes sense/justifies the (economical to make) design.

I cannot figure out for the life of me why they would not test spread or par against a Radion G5 XR-30, in addition to G4, and the explaination of why they did not made no sense.... Anyone with a G4 or G3 is going to want to know how the Sky compares to the G5...

Anyeay, the G4 XR-30 had basically the same spread as the Sky, but marginally less par.

I assume the G5 has the same or better spread and par. Would like to see testing against Straton and Orphek too.

Overall, the negative tone toward shadowing of point source lighting is a little overboard... i mean, IMO, flat lights with no shadowing, contrast, shimmer, or movement, kinda suck....

If these companys make panels, they need to incorporate an easy way to add point source lights in their mounts IMO.

Id like to see a tear down comparison of sky, radion g5, and straton too...

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

My review (in the Article section) of the SKY luminaire went live Tuesday evening.

I like the review. Pictures not working. At the end it says advertising claims were accurate. I dont think i agree with all of that.

How do you think the sky compares to the Radion G5 XR-30 as to spread, par, spectrum, construction materials and design, and app?

 

[areefer01]

I like the review. Pictures not working. At the end it says advertising claims were accurate. I dont think i agree with all of that.

It is a great review. Unbiased and presents the data for the hobbyist to interpret. He also does a great job of explaining terms and what they do. As it relates to the rest of us agreeing or not that is just our opinions. I'll just go out on a limb here and say that Dana has worked in the field testing light and its effects on corals and many published articles on the subject. I don't think very many hobbyists who tests lights can say that here or anywhere else. He is also a 2011 (I believe that was it) MANCA award recipient.

How do you think the sky compares to the Radion G5 XR-30 as to spread, par, spectrum, construction materials and design, and app?

I don't believe that is something he does. Has it relates to light reviews he isn't comparing brand A to brand B or disassembling a product for review. He is assessing the unit under test.

Part of the answer to your question though is in the BRS SKY video. They mention the G5 when they are talking about price per par (I think that was their term) and saying the G5 was actually better or the best. There is more to the answer but I'll leave it be.

All the best.

 

[Dana Riddle]

I like the review. Pictures not working. At the end it says advertising claims were accurate. I dont think i agree with all of that.

How do you think the sky compares to the Radion G5 XR-30 as to spread, par, spectrum, construction materials and design, and app?

I'll gladly discuss any issues anyone has with my assessment that advertising claims are accurate. Constructive debate is a good thing!

 

[blaxsun]

So what’s the best buy? Radion XR30 G5 or Neptune SKY?