I've got a new favorite refugium light. I was previously using a CF Grow 2 COB heavy red/blue light, which drew about 90W peak from the outlet. I was getting a pretty even 250+ ppfd (Apogee MQ 510) reading in my fuge, which is 24x12. I've since moved from this reliable light of the last 2 years
to a Viparspectra XS1500 Pro:
I have the XS1500 version, which isn't listed at the moment because it's sold out. It looks "white" but here's the actual spectrum graph
It's really well built. The entire thing is a heatsink, so no fan is required (similar to my old one), has a Meanwell PS, and puts out 400+ ppfd at about 50% on the dimmer, but is drawing only 70W. Even with my old light, I was harvesting a silly amount of chaeto. With this new light, it's gone absolutely bonkers. My fuge is quite large, and it's getting packed from top to bottom and tightly squashed in a 24"x12" area if I don't harvest once every 2 weeks. I did take the face plate off to see if there was anything in the aluminum channel. When I found out it was empty, I drilled into it so I could hang some light shades on each side.
I got tired of the pink light on the CF Grow. I tend to work late and keep the sump doors open, and the blinding pink light was too annoying. The additional nutrient sink is a bonus. My nitrate is dropping, which is great since it was a little too high for my taste for the past few weeks. I think this light is a great deal for the money. The components are top notch, and the performance has been great so far. Looks some of the "commercial" plant growers started to switch to a more full spectrum light, like this. I figured they had a lot more riding on plant growth than I do, so I decided to give it a shot.
to a Viparspectra XS1500 Pro:
I have the XS1500 version, which isn't listed at the moment because it's sold out. It looks "white" but here's the actual spectrum graph
It's really well built. The entire thing is a heatsink, so no fan is required (similar to my old one), has a Meanwell PS, and puts out 400+ ppfd at about 50% on the dimmer, but is drawing only 70W. Even with my old light, I was harvesting a silly amount of chaeto. With this new light, it's gone absolutely bonkers. My fuge is quite large, and it's getting packed from top to bottom and tightly squashed in a 24"x12" area if I don't harvest once every 2 weeks. I did take the face plate off to see if there was anything in the aluminum channel. When I found out it was empty, I drilled into it so I could hang some light shades on each side.
I got tired of the pink light on the CF Grow. I tend to work late and keep the sump doors open, and the blinding pink light was too annoying. The additional nutrient sink is a bonus. My nitrate is dropping, which is great since it was a little too high for my taste for the past few weeks. I think this light is a great deal for the money. The components are top notch, and the performance has been great so far. Looks some of the "commercial" plant growers started to switch to a more full spectrum light, like this. I figured they had a lot more riding on plant growth than I do, so I decided to give it a shot.
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