When I first heard about Orphek 120 LED bar, I had several concerns. I disliked how it advertised "36 LEDs of 3 Watt", giving the rated wattage of the LEDs (In real life, they are NOT driven at 3W) instead of the real wattage that the light utilizes. I even made a thread about this. My concern was that the bars would have severely under-driven LEDs, to keep them cool in the fan-less setup.
However, during their black Friday sale I ordered two bars and could not be happier with my purchase. The spectrum was customized as they are supplementing 8 bulbs and I wanted each bar to be Royal Blue/"Blue"/True Violet. I ordered the pattern 460 440 410 440 (repeated down the bar).
I sent payment on November 13th and received my custom-bars on November 27th. The drivers/mounting supplies came a day later, in a separate package. Not bad at all, especially since these are shipped internationally and it was a custom order.
Some positives:
Both bars- on my bed as to avoid scratching them.
The rubber gasket that seals both ends:
A generous amount of thermal compount
The drivers and mounting supplies came a day later. One minor critique here @Orphek: there were no instructions for the mounting hardware. It was just a bag of tons of screws, washers, nuts, and lock washers of various sizes. It would have been nice to have a diagram of how that is meant to go together.
I assembled the mounting hardware how I "thought" would be logical, but, for example, do not know if the aluminum hardware is upside-down
.
Are the adjustment slots supposed to be on the bar-side, or where you mount it? I still dont know if they are upside-down LOL!
Is the provided washer supposed to go in-between the two parts of the aluminum mounting flanges, or did I do it correctly by placing the regular washer on the bolt-side and the lock washer on the other?
Testing the bars for functionality; all LEDs look good!
Here is how I attached the Orphek Bars (for now) to my ATI fixture- I drilled a small pilot hole in the fixture, then used self-tapping stainless steel screws to attach the bars. You can see the ATI screw to the right of it- theoretically one could purchase a longer screw, a large washer that fit said screw, and use that hole. However, the ATI housing screws are TINY and I think they would not hold up to the weight of the bars.
I do dislike how far away the LED bar is from my fixture. It allows too much light to escape; it distracts from the simplicity of my tank. I intend to 3d print a modified mount, that would have the bars flush to the ATI fixture with no gap.
And some other photos:
This was before I zip-tied the wire that you see on the left. You can also see the issue I have with this mounting; the bars are not close enough to the ATI fixture, and light escapes. This doesn't look good, and I will fix that as soon as I can via 3d printed brackets.
Another photo, this time compensating for LEDs via white balance
A top down of some sticks- no clue why the LEDs appear red here.
Overall- very impressed with @Orphek and the quality of these LED bars. The pricing is great, and the quality seems better than other bars I have used such as ReefBrite. I am looking forward to how my corals look in a few months, with these royals and UV!
However, during their black Friday sale I ordered two bars and could not be happier with my purchase. The spectrum was customized as they are supplementing 8 bulbs and I wanted each bar to be Royal Blue/"Blue"/True Violet. I ordered the pattern 460 440 410 440 (repeated down the bar).
I sent payment on November 13th and received my custom-bars on November 27th. The drivers/mounting supplies came a day later, in a separate package. Not bad at all, especially since these are shipped internationally and it was a custom order.
Some positives:
- The packaging was very good, both lights were totally protected with no damage to the anodizing.
- The cover on the LEDs is glass and non-removable. Well, not-easily removable. But that means it wont warp, and is easily cleaned of salt residue.
- Both ends are sealed with rubber gaskets, as is the wire-entry point.
- The drivers seem to be high quality.
- The quality overall seems very high, and the spectrum great.
- Advertised as "compatible with ATI fixtures", yet you must drill the fixture (or make your own mounting plate) to attach them. I found this to be a bit misleading.
- No assembly instructions for the mounting hardware.
Both bars- on my bed as to avoid scratching them.
The rubber gasket that seals both ends:
A generous amount of thermal compount
The drivers and mounting supplies came a day later. One minor critique here @Orphek: there were no instructions for the mounting hardware. It was just a bag of tons of screws, washers, nuts, and lock washers of various sizes. It would have been nice to have a diagram of how that is meant to go together.
I assembled the mounting hardware how I "thought" would be logical, but, for example, do not know if the aluminum hardware is upside-down
. Are the adjustment slots supposed to be on the bar-side, or where you mount it? I still dont know if they are upside-down LOL!
Is the provided washer supposed to go in-between the two parts of the aluminum mounting flanges, or did I do it correctly by placing the regular washer on the bolt-side and the lock washer on the other?
Testing the bars for functionality; all LEDs look good!
Here is how I attached the Orphek Bars (for now) to my ATI fixture- I drilled a small pilot hole in the fixture, then used self-tapping stainless steel screws to attach the bars. You can see the ATI screw to the right of it- theoretically one could purchase a longer screw, a large washer that fit said screw, and use that hole. However, the ATI housing screws are TINY and I think they would not hold up to the weight of the bars.
I do dislike how far away the LED bar is from my fixture. It allows too much light to escape; it distracts from the simplicity of my tank. I intend to 3d print a modified mount, that would have the bars flush to the ATI fixture with no gap.
And some other photos:
This was before I zip-tied the wire that you see on the left. You can also see the issue I have with this mounting; the bars are not close enough to the ATI fixture, and light escapes. This doesn't look good, and I will fix that as soon as I can via 3d printed brackets.
Another photo, this time compensating for LEDs via white balance
A top down of some sticks- no clue why the LEDs appear red here.
Overall- very impressed with @Orphek and the quality of these LED bars. The pricing is great, and the quality seems better than other bars I have used such as ReefBrite. I am looking forward to how my corals look in a few months, with these royals and UV!
