switching over to Reefbreeders Photons

[oldmonk]

hello all,

Very soon i am planning to pull the trigger on ReefBreeders Photons V2+ or V2pro( comes installed with the app) for my 72 x 22 x 24 inches mixed reef. As its still time for the app based lights to come out in the market, would like your opinions on the lights .. The switch would be from the older Hydras.
Experienced reefers do chime in with your valuable inputs..
Thanks all and a happy weekend ahead......

 

[Bpb]

Use a par meter. Hang it high.

 

[mvbrandt]

You can see a lot about the Reefbreeders, including a PAR map, in my build thread. Huge fan - good call.

 

[LRT]

Google BRS investigates v2+. They have a really good video and direction as to how to set lamp up at height and even par maps, reccomendations for softies and mixed reefs. IMO they have pretty much nailed it and corals love it.
Super high powerful lamp. Id highly suggest use par meter setting it up and depending on what your using now far as intensity id even allow for break in period.
Nothing like changing out lights to completely throw things out of whack.
Go easy

 

[ZCape35]

I like mine but definitely get a PAR meter. I was getting much less than what I expected and I had to take them from the recommended 16” above water height to 10” for better PAR and I had to increase whites to get it.
I rented the Par meter from BRS.

 

[mvbrandt]

I like mine but definitely get a PAR meter. I was getting much less than what I expected and I had to take them from the recommended 16” above water height to 10” for better PAR and I had to increase whites to get it.
I rented the Par meter from BRS.

Ironically mine were absolutely blasting my reef.

 

[ZCape35]

Ironically mine were absolutely blasting my reef.

I was surprised honestly. I took overly thorough par measurements in all different locations with all different variations of spectrum. I’m content with how they are but just glad I took the step of actual par measuring.

 

[nereefpat]

Calling @Ron Reefman

 

[Ron Reefman]

I'm a big fan of the Reef Breeder Photons. I have a 36x30x20 DT and I use 2 fixtures to cover it. If I hung one high enough to cover the entire tank, the PAR levels were a bit less than I wanted. It was OK, but I wanted to run higher PAR levels for my own reasons. I also wanted a different look. So the front fixture runs a normal 30/70 split of white and blue and the rear fixture is almost always 100% blue. Being a 30" thick tank, the blue back of the tank looks even further away than just 30". It's kind of like actually being in the ocean.

As for the fixture itself, IMHO they are well made, use good leds, are slim and modern looking, have both legs and hanging kits and the wide array set up of the leds makes for a bit less shadowing than fixtures with pucks.

I worked with EverGrow when they were making the Ocean Revive fixtures (also fairly good light). I worked for OR. Reef Breeders Photons are made by EverGrow as well. EverGrow understands they need to make a good quality fixture, and they do. Reef Breeders is their distributor in the US and they do very good customer service IMHO. They also have a sponsor forum here at R2R.

 

[oldmonk]

You can see a lot about the Reefbreeders, including a PAR map, in my build thread. Huge fan - good call.

thanks..

 

[nereefpat]

I worked with EverGrow when they were making the Ocean Revive fixtures (also fairly good light). I worked for OR. Reef Breeders Photons are made by EverGrow as well. EverGrow understands they need to make a good quality fixture, and they do. Reef Breeders is their distributor in the US and they do very good customer service IMHO. They also have a sponsor forum here at R2R.

Interesting.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

I love mine but was shocked how fast the whites grew algae in my frag tank. I now have the whites on 0% and they look so much better. I always hated white lights over reef tanks...

 

[oldmonk]

Mine would be over my mixed reef. If i continue with the same mounts that are at present holding Hydras+Orphek bars, then the photons would sit 12 inches above..
Forgive the blurred image...some issues with my android ..Need new phone too...

 

[Corwyn]

Im jumping in this thread instead of starting another one because it does seem on topic.

2 things -

1) I switche dout to RB v2 because my hydras wifi chip dies and I didnt want to be without lights for 2+ week.s
Every since then I have been fighting all kind sof issue and losses - which after chasing all the water perams and flow in the tank seems to more and more point towards a lighting issue.

which brings me to my second point
2) with the hydras there are literally 1000s of pre loaded programs you can get on FB to play with that fit different sized tanks or set ups.
Why are there not any for reefbreeders? 2a) except for this post almost everything I found abou this light seems to be years old which kind of indicates that it may not ahve been the best choice since not many seem to be using it.

Any thoughts

 

[mvbrandt]

Im jumping in this thread instead of starting another one because it does seem on topic.

2 things -

1) I switche dout to RB v2 because my hydras wifi chip dies and I didnt want to be without lights for 2+ week.s
Every since then I have been fighting all kind sof issue and losses - which after chasing all the water perams and flow in the tank seems to more and more point towards a lighting issue.

which brings me to my second point
2) with the hydras there are literally 1000s of pre loaded programs you can get on FB to play with that fit different sized tanks or set ups.
Why are there not any for reefbreeders? 2a) except for this post almost everything I found abou this light seems to be years old which kind of indicates that it may not ahve been the best choice since not many seem to be using it.

Any thoughts

So I think it was a good score. I added the lumenbars to mine recently and am extra happy with the outcome.

In terms of programming, BRS has a great video on it. Honestly RB themselves also provide some good ones. But you'll find few mass programming subjects outside a couple of the top pop culture lights; I'm not sure that makes it a bad choice. And the results of those of us using them seem to speak for it.

 

[Thaxxx]

I like mine but definitely get a PAR meter. I was getting much less than what I expected and I had to take them from the recommended 16” above water height to 10” for better PAR and I had to increase whites to get it.
I rented the Par meter from BRS.

Make sure you use the same water surface turbulence you normally have when making your PAR measurements.
If you turn off your flow to make it easier to test, you've defeated the purpose of testing.
If you normally have heavy surface turbulence, and you test with no flow, the numbers will be significantly different.

 

[Tom Blevins]

Good Choice love mine!

 

[mvbrandt]

Et voila

 

[Ron Reefman]

Im jumping in this thread instead of starting another one because it does seem on topic.

2 things -

1) I switche dout to RB v2 because my hydras wifi chip dies and I didnt want to be without lights for 2+ week.s
Every since then I have been fighting all kind sof issue and losses - which after chasing all the water perams and flow in the tank seems to more and more point towards a lighting issue.

which brings me to my second point
2) with the hydras there are literally 1000s of pre loaded programs you can get on FB to play with that fit different sized tanks or set ups.
Why are there not any for reefbreeders? 2a) except for this post almost everything I found abou this light seems to be years old which kind of indicates that it may not ahve been the best choice since not many seem to be using it.

Any thoughts

1) I think your desire to blame the lights is way off the mark. They are just 3 and 5 watt leds and not that different than any other decent light fixture.

2) You need others to do programs for you? I do my lights the way I want them. If you rely on others to set your light program, then you have to accept the blame for not knowing what you are doing.

 

[Waboss]

hello all,

Very soon i am planning to pull the trigger on ReefBreeders Photons V2+ or V2pro( comes installed with the app) for my 72 x 22 x 24 inches mixed reef. As its still time for the app based lights to come out in the market, would like your opinions on the lights .. The switch would be from the older Hydras.
Experienced reefers do chime in with your valuable inputs..
Thanks all and a happy weekend ahead......

I have a V2+ and am using the app. The app is a huge improvement over the older remote (at least to me anyway). I did switch from Hydra 26HD's, not because I didn't like the Hydras (I do), but because I wanted more distributed lighting.

Anyway, I think you'll dig it.