Orphek LED bars: a skeptic turned enthusiest!

[HarryPotter]

         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.  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 for $120 each (shipped) 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.
• SEALED POWER SUPPLY with easy mounting flange!

Some negatives:

• 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. Of course my first step in evaluating them was to take apart the endcaps and peek inside. 



The rubber gasket that seals both ends:

A generous amount of thermal compount



The drivers and mounting supplies came a day later. One minor complaint here, 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. 






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. 

 

The spectrum makes corals really "pop". Here is using an orange filter to take out camera distortion- but in person, it pretty much looks like this. 

 

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! Thanks @DaveFason for the advice on LED layout. 

[orly20]

Have any updates? I’m curious on your observations on color and growth?

[HarryPotter]

12 hours ago, orly20 said:

Have any updates? I’m curious on your observations on color and growth?

 

My corals look sexy as hell