Swymer Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Any chance anyone on here has had experience with both the Current Orbit R24 and a Mini Tide Plus M? Because I'm having trouble with my Mini Tide and am seriously thinking about replacing it with an R24 but if I'm going to replace the Tide I'd like to get a fixture that is either comparable or better. The R24 certainly seems to be more powerful than the Tide but wonder about quality and life span. Quote Link to comment
Jaren45 Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 Jim or Telegraham on humblefish has some done par testing and spectral analysis of the new current, and for the price I think a prime would be a better investment. Pretty low par for the price, as well as a pretty narrow blue spectrum 1 Quote Link to comment
Swymer Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 Never heard of humblefish, but glad you mentioned it. Looks like a good source for information. While there looking for that Current testing you mentioned I came across a light that appears to be better than the prime and the current and even some high end fixtures. It's the SmatFarm G5. Way more power than I need for my little 10 gallon but it's adjustable so could easily work. Decisions...decisions... Have also been seriously considering the prime HD16 but read some negative reviews on amazon about problems with the app. And plus I'd really prefer an old school led fixture that doesn't require an iOS or android device because I love the simplicity of just having a controller. The reason I went with the Storm Controller to use with my Tide. Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 The smat seems nice for the price. The only serious downside I can think of is it basically a Chinese fixture and if something were to go wrong you may not have a real warranty or support as they are located in Shenzhen (north of Hong Kong). So I would expect long delays to get anything fixed. Ofc if nothing goes wrong, it's priced nice for what it is tho! So may still be worth it. I picked up a used prime but haven't even turned it on yet so I can't help there. What is wrong with your tide? Quote Link to comment
Swymer Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 Channel 3 can't be turned up past the first increment. https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/422779-mini-tide-malfunction/?do=findComment&comment=6060919 1 Quote Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 I LOVE my smatfarm. Bought it as an emergency light when my Kessil died. So impressed with it. I only had it for 1 month though but I love love love love love it. If I known about SmatFarm before, I wouldn't have spent all my money on Kessil and Radions. I literally have it side by side with a Radion XR30 right now and I can't tell the diff between the two. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 8 minutes ago, ninjamyst said: I LOVE my smatfarm. Bought it as an emergency light when my Kessil died. So impressed with it. I only had it for 1 month though but I love love love love love it. If I known about SmatFarm before, I wouldn't have spent all my money on Kessil and Radions. I literally have it side by side with a Radion XR30 right now and I can't tell the diff between the two. 👍 How many do you have running over your tank? If I decide to switch away from t5, it sounds like they are worth considering. Quote Link to comment
Swymer Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 (edited) @ninjamyst. Exactly what I keep hearing (or should I say reading) from lots of people online. The temptation is getting pretty intense... Did you have trouble with the mount that came with it? Because there's a Kessil A series mount that is suppose to work perfectly with it. Even looks better, too. Edited January 23, 2022 by Swymer clarity 1 Quote Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 14 hours ago, Tamberav said: 👍 How many do you have running over your tank? If I decide to switch away from t5, it sounds like they are worth considering. My ap700 died for my 75g tank so now I am running smatfarm on one side and radion on the other side. This is temporary as I am upgrading to a 200g soon. 1 Quote Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 14 hours ago, Swymer said: @ninjamyst. Exactly what I keep hearing (or should I say reading) from lots of people online. The temptation is getting pretty intense... Did you have trouble with the mount that came with it? Because there's a Kessil A series mount that is suppose to work perfectly with it. Even looks better, too. The mount is great. It looks better than radion mounts. For the price, it's hard to beat. I got it for like $100. You can't even get an used Kessil or AI or Radion for that price. But do note the risk with lack of warranty. What I really love about it is the built in programming. I am over stupid apps. Lights are literally set it and forget it. The one annoying thing about smatfarm is that it has a blinking blue power indicator led on it. Kind of distracting.... 2 Quote Link to comment
A.m.P Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 The only thing which weirds me out about the Smat Farm is that they look as if they might be using the old noopsyche pucks in a "new black box" format. Noopsyche had a pretty big, pretty public blowout and the quick emergence of these onto the market afterwards has left me with a lingering uneasy feeling. But they also have the HiParGero on their website, so it's probably totally unwarranted superstition on my end. Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 I always thought they were noopsyche lights just with a better controller... Quote Link to comment
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