*Reef Breeders Photon v2 and T5 installation, testing, and review*

[jason2459]

Just to start out here I am NOT a lighting expert or guru. Since starting my tank in 2009 I've changed my lighting 3 times (4 kind of but will get to that). Started with T5's. Then reefbrite strips, and then Ocean Revive S026 fixtures, (brief stint with SB Reef light sbars and T5), and to what I believe will be a long run with Reef Breeder Photon v2 and T5s.

https://www.reefbreeders.com/new-photon-v2/

I just got them installed and extremely happy with my decission to go with them so far. So much that I'm starting this thread. Usually, I save that for only equipment tests I'm doing I feel really strong about or think may be interesting to others. Like my MTC MVX skimmer thread, Buckeye Hydro The Gapper review, Microscope work, test kit testing and reviews, etc.

Quick warning, I'll be copy and pasting from past posts in other threads to get them all organized into one here. So if some things seem past tense because I didn't edit it right it's because it is or was or will be...

Previous lighting Background and deficiencies:

Started with T5s and loved the coverage and colors. Hated changing out the bulbs. Then I found reefbrite strips to try and replace the T5 bulbs.

I loved the coverage of the reefbrites but missed some colors. Then some leds started going out. Found some cheap led fixtures (Ocean Revive S026) to try out that had a blend of colors.

The coverage wasn't the best with the 3 S026 16" fixtures. The colors were pin points so didn't blend well. So, I added a couple T5s. Love the colors of the T5 with the LEDs. But I was up to 100% power on both channels on the Ocean Revive's and been running them for 2 years. A couple violets also went out which may have been more of an issue that plagued Chinese cheep leds back when I bought them. Who knows how long the rest of the fixture will last. They were super cheap though and got them for like $120 each. So, they were worth the cost and let me experience a different kind of setup and let me know what I might or might not want. The T5's helped quite a bit for the blending of the colors and boost the PAR while I had no more punch in the Ocean Revive Fixtures at 100% each.

I was looking for different options and planned on upgrading beginning of next year. The Kessil leds were front runners. I also wanted to keep the dual T5s as I still love their color blend. I ended up finding a new led bar like the reefbrites but supposedly more powerful and a couple different wavelengths of blue that the all blue reefbrites didn't have. And a lot cheaper and comes with power supplies.

Only problem is the actual power draw from the strips were far from what I was expecting and listed. I measured via a Killawatt each bar was pulling between 50-60 watts and my Seneye measured the PAR at 76 on the sandbed... Needless to say everything was reaching for the sky and not looking good. Everything is looking very pale now as well as the reaching for those things that can reach. Cyano and dinos are taking advantage of the situation it seems.

The 60" sbar was listed as being 135W so over half the power that I was hoping for. SB Reeflights is working on fixing the issue but it's been over a month now and my corals can't wait.


Moving on with a new Plan.

I always found it funny when someone uses Sanjay's most beautiful reef tank as an example that LEDs can grow corals no issue. I find it funny because he has an ungodly amount of LEDs that cost an even more godly amount of money above that tank. Works very well.

So, I decided I also wanted to go with a shotgun solution and just plaster LED's over my tank. But to do so as affordably as possible. To do this I ended up deciding on going with the ReefBreeder Photon v2. The fixture seems to get good reviews and customer support seems good as well overall from what I've read over the past few years and have followed several Photon v2 specific threads.

I got 4 32" Photon V2 fixtures. I like that the fixtures support the ability to use legs for tank top mounting and come with the fixtures. I have a plan to be able to use them to mount up into the canopy and attach two together to make 2 pairs.

I'm sure two alone will be just fine but I'm going for FULL 100% no doubt about it coverage and just be done with it. The price of these make that possible for me. There are some slightly cheaper options but then sacrifice in other areas (like reds and greens on the same channel as the whites). These seem like the Aquamaxx skimmer of the lighting world. Not the cheapest and far from the most expensive but very good bang for the buck. At just under $2k to get the coverage I wanted I priced out other name brand fixtures and they start at $3k and go way up from there and may or may not even include mounting hardware. That's freaking nuts. At those prices they should have absolutely every mounting option available. LEDs have been out a long time now and prices need to reflect that.

I'm looking to keep my dual T5s down the middle of the tank. Then put a pair on each side and tilted inward slightly. Maybe. Will start out like that and see if I like it. I'll flip the directions between the pairs. Which if I'm looking at the layouts right will help the two rows complement each other better. Having the two rows will also put up a LOT (288) of leds up into the canopy which will hopefully give a lot of coverage. Also, if what I'm thinking of doing with the legs I should be able to mount them up higher in the canopy which was another issue I had with the ocean revive fixtures.

I really did not like the red and green leds in the 16" Ocean Revive fixtures I had and made for an annoying shimmer. These Photon v2's have 6 channels to be able to control and the reds and greens are on their own channels which is perfect as I can play with their intensities individually from the rest of the leds to maybe even having them turned off. If that happens I'll look into just swapping those leds out all together for a different color temp. I also plan to remove their lens to help their spread to reduce spot lighting. I also shouldn't need to get anywhere near 100% which I was with the ocean revive fixtures. 100% both channels left no where to go and wearing out those leds.

I do like the ratio of blue to whites which is just over 2 to 1. With the coral plus bulbs I'm hoping for a nice crisp 14k look. I also notice with the 16/32 length fixtures the leds are more tightly packed compared to the 24/48 lengths. May be a good thing for blending in better.

Then I'll have to play around with timing and for the first time ramping. That's actually not something I'm looking forward to. I like just old fashioned on and off. No guess work. But after this maybe I'll be hooked into the scheduling ramping thing.

[jason2459]

The unboxing and setup for installation

Getting them ready for mounting in the canopy. I'm pretty impressed with their quality.

Probably get to mounting them tomorrow

One of the boxes had some damage


But the inner boxes seemed to be well padded so hopefully nothing wrong and will find out tomorrow.






And noticed this nick on the fixture inside



Cut the legs to be used to tie the two fixtures together like one unit. Did this to both pairs







There will be support in the middle once in the canopy.



Spacing will vary as I'll adjust to straddle the gaps between clusters over the two cross braces my 180 has. But if spaced so led clusters are evenly spaced the two fixtures make a single 63-64" fixture

[jason2459]

Mounting in the Canopy with the T5's:

Got a late start and finished this up around 3am. Family time first...

Getting things lined up and marked where some pilot holes need to go



Nice stainless steel eyelets and stainless steel snap rings. Notice the size difference and will tilt the fixtures inward



Getting them in the canopy and back on the tank...sucker was heavy! Should have been a team lift. lol



T5s back in and ready to go. If I want less angle I'll break out some zip ties


Excited to fire them up tomorrow...just hope they all light up. Then will get some par measurements. I'll probably start at 15% max each fixture and see where that's at and go from there.

Now to figure out the remote and programming.

[jason2459]

Getting the LEDs fired up and initial acclimation programming:

All the LEDs are working and playing with the color combination. The coverage is amazing. Two rows of fixtures + T5 and there is most definitely full coverage and absolutely 0 shadowing from my braces. Its awesome. I have them going up to 15% to start for the max peak for the day to start. I'll try to get par and pur measurements later.

I decided not to pull the lenses on the red and greens. With the 100 degree lens and two rows the alternating red green and the flip green red on the other side works out very well and spreads nicely. I have no disco effect or spot lighting at all even with just reds or just greens on. Again, it's awesome.

This wasn't cheap (but not nearly as much as "higher end" fixtures) and getting so many LEDs was not about brightness but about spread and full coverage on top, sides, and under the corals. I think I've succeeded.

The remote and programming seems easy for someone absolutely new to programming LEDs. I really like going through the custom programming that it actually tells the lights to do whats on that hour so no guessing what it looks like until after saving.

[jason2459]

Now for the continuous testing, adjustments, and playing:

I did get a quick par reading last night. I have a MQ-510 Apogee par meter on hand that I used and will get more readings and comparisons vs. the Seneye reef monitor.

Right in the middle of the tank on the sand (~3" of sand there) Par was about 160. That's pretty awesome as I have a LOT more power to move that up very very easily. I'm glad the Photon v2 can go up in 1% jumps and not 10% jumps I've seen some Chinese LEDs do.

Right now, if my memory serves me right, at peak my settings are

Red Channel 1: 2
Green Channel 2: 2
Royal Blue Channel 3: 18
White Channel 4: 10
Cool Blue Channel 5: 18
Violet Channel 6: 18

That is not going to be my final ratio as I'm still playing around with the colors. That's just to give what was producing that Par above. Plus there's the two 80 watt T5's down the middle which are right now ATI Coral Plus bulbs. I'm liking the angle of the LEDs so far but will see more about that as I test out different channels individually and par measurements and will really see how the angles effect things.

I'm thinking I might be able to play around with Blue Plus and True Actinic's now. The White's on the Photon seem more Yellowish or warm white to me. Which with the Red's and Green's actually not spot lighting anymore I could turn those up for those colors that the Coral Plus bulbs provides.

I'm very happy I have some options now to play around with, power to drive the brightness (Par/Pur), and some amazing spread. Which I certainly hope so as I decided to shotgun it and put up 288 LED's and two strips of T5's down the middle.

Which I really feel that putting the T5's down the middle is better then supplementing them on the outsides. You don't put Baby in the corner... lol
This really softens and blends everything together nicely with still a hint of shimmer from the LEDs. LEDs seem to be so focused on a certain wavelength while the T5 blends smoother from one wavelength to another in a single bulb stretching the entire tank. Very different looks in lighting but when put together really creates a perfect blend. IMO.

[oreo57]

Constructive criticism..
Tubes look to be blocking the inside row diodes of the reefbreeders...

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by oreo57

Constructive criticism..
Tubes look to be blocking the inside row diodes of the reefbreeders...

Thanks, I'm pretty sure I got it adjusted to not and the picture with the LEDs off I think is a better picture angle to show it? With the LEDs on I wasn't seeing any reflection off the top of the reflectors.

I'll double check again. Thanks.

[jason2459]

I did get a bunch of par/pur/lux readings last night and seemed very even through out at each level and not much difference between levels either from bottom to top and even right under my braces showing that the spread is good enough to removing shadowing from them.

I posted some of the results along with comparing a Seneye Reef monitor with the v2 firmware/software update VS. an Apogee MQ-510 in another thread I just created:

PAR Shootout! Seneye Reef Monitor v2 VS. Apogee MQ-510 Full Spectrum Underwater Meter
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2626700

[sde1500]

Yea looks more like the angle of the picture that makes it look that way.

Great write up! That is a lot of light on the tank, that's for sure. Man, every time I see those V2s, makes me twitch. They released probably a month after I bought my V1s.

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by sde1500

Yea looks more like the angle of the picture that makes it look that way.

Great write up! That is a lot of light on the tank, that's for sure. Man, every time I see those V2s, makes me twitch. They released probably a month after I bought my V1s.

Ha! that sucks. The V2 is a very sleek looking fixture and really like how they alternate the layout so when doing two rows like I did they complement each other very well.

I went with a ton of LEDs not for brightness at all as just two of the fixtures down the middle could probably do just fine. I wanted fully unadulterated 100% coverage above, the side, and even reflected from below.


And I'll definitely double check the reflectors again. It is very close and if the fixtures where any wider I wouldn't have been able to do that above with out overlapping onto the T5s and I would have had to position them almost flat and lower.

[jason2459]

Hmm... I think I can already tell a difference in my anemones. They seem to be starting to fill out again. They still look pale. Mostly all blues are on right now and they should be standing out a lot but they aren't. Hopefully again soon.

First to show negative effects and first to show positive ones? I hope so.

[Ron Reefman]

Jason, you know I'm a big fan of the RB Photon V2 fixtures. but I do need to clarify one comment you made. Not that what you wrote is wrong, just not 100% clear.

You wrote: Right in the middle of the tank on the sand (~3" of sand there) Par was about 160. That's pretty awesome as I have a LOT more power to move that up very very easily. I'm glad the Photon v2 can go up in 1% jumps and not 10% jumps I've seen some Chinese LEDs do.

Just to be perfectly clear and honest with everybody here, the RB Photon V2 is manufactured in China, but sold and supported by Reef Breeders, here in the US, which is a huge plus. Logan does a great job of customer service and support.

[jason2459]

Yes, I think these are still considered black box LED though they sure look a lot better then the typical Chinese black boxes.

Sorry if that didn't come out right as I was comparing it with other Chinese leds as it is one itself. And customer support was certainly one of the reasons I went with the Photon v2s as well.

[jason2459]

I just bumped up the percentages another 2% . The fans haven't kicked on at all which is awesome if they never need to. No noise.

I was hoping to have my actinic and blue+ bulbs in but they didn't get here yet. I'm looking forward to trying those out.

[Ron Reefman]

Jason, I run mine at about 65% total power for 4 to 6 hours around midday and my fans don't come on either. Run them on SUNNY at 100% and after a few minutes they will kick on.

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

Jason, I run mine at about 65% total power for 4 to 6 hours around midday and my fans don't come on either. Run them on SUNNY at 100% and after a few minutes they will kick on.

That's awesome. I'll probably never hit that level.

[jason2459]

Amazing what a change in lighting can do. For the better or worse. Cyano is already going away (still around) and my anemones are already getting their color back and looking better.




Corals still very pale but the cyano around them are diminishing.

[jason2459]

FYI, I have the seneye and apogee sitting on the sandbed in the middle of the tank logging all day to get a look at lighting through out the day. So far the apogee mq510 and seneye have been reading the same mirroring the results I got when posting the par shootout thread.

[jason2459]

I have to say, if anyone has the opportunity and means to completely plaster LEDs over the entire tank it makes for extremely even par everywhere. T5 strip down the middle and the slight angle inward all seems to help. Edit: Also to note the lens used on the photon v2 are 100 degrees if that makes a difference at all. I guess a nice compromise between penetrating 90 and spread of 120?

From the bottom of the tank to half way up is a difference of about a PAR of 50. On the same plane I have not found any hot spots and pretty even through out. About a PAR of 20 drop around the front glass and 25-30 drop on the side glass. Using the Apogee for that and have been taking about a million readings all day.

Here's peak settings right now




And PAR on the bottom




I don't know if I should or need to bump that up anymore? I didn't expect to hit 200 so quickly at such low percentages.

I will be changing bulbs out so don't know what that will do or may end up liking the look of the Coral+ still. Won't know until I try it.

[brownsps]

Good review, what % are you running them at now? Any idea what the par is at your sand bed at 100%?

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by brownsps

Good review, what % are you running them at now? Any idea what the par is at your sand bed at 100%?

I have mine starting pretty low like at Channel 3 (royal blue) at 1% and that's it at 9am. Then it ramps up from there peaking at 4pm with what's in the picture in the posts above yours. Then it ramps back down to Chennel 3 (royal blue) at 1% at 11am and all off at midnight.

With even just channel 3 royal blues at 1% the par at the sandbed is 5. At 4pm peak with the t5's going and the percentages listed in that picture par is right around 200 at the sandbed. It's there for about 1 hour.

4pm and 6pm if I remember right was about a PAR of 180. And just keeps ramping up and down from there if that makes sense.

I have not done 100% all channels. I'm kind of scared to do that. lol


At 30% channel 4 white only par was over 100.

[jason2459]

Oh and the T5s alone with dual 80watt ATI Coral Plus bulbs I'm getting about 100 par at the sandbed.

Those go on at 12:30pm I think it is and off at 8:30pm.


From midnight to 9am I have an Apex Lunar module with 4 lunar lights strung up. They produce 0 par. But I love seeing things come out and play at night like my urchins, shimp, and a butt load of other critters.

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by Reef Man, post: 3582319, member: 4099

How high do you have them?

Good question, I just had to measure.

T5s are 9" off the water

Back sides of the fixtures are 8.5" off the water
Front sides of the fixture are 10.5" off the water

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by jason2459

That's awesome. I'll probably never hit that level.

With 3 times as many leds and t5 to boot, I should hope you never even get close to my levels!

[iced98lx]

Great information here Jason. I'm working to re-light my 180 with LED's and T5's so I enjoy the reading. Did you happen to get PAR measurements in the corner of the tank with just T5's? I'm looking at flipping your strategy a little (LED's down the center, 2x T5's front and back) and wondering if the 5 foot T5's over a six foot tank is going to drop off left/right really bad or be fine due to the spread.