Reefbreeders, Photon32.

[brojj]

My intention of starting this review is to share that there is another good option outside of Singapore. Also, some of u here knew that i had recently switched to ATI Sunpower last year due to disappointment with LEDs. However, i had always keeping tab on LEDs development. T5 is good, it brings out all my corals color to another higher dimension, vibrant colors which sad to say, my previous LEDs failed to do so. Now i am back, buying a Photon32 from Reefbreeders, USA. I must 1st state that i am not related in anyway to them except seller & buyer relationship. They sell, i buy. I must thanks one brother here for bringing my attention to this lightset which again give me back that courage to try LEDs one more time. To now, after 9 days of running, i have the confidence to say, yes, this is the one.

I recieved a oarcel from DHL on 19th March morning from Hong Kong. Strange. I though it will be from USA but heck anyway, i opened it. It was packed nicely.

After waiting for 2 weeks it had arrive.

[brojj]

I tested it before i had to remove the 12kg ATI Sunpower. Beautiful. My corals & fishes can dance inside my tank with this 'disco light'.

[brojj]

Btw, the standard package comes with, the lightset, power cord with 3 pin plug ( i expect to be USA ones. Nice of them to change to 3 pins, suitable for our use here). A remote controller, a manual. The power supply & driver are build into the fixture itselt, hence the thickness.

The spec of this monster which is suppose to cover up to 4ft tank,

Uses bridgelux 99 LEDs. Bridgelux LEDs is choosen to keep cost diwn. US$449.99, excluding sales services cost & well, i am lucky, got free shipment for this. Converted to Sing dollars, a few more cents to $600.

Lets continue with the specs,

Channel 1; 48 450nm royal blue. Channel 2; 22 4500k neutral whites, 10 480nm blue, 4 660nm reds & 12 410-420nm violets. Channel 3; 3 480nm blue moonlights for a total of 99 3watts LEDs. Weight 18pounds. Dimensions 31.5"x8.5"x2.5, wattage 215W at full power ( does not quite tally if u multipy 99LEDsx3W. I don't know why but the fixture itself state 240W which includes the fans & other parts of the set which consume electricity. But don't worry, most people don't run at full power for LEDs). MH comparison 2x250watt. Yes, photon series are dimmable & controllable. Photon16, 24, 32, 48. Value series are lower in price but they are only on & off.

[brojj]

For those who knows what spectrum neutral whites covers, u will be excited. No cool whites here which has been accepted generally as useless. Yes, it is a full spectrum Light Set.

[brojj]

Some photos

[brojj]

And one more thing, it does not comes with stand. Most fixtures now comes only with hanging kits because 'hanging' is better 'light management'. First it posed no obstruction when u want to put your hands & arms inside for doing something, secondly, for LEDs, u better hang higher than T5. Mine is 11 inches from water level. And one thing i have to comment, the before sales service i got from logan, owner of reefbreeders has been very good. Fast reply to whatever question i had for him via email, of course after he wakes up & i am sleeping. Remember, he is in USA. But, i will not want to try for after sales services. Imagine u have to send back to USA. 2 years warrantly by them (most other LEDs only 1 year). For LEDs gurus, u can swap the LEDs by yourself with the warrantly intact unless u damaged the fixture accidently. U will need to do some soldering & the LEDs, u must buy from them. There is options to customize the lightset before ordering. That, u will need to email them for.more details & assistance, of course, at extra cost. For me, the defaults are already very good.

[brojj]

Sunset time.

[brojj]

Some cons, power cord a bit short. Light orangeish in color during sunset, sunrise but i have gotten used to it. Well, we often see this orange color from the sun during sunset. Need to send back for repairs (not sure about this. I have not tried & have not asked them). For cree fans, u will be disappointed. (i used to be cree fanatic but after doing up a bit if reading between cree & bridgelux, i also started to accept bridgelux). But their latest supernova LEDs does use cree. Btw, supernova still in testing stages.

[brojj]

Pros, value for money. Very good before sales services. Full spectrum, good growth with my digis & blue staghorn. Corals colors maintaining. (btw, my intensty is only at 33% max, so cannot see much changes yet but no bleaching so far). Another good option beside what we already have here.

[brojj]

Also, sorry for the poor photos. They were taken by my handphone, samsung S2 & Note3.

[megacue]

Cree is not what it seem, there are other chips that perform better in certain spectrum

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[BH2O]

I think reefbuilder Proton 32 is evergrow oem - China made so not surprise your order was delivered directly from Hong Kong.

[brojj]

Yes, evergrow & reefbreeders LEDs roll out from the same factory from china. Is is logical to ship from hong kong. Is evergrow the same as photon, in terms of the colors & arrangement? I think not as reefbreeders have their own ideas as to how the colors & arrangements should be. Not too sure about that. Perhaps evergrow users can confirm that.

[brojj]

The remote controller. Still inside the bag as haven't use yet. The control panel buttons on the light itself are sensors, not cheap plastics. So, i prefer the control buttons on the lightset more compared to the remote controller.

[ASHWIN]

Good Review Man

If I May ask what LED'S Failed You?

Was Looking into this lights for My coming nano tank

but i was scared on the Parts warranty etc..

so might go kessil..

any suggestions?

cheers!

[BH2O]

Good Review Man

If I May ask what LED'S Failed You?

Was Looking into this lights for My coming nano tank

but i was scared on the Parts warranty etc..

so might go kessil..

any suggestions?

cheers!

Kessil A150W for nano..lol!

[Jameshong]

Kessil A150W for nano..lol!

A150w is non-controllable, maybe can consider Maxspect Celestial.

[brojj]

My personal opinion will be to get one that provides full spectrum, dimmable & able to control the intensity without the need of a PC. Next will be cost & solid quality.

[moonwater]

nice review bro, wanted to order from evergrow but told that they stopped selling to end users this year...

[brojj]

U can take a look at photon. They come from the same factory with some differences. Email with them if u have any doubts or special needs on the lights. They will reply u ASAP. Till now, i am still happy with photon32.

[brojj]

Too bad i don't have a good camera to capture the finest beauty & colors of my corals.

[brojj]

The moon lights in action. 480nm. I set them at 4%. Up to max of 10%.

[brojj]

Taken eith my room lights on.

[sherman]

There are many other good LED aquarium light set made by China.

You have a choice of Cree or Bridgelux leds.

Cree is usually more expensive.

And now most China made LED light set come with 2 years warranty.

[moonwater]

i went with another chinese brand as recommended by another reefer bro here lol, has quite a good review over at reef central.

But because i saw the price difference between the chinese and usa one, thats what put me off... if not i would have tried this