Reef Torch LED

ReefWhatYouSow

ReefWhatYouSow

New member
Came across these lights on ebay and they have me intrigued. I have not found many reviews on the lights and it looks as though his lights have been used primarily for commercial purposes (aquariums etc).

Does anyone have experience with these or can check them out and give me your thoughts?

Thanks!
 
We've got one of the 100w (3 lens) unit over our Solana, and one of the mini's over our DB 30gal frag tank. I like them, everything is doing good. I've got the 100w unit hooked to the apex for ramp up/down/cloud control.
 
That's great to hear that you are liking them. Do you mind answering some questions for my inquisitive mind?

How long have you had them?

Have you noticed more it less growth compared to other units that you might have had?

I'm assuming that you can't adjust the intensity of each individual color?

Thanks again!
 
ReefWhatYouSow said:
That's great to hear that you are liking them. Do you mind answering some questions for my inquisitive mind?

How long have you had them?

Have you noticed more it less growth compared to other units that you might have had?

I'm assuming that you can't adjust the intensity of each individual color?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...


Not at all, ask away. I'll try to answer.

We've had the 100w unit for just about a year now.
We had some trouble originally, we had the power turned up too much and burned a couple chips.
Bill sent replacement chips free of charge, including some to change of color.

The 100w unit is built with 2 different drivers/channels, they are not all white/ all blue channels separated, but the blue is mostly blue.
9 chips, 4 on one channel, 5 on the other.

We have changed a couple of the chips with more daylight chips, and modded the circuits.

The fixture is built with replaceable parts, there aren't a whole lot of parts that can break and would be hard to source.

It's got a fan/2 fans for the newer units, the LED chips, and drivers. We pulled our 0-10v dimmer switches off and hooked to APEX. That's it.
 
I appreciate you checking into it for me ReefClown.

And Fishmommy, I can see where the hesitation would come in. Part of what you're paying for is the security of safety within your product.

And being a smaller company can be a detriment in the future of owning the lights, but it at least seems like parts that can be replaced fairly easily.
 
ReefClownMIA said:
Not at all, ask away. I'll try to answer.

We've had the 100w unit for just about a year now.
We had some trouble originally, we had the power turned up too much and burned a couple chips.
Bill sent replacement chips free of charge, including some to change of color.

The 100w unit is built with 2 different drivers/channels, they are not all white/ all blue channels separated, but the blue is mostly blue.
9 chips, 4 on one channel, 5 on the other.

We have changed a couple of the chips with more daylight chips, and modded the circuits.

The fixture is built with replaceable parts, there aren't a whole lot of parts that can break and would be hard to source.

It's got a fan/2 fans for the newer units, the LED chips, and drivers. We pulled our 0-10v dimmer switches off and hooked to APEX. That's it.
Click to expand...


So a little more questions on the growth. With everything doing well so far do you have anything to compare these lights to? Is the growth better with these lights? Colors better?

Thanks!
 
Nano light:

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emury4a6.jpg


Timer/controller.
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100w light:
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We have the lights at 80% max intensity, any higher and we bleach stuff. We run cloud cover down to 40% about 35% of the time.
 
The colors seem to look great from the photos! And thanks for taking some shots. Things seem to come together so much more through pics.

Did the timer/controller come with the unit?

If so, do you know if multiple units will connect allowing you to use only one controller?

AND (if that wasn't enough) does the controller (if provided) allow for you to set all of the different modes; sunrise, sunset, etc?

The reason I ask is because I am wondering if I really need to buy a controller, such as digital aquatics or Apex. It seems that everything I have been looking at buying comes with its own controller?
 
I'm responding from phone, so bear with me please.

Regarding growth:
This is our first tank back after about a 4 years hiatus. We've had lots of challenges surrounding, between a leaking roof, and subsequent dehumid ores and dryers in the house, multiple kalk wasser ATO failures, AEFW, Monti eating Nudis, and just general busy/neglect. With that said Every time we get back on the horse, get alk/calc parameters stable for about 4-6 weeks at a time, things grow really well!
 
As for comparison, about 4-5 years ago we had another Solana, we had a Maristar 250w MH + T5 combo fixture, probably my fav combo with radion(sp? If I recall correctly) 20k bulb and ATI actinic T5's, and it's a close match.

The other Solana was much more stable, due to husbandry practices... And it grew fast.
We've bleached several corals in this tank, under this light. But I do like the color of the tank. Colors pop, but it's not the frag swap actinic display that people seem to favor these days.

That was one thing I discussed with Bill prior to purchase, and he made sure not to make them actinic beasts.
I would say the color is about that of a 20k, it's got brightness, it's got color, it's got pop, but it's not yellow, or purple.
 
As for the controller question;

The 100w came with analog dimmer switches in a control box, and 2 power cables.
This allowed intensity control of either channel, but you'd have to turn on/off either by adjusting dimmer switch to 0, or via timer to cut power.

I'm a fan of the apex, and full sized apex has 2 VDM ports built in, find for this.

Regardless what you end up with, some of the cheaper china units have controllers that only allow 30min incremental changes. Check on that.

As for the "controller" on the ReefTorch mini, it allows time on/off control for 3 channels (blue/white/night), multiple time settings/cycles. However no way to adjust intensity, or do a ramp up/down. Just ON/OFF.

The mini is a little too white for me, I'd prefer a little more color in it. I'd compare this to the XM MH bulbs from back in the day.
 
ReefClownMIA said:
As for the controller question;

The 100w came with analog dimmer switches in a control box, and 2 power cables.
This allowed intensity control of either channel, but you'd have to turn on/off either by adjusting dimmer switch to 0, or via timer to cut power.

I'm a fan of the apex, and full sized apex has 2 VDM ports built in, find for this.

Regardless what you end up with, some of the cheaper china units have controllers that only allow 30min incremental changes. Check on that.

As for the "controller" on the ReefTorch mini, it allows time on/off control for 3 channels (blue/white/night), multiple time settings/cycles. However no way to adjust intensity, or do a ramp up/down. Just ON/OFF.

The mini is a little too white for me, I'd prefer a little more color in it. I'd compare this to the XM MH bulbs from back in the day.
Click to expand...


You definitely answered my question and then some! It seems to give you the basics of what you need but I can see how a controller would be beneficial with these setups.

I've seen some of the Chinese lights that seem decent as well and they have the controllers that do most everything. If I were to get something like that do you think I would need a controller for anything else?

I'm getting the new Jebao powerheads that come with a controller as well.
 
Agreed. Some of the china ones do come with decent controllers with sun rise/set/moon/weather control, others don't.
Personally I like having the apex, to track changes in temp/pH/etc, allow ATO without much additional, and being able to expand.

You've got to do what fits the budget, and suits you. Many different ways to skin a cat.

Also check out the Kessils, those look nice and just released a controller. Kessil 360 was what I had planned on buying for the Solana, when I came across the ReefTorches ... got a deal I couldn't pass up.
 
I saw both the Kessils and Apex at Reef A Palooza and thought highly of both. It definitely does come down to the dollar though and I guess that stuff can always be upgraded later. I'm sure there will be future improvements as well. Now if I find a great deal on one... Game on!
 
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