Current USA Orbit Marine IC PRO Led Light Fixture 48-60 inch

[Hydrus]

Hello! What do you guys think of the Current USA Orbit Marine IC PRO Led Light Fixture 48-60 inch? I have a 75 gallon tank that I had the very first generation of those lights on (just the 1 strip). Its been doing great the past 5 years (no SPS, just LPS, leathers, mushrooms, polyps, and a rose bubbletip). My corals grow to the point I have to cut/frag so something must be going right.

However, 2 days ago, the lights went out and I noticed some corrosion on 3 of the led's so they are pretty much shot (I got 5 years out of them so I guess I can't complain). I tried to clean them but nothing worked.

I'm needing to buy a new set of lights but am tight on money as I didn't anticipate this happening. I really want halides but they are just out of my price range right now so I'm trying to figure out something that will at least keep what I have for sure and maybe a little better. The pro has 2 strips and they claim that I can get decent par at the surface of the water if I ever did want to get a small sps down the road. For $350 what do you think? I'll attach an image from the website that shows the par they claim (and also state a 90 degree angle). Thank you so much for your help...I'm freaking out lol.

[jurgenph]

the newer orbit IC lights have stronger individual LEDs than the old "orbit marine" lights.
if the old ones worked for you, the new ones will be even better.

the new ones are designed around the new LOOP system, so you have some room to grow if you want to go that route as well.


J.

[Hydrus]

the newer orbit IC lights have stronger individual LEDs than the old "orbit marine" lights.
if the old ones worked for you, the new ones will be even better.

the new ones are designed around the new LOOP system, so you have some room to grow if you want to go that route as well.


J.

Thank you! :) I tried to find out how many watts per led were on these new ones but I couldn't seem to find the information directly from the company. I know that the old ones were only like .5 or something but I was hoping to find some actual documentation on what the new ones are. I'll keep looking while we are slow here at work and see what else I can find. I also admit I'm kinda interested in seeing what I can all do with the LOOP system like you mention as well. I know I can tie in power heads / wavemakers and things like that. Kinda exciting :)

[Opus123]

Based on their spec sheet, it is 96 leds in each fixture with a total wattage of 46. That breaks down to around .48 per led, assuming they are all running at the same wattage. The current orbit marine light is .24 per led, so your old one was probably less than that.

[Hydrus]

Based on their spec sheet, it is 96 leds in each fixture with a total wattage of 46. That breaks down to around .48 per led, assuming they are all running at the same wattage. The current orbit marine light is .24 per led, so your old one was probably less than that.

Wow, I work with numbers all day and I didn't think to just do it that way. I guess I was just overthinking things. Thank you so much! That does explain why this system is so much cheaper than others out there tho. It pains me to know I'm entertaining buying a system with such weak LEDs compared to other systems out there, but I guess I have to do what I have to do to get by for now :( I just can't swing $900 :(

[Hydrus]

Oh, plus for the pro IC's I get 2 LED strips for the $350...so I guess if you count both strips I'll get "twice" that par from the one strip. So that makes me feel a tad better. I know I def want to get the mounting arm brackets. On my first set I used the little legs that come with it but it was just too close to the water and the little bit of salt creep is what caused the corrosion to happen in the first place. Now I have to figure out if I can swing those mounting arms and still use a canopy.

If its not one thing, its another lol.

[zooman72]

If you enjoyed success with a single Orbit Marine (1st gen, non-pro), then you should have more than enough with a pair of the Orbit Marine IC Pros, but better color adjustment due to the RGB diodes not found on the earlier model.

To be honest, I am a little surprised that you had so much success with a variety of LPS and soft corals in a 20" deep aquarium and only the single Orbit Marine - they are fine light for shallow reef aquariums, but most need at least a pair for aquariums deeper than 12-16". Now the 1st-gen Pro version (now discontinued) had more powerful diodes and secondary optics (which the IC Loop diodes have too) to boost PAR quite a bit.

Either way, the new IC Loop Pro kit should be enough...

[oreo57]

https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-reef-lights/10-sbox-extreme-32-wifi.html

upgrade for 48"
$460........... much stronger.

[Hydrus]

If you enjoyed success with a single Orbit Marine (1st gen, non-pro), then you should have more than enough with a pair of the Orbit Marine IC Pros, but better color adjustment due to the RGB diodes not found on the earlier model.

To be honest, I am a little surprised that you had so much success with a variety of LPS and soft corals in a 20" deep aquarium and only the single Orbit Marine - they are fine light for shallow reef aquariums, but most need at least a pair for aquariums deeper than 12-16". Now the 1st-gen Pro version (now discontinued) had more powerful diodes and secondary optics (which the IC Loop diodes have too) to boost PAR quite a bit.

Either way, the new IC Loop Pro kit should be enough...

All my nice stuff is stacked up at the top. The only things I have toward the middle or bottom were some durable leathers and some polyps plus mushrooms that fell off the main rock and spread through the bottom of the tank. But it is very limiting. I basically can only use the top half for anything nice looking. My bubbletip is pretty big, about 12 inches across and is about 6 inches from the top of the water. So its a weird situation to say the least. Here is a pic of my tank (this is only 55 gallons, my 75 is being delivered this weekend)...some of the LED's on this pic are already failing but at least it gives you an idea of what it looks like under 1 strip of the old orbits. The liverock in this tank is from my original set up 21 years ago. I got it when I turned 15 and am 36 now so we've made it through a lot of ups and downs in the industry. I just lost my first pair of starter clown fish last year, they were 20 years old :( I was crushed.

[zooman72]

That is a good looking aquarium, regardless of the corals within or equipment used (I personally love soft corals) - good luck with the new tank, and the upgraded lighting... :)

[tletourneau]

All my nice stuff is stacked up at the top. The only things I have toward the middle or bottom were some durable leathers and some polyps plus mushrooms that fell off the main rock and spread through the bottom of the tank. But it is very limiting. I basically can only use the top half for anything nice looking. My bubbletip is pretty big, about 12 inches across and is about 6 inches from the top of the water. So its a weird situation to say the least. Here is a pic of my tank (this is only 55 gallons, my 75 is being delivered this weekend)...some of the LED's on this pic are already failing but at least it gives you an idea of what it looks like under 1 strip of the old orbits. The liverock in this tank is from my original set up 21 years ago. I got it when I turned 15 and am 36 now so we've made it through a lot of ups and downs in the industry. I just lost my first pair of starter clown fish last year, they were 20 years old :( I was crushed.

Nice looking tank!

Did you end up going with the Orbit IC Pro? If so how do you like it, does it seem to work well for you? If not may I ask why and what you chose instead?

[Hydrus]

Nice looking tank!

Did you end up going with the Orbit IC Pro? If so how do you like it, does it seem to work well for you? If not may I ask why and what you chose instead?

Thank you :) No, I did not go with that one. After doing a bunch of research, while they are priced very low, they aren't even in the competition compared to the higher end LED's out there. Don't get me wrong, for what I have in my tank currently, they would have been fine...all soft corals/leathers/mushrooms/polyps but anything else would require more intense light than what the IC Pro would have been able to provide. And I want to get some of those other things. I want the LPS, SPS, and I'd like my RBTA to have more light as well.

I went with the ReefBreeder Photon V2. And I LOVE it. Its a beautiful light. I've had it on my tank for 1 week now and am only running it at 30% per the light acclimation guidelines. I have to say my corals have never looked better. My RBTA is amazing, the reds are beautiful. My Duncan's are fantastic looking and have fully extended their tentacles. I could go on talking about how each coral in my tank has improved in just the short week. Today I get to bump it to 40% and I'm excited to see how that will look in the next week. :)

That being said, I chose the Photon's for several reasons:

1 - The price point was where I needed it to be. It was the best light I could possibly afford that was within my budget. AND it was on sale.

2 - I get 3 - 5 Watts per LED whereas the IC Pro only produced around .5 Watts.

3 - I have control over each lighting spectrum/color so I have control over exactly how I want my tank to look - ie more red/green/blue.

4 - Allows for programming so I can set up my sunrise and sunset which I enjoy :)

5 - Comes with both mounting legs or a hanging kit so I can chose however I wanted to have it mounted. In my case I will just set it on my 55gal using the legs until my 75 is set up which should hopefully be within the next couple weeks and then I'll mount it from the ceiling at that point. Also, the legs are very adjustable in height (the IC Pros are not at all)

6 - Has a easy to use remote to do the programming.

7 - 2 Year Warranty (IC Pro only has 1 year and they rarely cover anything)

I'm sure there are more features that I purchased it for but those are the main reason that I can think of while I'm sitting at work :) Bottom line is that they were able to produce the most light for the best price (for what I could afford). Now I can have pretty much anything I want in my tank and not worry if they will get enough light I just have to position it correctly and I should be set.

[jurgenph]

Congrats! post some pics of the new setup ;)


J.

[gfcashmo]

Where did I get it and how muck$

[Hydrus]

Where did I get it and how muck$

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

The 48-V2 is on sale for $589.99