Opinions on Philips CoralCare gen2 lights?

[rygh]

I am looking for new lights. Never seem to have time to get around to new DIY ones.

Very important to me is lower maintenance and long life.
So the Philips ones have two key advantages:
1) No fans to clean, clog, or fail.
2) The UV is more around 415 nm Violet, not the deep UV that fails so fast.

But not a ton of feedback out there on those lights.

 

[RandyC]

I have no experience with either, but if you’re looking for a no fan solution with a slightly lower spectrum support take a look at ATI Straton.

ATI Straton LED Reef Light

Find premium aquarium supplies at Aquacave. we offer top brands like Tunze, Ecotech, and more. Free Shipping available!

www.aquacave.com

 

[Da_Neefer]

The Reefi UNO 2.0 have a fan but also an extremely robust passive cooling system much like a CPU heat sink with copper tubing and fins. You can also adjust the fan speed in the GUI controls. I’ve not once heard it running since I had it in hand testing it before I hung the light. Coming from bad experiences with fans ie AI Primes, this is way overbuilt and well done. Humblefish has a couple threads of discussion about it. It does have actual UV diodes below 380nm. At $480 each and more power and spread than an XR-30 it’s worth a look IMO


I’ve also heard the ATI Stratons are fantastic both in actual use and tests. The price is just kind of stratospheric.

 

[Da_Neefer]

I have no experience with either, but if you’re looking for a no fan solution with a slightly lower spectrum support take a look at ATI Straton.

ATI Straton LED Reef Light

Find premium aquarium supplies at Aquacave. we offer top brands like Tunze, Ecotech, and more. Free Shipping available!

www.aquacave.com

@cc_reefkpr on Instagram is using the Stratons on multiple tanks. You can find some great info on his account.

 

[rygh]

The Reefi UNO 2.0 have a fan but also an extremely robust passive cooling system much like a CPU heat sink with copper tubing and fins. You can also adjust the fan speed in the GUI controls. I’ve not once heard it running since I had it in hand testing it before I hung the light. Coming from bad experiences with fans ie AI Primes, this is way overbuilt and well done. Humblefish has a couple threads of discussion about it. It does have actual UV diodes below 380nm. At $480 each and more power and spread than an XR-30 it’s worth a look IMO


I’ve also heard the ATI Stratons are fantastic both in actual use and tests. The price is just kind of stratospheric.

Yes, I was intrigued by those Reefi lights also. Good price for what you get.

I had a horrible experience with AI primes myself. Both fans dying and UV melting the lenses and frying the circuit board.

I am sure others deal with fans and such better than AI, but I am still pretty reluctant.
If nothing else, the physics of the deeper UV LEDs mean they simply cannot last as long, no matter what you do.

 

[Darkxerox]

The Reefi UNO 2.0 have a fan but also an extremely robust passive cooling system much like a CPU heat sink with copper tubing and fins. You can also adjust the fan speed in the GUI controls. I’ve not once heard it running since I had it in hand testing it before I hung the light. Coming from bad experiences with fans ie AI Primes, this is way overbuilt and well done. Humblefish has a couple threads of discussion about it. It does have actual UV diodes below 380nm. At $480 each and more power and spread than an XR-30 it’s worth a look IMO


I’ve also heard the ATI Stratons are fantastic both in actual use and tests. The price is just kind of stratospheric.

You could say they're...stratonspheric! I've heard a lot of good things about the Stratons from European reefers, especially with similar to T5 light spread, but they're really hard to get over here and super expensive (think $1200 before tax per light). Saltwateraquarium.com has a handful in stock right now though.

 

[rygh]

Cost wise, it is a but unclear which is cheaper.

Aquacave has ATI Straton in stock for $1,099.
Several places have Phillips for $800.

For ATI Straton: 230 Watts, 15x15 LED area covers 30x30 tank area.
So 3 works well for my 88x28 tank.
Total = $3,300

For Phillips: 170 Watts, covers 31x24 tank
Hard to say if I need 3 or 4. It is annoyingly in between.
If 4, Total = $3,200

Pretty much the same. (And a lot of $$$$)

 

[H2OPlayar]

https://www.bareefers.org/forum/threads/3x-kessil-ap-700-300-each.33389/

Much cheaper, and I have always liked my 700's

 

[Da_Neefer]

Cost wise, it is a but unclear which is cheaper.

Aquacave has ATI Straton in stock for $1,099.
Several places have Phillips for $800.

For ATI Straton: 230 Watts, 15x15 LED area covers 30x30 tank area.
So 3 works well for my 88x28 tank.
Total = $3,300

For Phillips: 170 Watts, covers 31x24 tank
Hard to say if I need 3 or 4. It is annoyingly in between.
If 4, Total = $3,200

Pretty much the same. (And a lot of $$$$)

6x36” Quanta Pro bars might be able to handle the job for you at $960. Or 3-4x6’ bars. I’ve got 3 Meso Blue sitting right now if you want to borrow and test PAR. All Meso Blue wouldn’t be all I’d run tho. 2 Reef Crest & 4 Meso Blue. No fans. They run very cool and spectrum is excellent.

 

[rygh]

6x36” Quanta Pro bars might be able to handle the job for you at $960. Or 3-4x6’ bars. I’ve got 3 Meso Blue sitting right now if you want to borrow and test PAR. All Meso Blue wouldn’t be all I’d run tho. 2 Reef Crest & 4 Meso Blue. No fans. They run very cool and spectrum is excellent.

Very interesting option.
Nice and simple. No dimming, but that is not a big deal.
A bit annoying that they do not publish the LED mix.

I had mostly dismissed them as simple add-on strips. Never thought about using lots of them.

That said, might also be good as an add on to two Phillips lights.

Needs some thought.

 

[Da_Neefer]

Very interesting option.
Nice and simple. No dimming, but that is not a big deal.
A bit annoying that they do not publish the LED mix.

I had mostly dismissed them as simple add-on strips. Never thought about using lots of them.

That said, might also be good as an add on to two Phillips lights.

Needs some thought.

They’re significantly more powerful than Orphek bars. Easily capable of being main lights on tanks sub 28-30” deep.

 

[nly04]

I have an 60" 8 bulbs ATI sunpower that you can have, maybe add one each of Kessil AP900 on each or just one AP900 on one end.

 

[rygh]

I have an 60" 8 bulbs ATI sunpower that you can have, maybe add one each of Kessil AP900 on each or just one AP900 on one end.

Definitely appreciate the offer, but I am not that interested in bulbs anymore.
The goal is a really solid long term plan.

 

[rygh]

Well .....

Looks like both the Phillips CoralCare and ATI Straton lights are discontinued, or headed that way.
Some still out there for sale, but seems like a bad idea at this point.

So a couple of options:

1) Just build my own.
Done it before. Just have trouble finding time.

2) Go with low volume new vendors.
Reefi UNO
Quanta Pro

3) Buy from a more known entity
Perhaps a couple of Kessil AP9X for "main" lights.
Yes, it has a fan, but it is a really good light, and really helpful to BAR.
Then some Quanta Pro strips to fill in the extra space, plus tweak the color to more daylight/sun.

 

[richiev]

Well .....

Looks like both the Phillips CoralCare and ATI Straton lights are discontinued, or headed that way.
Some still out there for sale, but seems like a bad idea at this point.

So a couple of options:

1) Just build my own.
Done it before. Just have trouble finding time.

2) Go with low volume new vendors.
Reefi UNO
Quanta Pro

3) Buy from a more known entity
Perhaps a couple of Kessil AP9X for "main" lights.
Yes, it has a fan, but it is a really good light, and really helpful to BAR.
Then some Quanta Pro strips to fill in the extra space, plus tweak the color to more daylight/sun.

Used ap9x/ap700 you can get cheap and could always leave time for a future diy addition later if you so desire.

 

[rygh]

Used ap9x/ap700 you can get cheap and could always leave time for a future diy addition later if you so desire.

Appreciate the thought, but I am really planning long term. I have random spare lights for the short term.

 

[Coral reefer]

Try my 3 ap700!

 

[derek_SR]

I have 3 ATI Stratons over my 6ft tank and really love them. By far the best looking light aesthetically speaking. Lightweight, silent, superb build quality. Huge T5-like spread but with a bit of shimmer.

The tuning interface is also intuitive and dead reliable (you actually connect to it like a router - no app needed, though one is available).

I also love the diffusers - they don’t bother your eyes the way many other lights do when sitting near the tank looking up. I love these things. Just put them over a new tank so can’t speak to anything long term.

They are really excellent - don’t let the fact they are discontinued scare you away, ATI NA continues to support them with parts and CS.

 

[RandyC]

I have 3 ATI Stratons over my 6ft tank and really love them. By far the best looking light aesthetically speaking. Lightweight, silent, superb build quality. Huge T5-like spread but with a bit of shimmer.

The tuning interface is also intuitive and dead reliable (you actually connect to it like a router - no app needed, though one is available).

I also love the diffusers - they don’t bother your eyes the way many other lights do when sitting near the tank looking up. I love these things. Just put them over a new tank so can’t speak to anything long term.

They are really excellent - don’t let the fact they are discontinued scare you away, ATI NA continues to support them with parts and CS.

View attachment 45557

What I’ve been able to read is that they have discontinued the Straton in the US, but they have retained enough material for parts and service.

They have launched and will sell the Straton Pro, but unfortunately for us, that will be Europe only support for now.

 

[rygh]

Everything seems to be a compromise...

Kessil : Has fans, plus a bit blue-centric for my taste. Nice shimmer.
Radeon : Has fans. Great color for my tastes. UV longevity concerns.
Straton + Coral care : Great lights, but discontinued, so while possible, some risk.
Straton PRO : Available in Germany. Expensive. Took a quick peek, and they do no seem inclined to ship it here.
Quanta Pro : Nice colors. No dimming. Low volume vendor may disappear. No information on exact LEDs used.
DIY : Exactly what I want, but a lot of work. Much cheaper, since I have old parts.

I guess my current leaning is to revisit DIY for a bit while I try to decide.

And now I have a fence to fix outside also. Thanks wind.