# SB Reef Light questions...



## KrypleBerry (May 23, 2017)

How was it ordering from them? I could never get them to respond to my emails so I passed on the purchase. It seemed too high risk, with no communication I didnt care to try the light just to be ignored when there is a problem.


----------



## jellopuddinpop (Dec 12, 2016)

I would just mount them higher. These lights can be turned up waaaay past anywhere we would want them in a planted tank, so you're not going to lose anything by mounting the really high. 

I absolutely love mine, and have no problems with darkened edges. I have three over a 72" tank. You can see them in the journal in my signature.

As far as ordering, I had no problems at all. They came in a reasonable amount of time.


----------



## rancidcrab (Jun 22, 2012)

I had a similar problem using a 32" light over my 48" 110G. My solution was to remove the lenses from the outer 5-6 LEDs. That's what SB recommended and it did help a bit.


----------



## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

rancidcrab said:


> I had a similar problem using a 32" light over my 48" 110G. My solution was to remove the lenses from the outer 5-6 LEDs. That's what SB recommended and it did help a bit.


second.. and it's possible one could find 120 degree lenses. but the diodes themselves are usually lensed 120..

heck remove lenses on outer diodes raise 1/2-1" increase output a tad..


----------



## JTDillon (Mar 11, 2017)

KrypleBerry said:


> How was it ordering from them? I could never get them to respond to my emails so I passed on the purchase. It seemed too high risk, with no communication I didnt care to try the light just to be ignored when there is a problem.



Communication has been a little Iffy... They don't offer a bar to mount 2 over a 48" tank, for my 75 I had to watch their YouTube video how to do it. It was somewhat a hassle, I tried asking what thickness and diameter the aluminum flatstock he was using was but got no response...tried sending inquiries thru their website, couldnt get it to work... I sent a very long and detailed email about the problem I posted here and alls I got was "call the shop on Monday and talk to mike about this"... obviously I would've called but ii am busy and working throughout the day. Just wanted a simple answer about the light spread. I didn't feel like going through the spiel again. I felt a simple "mark as unread" and just waiting for Mike to read the email himself would've sufficed. but oh well. I get it though, I'm sure theyre not a fortune 500 company and its hard to keep up with all the emails...

Had to make 2 trips because of course I got the wrong one. He did reply to one email but it was something insignificant. Kinda blew off my questions about PAR & PUR. So yeah, its been frustrating. 

All in all, If the light spread over my entire tank, id like it. The color itself is a little odd.... but it has my plants growing and pearling like a madhouse....in the middle only though. I don't like the mounting legs it has...very flimsy. I didn't like having to do the DIY portion. .. that was an entire story/ hassle in itself. Overall, I kinda wish I went with two LED strips, just for better coverage.. This is the best light ive seen for growing plants especially for the price..... the disco effect is just too much for me. two big squares of light. :\ Itd be amazing for a 55gallon, or something narrow. my tank is just a wee too wide.


----------



## hpimichael02 (Jan 30, 2014)

Yea I had one of those for my Reef tank, did great on it but I changed the optics out and alternated between 90 an d120 to avoid disco effect. for the price point cant beat them. I just got two AI prime freshwater as I use them on my reef tanks and communication is great and they are Wifi controlled  ... I'm super stoked to use them for $199 its a bit more expensive but great quality .

Mike is easiest reached on reef 2 reef, as that's his biggest market he does provide a superior product in that price point for saltwater reefs. don't discount him on that his products are much better than what you find on [Ebay Link Removed]


----------



## SingAlongWithTsing (Jun 11, 2015)

hang em higher if possible. i have mines about 10" from the surface. my tank is 72" x 18" x 24"

Something from a while back, note those PAR measurements were out of the water.


SingAlongWithTsing said:


> yep, i own 3 lol. the legs will only give you about 6~7" above the water surface. i ditched the legs and built a rack.
> 
> yep only 2 channels
> 
> ...


----------



## JTDillon (Mar 11, 2017)

SingAlongWithTsing said:


> hang em higher if possible. i have mines about 10" from the surface. my tank is 72" x 18" x 24"
> 
> Something from a while back, note those PAR measurements were out of the water.



What really bums me out, is 10% each channel is great PAR, but aesthetically, disappointing to say the least. Its like the light has too much PUR, all the light youre seeing is being used by the plants. Id like to actually have it lit up. 164 in the middle and 54 in the front... don't mean to state the obvious but less than 1/3 the par? damn..... I wish I would've just bought a few LED strips. I removed the LEDs and it kind of helped, I guess. Still pretty darn dark. IDK why they build them like that... they have to know on wider tanks the light isnt even at all.... I guess they were designed for reef tanks. still, theyre being sold as FW lights now and it is disappointing because all my plants in the back grow at an angle, my carpet plants in front are growing poorly. midground plants are happy as could be. but you can clearly see the plants in the middle doing better than front or back. 
Also, my knobs are off, they all line up differently which makes it difficult to gauge what my channels are actually at. UGH. I don't mean to complain, I am just getting fed up. I am looking for T5 fixtures now, Its hard to determine bulb spacing on them but once I find one with good bulb spacing and reflectors I'm ditching these lights. I'm glad they work for others, I wont go posting horrible reviews or anything since I seem to be the minority. I don't think thatd be fair to them


----------



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Glad I read this because I was really thinking hard about ordering one of these lights.


----------



## JTDillon (Mar 11, 2017)

Nubster said:


> Glad I read this because I was really thinking hard about ordering one of these lights.





Yeah I wish I had someone elses post to read. Except all the ones I read said they were good. Such a bummer, I measured PAR today and theyre right. Both channels at around 10% puts you between 90 and 100 par...but having the lights on at ten percent is just lame. the tank looks like I have bulbs that are 10 years old and ready to go out anyday. But I seem to be the minority. Something is either wrong with my lights or I am too picky. Look at other people journals of the tank and their reviews. They have no problems at all. Its just me, so I really wanna be fair to the company


----------



## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

jtd,

i've been reading your posts with interest too, as i'm in the market for 2 40b's that sit next to each other.

hadn't heard of sbreef's until lately, but i was strongly considering them (along w/ the usual suspects). this thread has given me pause as well.

i have a big tank w/ 2 bml's (10k and 13k, iirc) that i love. most people would be turned off by the high k values, but i prefer a cooler, crisper look to my tanks.

can you post a pic of your tank? what may not be ideal for you might be perfect for others.

was also wondering if you'd contacted the owner of sbr w/ your concerns?

again, appreciate your even-handed posts.


----------



## SingAlongWithTsing (Jun 11, 2015)

60% red / 10% blue


video of 10% blue




shadows are from the bracing




JTDillon said:


> What really bums me out, is 10% each channel is great PAR, but aesthetically, disappointing to say the least. Its like the light has too much PUR, all the light youre seeing is being used by the plants. Id like to actually have it lit up. 164 in the middle and 54 in the front... don't mean to state the obvious but less than 1/3 the par?


just rough conversion numbers, maybe i should of rounded up 



> damn..... I wish I would've just bought a few LED strips. I removed the LEDs and it kind of helped, I guess. Still pretty darn dark. IDK why they build them like that... they have to know on wider tanks the light isnt even at all.... I guess they were designed for reef tanks. still, theyre being sold as FW lights now and it is disappointing because all my plants in the back grow at an angle, my carpet plants in front are growing poorly. midground plants are happy as could be. but you can clearly see the plants in the middle doing better than front or back.
> Also, my knobs are off, they all line up differently which makes it difficult to gauge what my channels are actually at. UGH. I don't mean to complain, I am just getting fed up. I am looking for T5 fixtures now, Its hard to determine bulb spacing on them but once I find one with good bulb spacing and reflectors I'm ditching these lights. I'm glad they work for others, I wont go posting horrible reviews or anything since I seem to be the minority. I don't think thatd be fair to them


i guess they went with 90 degree lens for penetration, 120 on some other leds to try to blend it better? idk. i feel like if they went with all 120's it would be more even and we wont have that front/mid/back growth rate problem


----------

